Improving Remote Monitoring of Water Utilities: Using IoT and GIS Improving water supply management to improve climate resilience
Country: Uzbekistan
Year of implementation: 2020
Technology: Internet of Things (IoT), Geographic Information System (GIS)
ITD’s Partner ADB Departments: Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, Central and West Asia Department
ADB Partners:
· City of Chirchiq local government
· Nobel Systems—technology service provider
In line with ADB’s Operational Priorities:
· Tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability
o Mitigation of climate change increased
o Climate and disaster resilience built
o Environmental sustainability enhanced
· Making cities more livable
o Improving access, quality, and reliability of services in urban areas
o Improving urban environment, climate resilience, and disaster management of cities
The advent of the COVID-19 highlighted the value of digital technologies in the water sector. There was an uptick in use due to the greater need to ensure business continuity and adapt to the changing circumstances brought about by the pandemic. In addition, service providers across the world reported higher nonrevenue water (water that is pumped by water utilities but becomes unaccounted for). The suspension of meter reading due to mobility restrictions and to protect field staff may have contributed to additional water losses, alongside metering and billing inaccuracies, unbilled consumption, and pipe leakage or bursts (footnote 2). Mobility restrictions and limited staffing due to the pandemic made it difficult to monitor system status and conduct necessary repairs, possibly resulting in service interruptions or reduced volume of water delivered to households. These issues made it more challenging to observe proper sanitation and hygiene practices to avoid contracting COVID-19.
ADB recognized the additional stresses COVID-19 placed upon water utilities, which were already facing various challenges brought by climate change and rapid population growth. Thus, it opened the “Improving Remote Monitoring of Water Utilities” challenge to crowdsource solutions that use smart water technologies to improve water utility asset management, as well as support the remote monitoring of water supply operations and staff to ensure uninterrupted service delivery even in times of crises. Nobel Systems, along with Hiraya Water, was selected to test its remote monitoring solution. It proposed the city of Chirchiq in Uzbekistan as the site for its proof-of-concept implementation, which was approved.
Uzbekistan is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and is included in the list of top 20 countries exposed to drought. In addition, its water supply and sanitation systems, which were set up under the former Soviet Union, have largely deteriorated, affecting water service delivery. In response, the Uzbekistan government sought to upgrade its water supply system, as evidenced by Presidential Decree UP-5883, which outlined measures to improve water supply systems across the country. The presidential decree, which was released in 2019, specified innovative technologies as part of the planned upgrades.
Nobel Systems’ Geoviewer is a water pressure monitoring system that can provide real-time updates via a mobile app and an Internet browser. Nobel Systems initially proposed developing a digital twin system for Chirchiq that could be used not only to monitor water pressure but also forecast the demand and predict pressure, flow, and velocity in the next 24 hours. The system would also allow stakeholders to anticipate which assets are likely to fail. However, high costs and limited capacity meant that the proof-of-concept would only be able to cover the installation of a GIS-based asset management system paired with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. The setup could nonetheless serve as the foundation for establishing a digital twin system should this be pursued in the future.
Nobel Systems sought a local partner, Global Business Services, based in Tashkent, to gather data and translate the software into local languages of Russian and Uzbek. They collaborated to conduct research and collect data for the GIS system, which was used to populate a GIS database. Ten IoT devices were installed in locations recommended by the staff of Chirchiq. Meanwhile, the collected data was integrated into Nobel Systems’ GeoViewer Online Platform. Nobel Systems also trained the Uzsuvtaminot personnel to use the system and provided capacity building and training manuals. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to map the water utility assets to give users an understanding of how the system worked. The battery-powered IoT devices were operational 24/7 and transmitted data daily, even in low network or underground installation setups. The collected data was transmitted to Nobel Systems’ GeoViewer and was hosted on a secure website using a Software as a Subscription model. The platform presented data, including geospatial information, on a user-friendly interface, and could be viewed any time, increasing the efficiency of water utility asset monitoring and management.
The platform alerted key city staff via SMS and a messaging app when the identified parameters exceeded or fell below the set thresholds. A tablet device pre-loaded with GeoViewer Mobile and the city’s GIS data was also provided to the city of Chirchiq to enable them to monitor the water systems even when offline.
ADB provided additional funding to support the upgrading of the water systems of key urban areas in Uzbekistan under the Integrated Urban Development Project. The project also provided Uzsuvtaminot the opportunity to proceed to the next phase of the setting up of the digital twins of the water systems. Nobel Systems also sought grant funding from the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to augment the funding provided by ADB for the digital twins. The application was approved in April 2022. Operations in Chirchiq halted due to cloud hosting issues, but the implementation in three villages in Djizzak pushed through to comply with the condition that the new project would be implemented in cities populated by 100,000 people at most. The Geoviewer installation in Chirchiq was used as the foundation in the implementation of the remote monitoring system in Djizzak.
The digital twin water model was turned over to Uzsuvtaminot on 21 February 2024. Nobel Systems was also engaged by ADB to improve the water supply management system in Lekhnath using GeoViewer in 2022.