Resilience Scanner

Smart Water Metering and Automatic Meter Reading System

Solution Overview

The Water Supplies Department is promoting wider use of smart water meters and Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) System, planned to work in conjunction with the Water Intelligent Network (WIN) to help identify problems.[4][5] This approach enables near-real-time water consumption monitoring and early detection of potential water leakage for properties across Hong Kong.[2] The technology eliminated the need for manual water meter checks, which were previously conducted every four months.[2]

Technical Components

The NB-IoT Wireless Smart Water Metering System provides an end-to-end solution spanning system design, development, and implementation.[2] ASTRI developed a LoRaWAN-based Hong Kong Wireless Smart Water Metering System Standard and its Reference Design to facilitate the retrofitting of smart metering system to existing buildings.[8] The System Standard is based on WSD requirements, OFCA regulations, and LoRaWAN standard and is the first in Hong Kong.[8] Cellular technology enables city-wide indoor coverage without additional wiring connected between devices and communication equipment, simplifying deployment and maintenance compared to traditional wired AMI system alternatives, especially for deployment in existing buildings.[2] ASTRI developed a Smart Water Analysis System that integrates t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technologies to perform data filtering that identifies anomalies in real-time.[8] Water consumption data is now updated every half hour, compared to the previous four-month manual check intervals.[2] Once installed, the smart water meter readers start tracking water usage for eight weeks and transmit the information to a server located in the University of Hong Kong campus.[7]

Implementation Details

LPS collaborated with the WSD to deploy the first Public Cellular Network Wireless Smart Water Meter system in Hong Kong.[2] The Water Supplies Department launched a pilot scheme for Automatic Meter Reading at residential buildings in Un Chau Estate, Sham Shui Po and Sheung Shui Disciplined Services Quarters to review the latest technological advancements and technical performance of AMR water meters in multi-storey high rise buildings as well as its cost effectiveness for large scale implementation.[9] The AMR pilot scheme was extended in early 2015 to Sheung Shui Area 36 West public housing estate which was under construction at that time.[9] As of February 2021, the Water Supplies Department had received about 50 related applications involving 110 new buildings and about 30,000 smart water meters.[6] The Water Supplies Department expected the number of smart water meters installed would gradually increase to more than 18,000 in the next three years, including about 4,000 meters in public housing development projects and about 14,000 meters in private development projects.[6] The Water Supplies Department is closely monitoring the latest development in the application of wireless communication technology for smart water meters and conducting pilot tests at suitable locations.[6] Regarding the installation of AMR in existing buildings, as more than three million customer accounts are involved, coupled with the need of cable installation for connecting smart water meters and AMR outstation in the buildings, it is envisaged that the implementation will have greater impact on the public and incur higher costs.[6]

Benefits and Impacts

Potential water leakages that were previously found during manual checks can now be detected on two-day intervals, creating a system of alert for proactive maintenance and repairs while saving precious resources.[2] The automatic meter reading system not only improves the accuracy of meter reading, but also provides customers with timely water consumption data and other useful information, thereby enhancing their awareness of water conservation and prevention of water leakage.[6] The smart water metering system is expected to raise public awareness in water conservation with an estimated saving of 1.8M m³ of water per year.[8] The department invited about 1,000 domestic and non-domestic customers of high water consumption in phases to join the programme that enables a taskforce to conduct detailed 'water-usage check-ups' for such customers.[7] Among the first batch of programme participants in the domestic sector, more than 80% of participants were able to reduce their water consumption.[7] The Water Supplies Department aimed to reduce water usage by 500,000 cubic metres this year, which is equivalent to 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.[7] In the long run, the comprehensive introduction of AMR can save the manual meter reading work and avoid problems arising from the suspension of meter reading work.[6]

Climate Adaptation Relevance

This technology addresses water resource management challenges by enabling early detection of leakage and promoting conservation behaviors among consumers. The system supports climate adaptation by reducing water loss and enhancing the efficiency of water distribution infrastructure through continuous monitoring and real-time data analysis. When the relevant technology becomes mature in the future, the Water Supplies Department will review the situation and explore the technical feasibility of implementing wireless AMR in existing buildings so as to speed up the installation of smart water meters.[6]

Business Analysis

The System Standard facilitates a region-wide deployment of wireless AMR system in the future.[8] The Water Supplies Department is exploring the use of AMR coupled with mobile app to enhance consumers' awareness of their water consumption on a timely basis thereby facilitating behavioural changes to save water.[4][5] The Water Supplies Department commissioned the Centre for Water Technology & Policy at the University of Hong Kong to carry out the Water-smart Taskforce Programme, from February this year until early next year.[7] The taskforce uses a smart water meter reader with high precision and AI (artificial intelligence)-powered technologies to analyse customers' water usage data.[7] Customers participating in the programme engage in an eight-week water conservation campaign, with the taskforce installing smart water meter readers on the existing meters without requiring any pipe modifications or affecting the water supply.[7] A company with three hotels which consistently experiences high water consumption has been invited to participate in the programme.[7] Smart water meter readers continuously monitor the water consumption in hotels, providing granular data for analysis and visualisation on the cloud platform.[7]

[1]: Water Supplies Department announcement on Digital Water Office establishment [2]: LPS NB-IoT Wireless Smart Water Metering System documentation [3]: Water Supplies Department WIN project documentation [4]: Water Supplies Department water conservation initiatives [5]: Water Supplies Department AMR and WIN integration plans [6]: Water Supplies Department AMR implementation strategy [7]: Water-smart Taskforce Programme documentation [8]: ASTRI LoRaWAN-based Smart Water Metering System Standard [9]: Water Supplies Department AMR pilot scheme documentation

Sources