| mid
kent water is investing heavily
in two important areas relating to the commercial
and domestic use of water. A primary objective
of this investment is improved efficiency,
both in the use of water and the operation
of the infrastructure.
On the one hand a free
metering programme is underway, installing
9,000 meters each year to
domestic properties, which will help identify
the true cost of water to users, and encourage
more conservative usage.
This programme is extending
to commercial users of water, with a programme
of new meters to replace ageing and inaccurate
equipment.
On the other hand, mid
kent water is rolling
out the installation of state-of-the art GSM
SMS messaging remote logging equipment. Approximately
500 units will be installed across the company’s
network, providing quasi-real time flow and
pressure data, with real time alarms raised
when flows or pressures reach pre-determined
levels.
 In
the short term this provides vital information
to identify problems in the system, allowing
a more pro-active approach to the system operation.
In the longer term it will allow Mid Kent
Water to take a more strategic approach to
the development of the network to meet increasing
demand and as infrastructure requires replacing
over time.
New communication equipment,
including GSM units are also being installed
on commercial sites to allow logging of water
usage and daily downloads of data.
This information is then
available for both the water company, to allow
increased visibility of daily demand by a
customer, and to the end-user to improve their
understanding of their use of water through
the day.
|
