Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) plans to modernise water distribution in the city with the application of smart valves and meters technology. In this regard, a review meeting was held with the IT and revenue officials on Saturday, July 19.
Officials informed that out of the 15,000 small and large valves in the board’s drinking water distribution system, only 35 percent are frequently operated. To this, the managing director Ashok Reddy proposed automating 1000 valves experimentally and asked them to study the plan’s feasibility.
He also recommended installing smart meters at reservoir outlets and areas with bulk connections to account for every drop supplied.
Additionally, the MD asked for a control room to be established at the head office for the operation, control, and monitoring of valves. He also asked for a unified system to be put in place to monitor the functioning of the smart meters, the quantity and quality of water being supplied and billing information for consumers.
During the meeting, officials also brought up the fact that operating the supply of valves located on roads puts the linemen at risk of road accidents. To prevent any untoward incidents, an automatic valve operation system was experimentally implemented in Sanath Nagar, achieving success.
With the help of this smart valve technology, valves can be operated through an app, eliminating the need for linemen to physically visit the field, said the water board officials.
They said that the smart valves can be operated remotely using the internet, and in addition to opening and closing the valves, they also provide information on the flow of water, the quality and the chlorine levels in water.
Adding to this, the valves run entirely on solar energy, and with battery backups, they face no power-related problems during maintenance.
