Byron Shire pilots smart water meters

Byron Shire Council has appointed WaterGroup to deliver about 400 smart water meters to help optimise water management in the region. The trial project will see installation of the devices on residential and commercial properties in east Mullumbimby and selected bulk recycled water clients in Byron Bay.

To accommodate the needs of residential and commercial clients, WaterGroup will supply two models of smart water meter — both are designed to monitor water consumption through half-hourly readings of average flows and usage data.

Byron Shire Council Project Manager Andrew Swan said WaterGroup has a proven record with smart water metering, leak detection and water efficiency solutions and has worked extensively with other local government and major water utilities.

“This trial will allow Council to test the smart water meter technology for a potential Shire-wide rollout in the future,” he said.

“The smart water meters will help us understand where our water is going and, similar to a burglar alarm, they’ll alert us to leaks that are essentially stealing water from our community’s natural resources.

“The installation will be a simple and quick process with little impact on Council’s infrastructure.”

The first installations have commenced on bulk water recycled water meters in Byron Bay, with the east Mullumbimby area scheduled for October to mid-November 2020. It is expected that 80% of the installations for the pilot will be completed by December 2020.

The disruption to residents and business owners is expected to be minimal, with the installation to each home and business expected to take less than 30 min.