Official Informal Briefing Minutes

Tuesday, July 17, 2018 - 10:30 AM Present: Charlotte J. Nash, Jace Brooks, Lynette Howard, Tommy Hunter

Absent: John Heard

1. Water Resources Smart Cities Initiative Update

Tyler Richards, Charlie Roberts, and Steve Seachrist with the Department of Water Resources provided an update of the Smart Cities Pilot Program. No Official Action Taken.

Smart Cities Update

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Agenda

Project Review

What did we think we would learn?

What we did learn

Next Steps

Project Review

Global Cities Team Challenge

• Improve services • Promote economic growth • Enhance the quality of life

Global initiative led by National Institute of Standards & Technology

The Internet of Things (IoT)

Current • Manually read monthly

Others • The City of Lawrenceville

drives and scans meters monthly

Pilot • meters are automatically read

with manual reads to confirm data

Meters

Old

New

Gwinnett County: Industry Leader

Gwinnett County was selected because of reputation as a leader in the water and wastewater industry

Partnerships

Partnerships with: CH2M (now JACOBS), AT&T, and Qualcomm

What we planned to do

This project takes three traditionally separate activities and combines them into a single system that provides “reliable and actionable” information.

Measuring water use in system

Measuring water use in individual

customers Monitoring system

pressure

Pilot Area

Pilot Area

Pilot Area: • 500 Homes • Various types of pipe • Proximity

Equipment Installation

Smart Meter Install Closed Meter Box

Equipment Installation

Fire Hydrant Pressure Monitor

District Meter Install

Smart Cities and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

What did we think we would learn?

What did we think we would learn?

How the application of a “Smart City” would help with:

Communication Equipment Performance Leak Detection

What did we learn?

Communication

Communication - Before

Installation of meters

Public meeting • Advertising included flyers

and a webpage • 12-15 attendees

Communication - During

Communication to the customer • Calls • In person visits

Communication with the meters • Smart Cities Dashboard

Smart City Dashboard

Equipment Performance

Smart Meters

Reliability • Meter data is generally reliable and

accessible

Accuracy • Ultrasonic meters are more

accurate at low flows • Current meters fall off below 0.25

gallons per minute

Meter Security

• Tamper alerts • Backflow alerts

All customer meters have

Data Security

What data is actually transferred from a meter? • Consumption data and coded premise i.d. number • No personal information is transferred

Can someone else block meters and cause an issue for GC getting the data? • In theory, yes, but meters can be manually read also

Leak Detection

Customer value

Customer leak 21 customer success stories

Gwinnett County System Water loss

Customer Consumption Water in System

Small leaks have a big impact!

Hydrant leak repaired

Loss reduced by more than half

Fire hydrant flushed

Leaks Summary

14% of accounts had low continuous flow

Leaks in County system are detected easily

Water leaks and unusual usage are quickly detected

Leaks affecting the County

Start a leak education program in the pilot area • Common leak locations • Harder-to-find leaks • Home plumbing PRV education

Communication plan for smart meters and leaks

Leak Education Program

Pressure Reduction

Reduction in Losses & Consumption

After pressure reduction of 20 psi:

System losses were reduced by 7.5%

Customer usage was reduced by 8.5%

Leaks on the Gwinnett Side

100,000 gallons average

consumed per day in pilot area

5,000

Gallons lost per

day (5%)

375 Gallons

saved with Pressure reduction per day

What are we doing?

Where are the current projects?

What is our goal?

Pressure Management Program

Pilot Project Benefits

Conserving Water • System Leaks • Customer Leaks

Environmental Stewardship

Saving Money

Next Steps

Business Case

Perform a business case evaluation for smart meters • Comprehensive estimated cost/benefit to

the County • The best meter technology for the

County’s needs

Continuing the pilot area

Test leak detection

technologies Test battery

life Pilot for leak

education Unknown unknowns

Future Partners

WRF • Project to add “smart PRV” technology • Allows pressure reductions at night • Bypasses if large demand occurs (fire, main

break, etc.)

EPA • Interested in remote water quality sensors • Measures several parameters • Proper disinfection and indication of

tampering

Questions?