Severn Trent Water has awarded contracts to IoT and smart technology providers Connexin and Itron to digitally transform its water network in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The £20m project, part of Severn Trent Water’s Green Recovery Programme, will see Connexin and Itron roll out a new smart water network across the two regions.
It will include the installation of over 150,000 Itron LoRaWAN® smart water meters, as well as a large-scale, carrier-grade LoRaWAN® network. These solutions will enable Severn Trent Water to effectively and remotely gather, access and analyse data from across the network in real-time.
Access to this real-time data on water usage will help Severn Trent Water to enhance operations across its Coventry and Warwickshire network to improve services, reduce costs for both customers and the provider and help protect the environment.
This will be achieved through allowing Severn Trent Water to monitor consumption more accurately to ensure customers are being charged correctly, identify leaks or burst pipes faster and address these at the earliest point, reduce emission and monitor asset conditions to ensure the network is operating effectively and reduces repair or damage costs.
Anthony Hickinbottom, Green Recovery Project Lead says: “We’re really excited to have Connexin and Itron on board to help us drive this ambitious and exciting project for the region.
“With the expertise and knowledge between them, they will play a vital role in ensuring we’re implementing a smart meter data network that will bring with it a whole host of benefits that could also save our customers money.
“We all have a vital role in making sure we’re looking after water and doing right by it. This project will give us valuable learnings and insight in shaping how the industry can better understand where water is used, and make sure we’re looking after it for the future.”
Roll-out of the smart network and meters is due to begin in March 2022. The project has been praised by the LoRa Alliance, the membership group aimed at driving the success of the LoRaWAN® standard.
Donna Moore, CEO and Chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance said about the project: “With water in short supply globally, water metering is a perfect use case for LoRaWAN. This project exemplifies how LoRaWAN is improving lives, reducing water loss and cost by being efficient and effective with water management, to make our planet’s water usage smarter and safer. It is fantastic to see LoRa Alliance members Connexin and Itron collaborating on this project and can’t wait to learn about its impact on the local communities.”
Ralph Varcoe, Managing Director IoT at Connexin said: “IoT and smart technologies have a vital role to play in helping create more efficient water networks which benefit providers, customers and the environment.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen by Severn Trent Water to help it on this important project to create a smarter, greener water network for the people of Coventry and Warwickshire. Through our team’s and Itron’s expertise in the sector, we can ensure we create a modern network that provides better results for everyone.”
Justin Patrick, Senior Vice President, Device Solutions Itron, said: “Itron has decades of experience helping water utilities improve their operations through advanced metering solutions. We look forward to collaborating with Severn Trent to deploy our smart water metering technology to enhance operational efficiency and conserve precious water resources.”
