Mackay Queensland - First Smart Water Network deployment with Taggle Systems

Introduction to Smart Water Meter Rollout
The Mackay region was experiencing a booming economy and rapid population growth in the mid 2000’s. The effect of this was escalating costs of delivering water and sewerage services and the requirement for capital investment in a new Water Treatment Plant on the horizon. A change was required, as “business as usual” was not sustainable and consumption was rising rapidly. 

A strategy was developed and focused on two areas of change – data collection and customer engagement. Mackay Regional Council partnered with Taggle Systems to develop a smart water network with Automatic Meter Readers (AMR) to be rolled out across the entire region to collect hourly data.

Method 
AMR devices, the MRC-1 and ADC-1, and a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) were developed and installed on every water connection in Mackay. This includes all residences, businesses, schools, sports fields, parks, council buildings and properties.

With access to large volumes of data, it was realised that a software analytical platform was required, hence MiWater was developed by Mackay and Tyeware working together closely with Taggle who has since taken ownership of it. This application allows council to see how much water is being used in real time.

Once the technology was in place, leaks were quickly identified and customers notified. This greatly improved customer engagement and satisfaction with council. 

Mackay then used the information to make informed decisions in how to connect with customers to reduce their water consumption particularly in regards to outdoor water use.

Results
– The new water treatment plant, which in 2010 was slated for 2020, is now, as per the latest long-term financial plan, pushed back to 2032.

– The average duration of a leak reduced from over 150 days to 60 days 

– Average per capita residential consumption is down from around 240 litres per person per day (L/d) to around 210L/d, a reduction of just over 12 per cent.

– Improved customer engagement and satisfaction

– 1,500 leak notifications sent to customers

– The deferment of capital expenditure and the resulting savings in operational expenditure has resulted in a notable reduction in the forward price path of both water and sewer tariffs. The most recent price path shows an average residential consumer in Mackay will pay approximately $400 per annum less for water by 2025.

– With real time water meter data Mackay found they were oversizing many of the meters

Conclusion 
The implementation of smart metering and the associated marketing and engagement strategy for MRC, has resulted in a significant increase in awareness of the importance of water in the region. This has resulted in reduced consumption and has led to a two-way interaction between customers and Council. This interaction can only be beneficial, and the region continues to remain focused and committed to water conservation. 

Original story can be found here https://taggle.com.au/case-study-mackay/