Tamworth embraces saving water with Taggle Systems

Regional Australia tends to struggle with weather-dependent water supplies. One New South Wales council has teamed up with a digital water meter firm to make better decisions around water use.

Water security represents a critical challenge for communities throughout Australia, particularly in vast inland areas where water availability relies on weather patterns. Extended droughts render these systems susceptible. Digital water metering provides the community with essential data, empowering them to make informed decisions regarding the utilisation of this precious resource.

Tamworth Regional Council is leading the way in addressing the water security challenge. As part of the Tamworth Water Security Project, it has adopted Taggle’s digital water metering technology to deliver water savings. Council is committed to providing long-term water security, sustainability, and resilience and is leveraging technology and strategic planning to meet the needs of its residents now and in the future.

The Tamworth Water Security Project

The Tamworth Water Security Project is a comprehensive initiative designed to provide sustainable water management for Tamworth and the neighbouring Moonbi-Kootingal area. The project aims to identify an optimal mix of infrastructure investments, policy changes and behaviour-driven initiatives to secure water resources over the next 30 years by examining supply and demand solutions.

General Manager at Tamworth Regional Council Paul Bennett has made local government his chosen career after joining Armidale City Council in 1987 — straight out of high school. He has worked at six different councils across New South Wales, holding senior management positions since 2002. Bennett is now leading a large, progressive regional council after joining Tamworth Regional Council in 2010.

“We are completing detailed investigations into supply and demand options – from infrastructure requirements to changes in water allocation and behaviour change opportunities,” Bennett said. “The goal is to identify an affordable, acceptable, and robust portfolio of solutions that will allow us to progressively implement water security measures for the community.

“Central to this effort is adopting digital water metering technology, providing detailed water usage data that informs infrastructure investments, customer engagement, and resource conservation,” he said.

Project outline

The digital water metering rollout across Tamworth Regional Council encompasses over 23,000 Taggle meters, serving all water connections across various towns and localities fed by six water sources. This was made possible by a $6.5 million investment by Council.

A vital project element was delivering the customer portal, MyTRCWater Portal. This portal provides residents and commercial properties with access to their water usage data, allowing them to identify leaks and high-water consumption activities and empowering them to adopt conservation practices.

Connecting all properties

Data must be collected from every meter to effectively manage the water network. Implementing this required overcoming logistical challenges, such as network coverage in difficult terrain, particularly in areas like the Dungowan Valley, where even getting phone reception is challenging.

Dungowan Valley is a long and winding valley over thirty minutes from town. It has large rural properties and farms that often have water leaks. The distance and windy roads pose a health and safety risk when checking the water meters, so connecting these properties was a high priority.

Taggle had an optimal solution for this with its direct-to-satellite transmitters. Taggle uses the Myriota Satellite network to send water consumption data from a meter anywhere in Australia, no matter how remote or challenging the terrain, as long as there is an unobstructed view of the sky.

Rolling out a network would be costly, as many receivers would be required, but direct-to-satellite provides a cost-effective solution. By deploying integrated meters or adding transmitters to existing meters connected via the Taggle Byron Radio Network and direct-to-satellite transmitters, Taggle ensured data accessibility for all Tamworth residents, regardless of geographic constraints.

“Spending significant time on the design and planning phase ensured that we collected consumption data from every meter,” Bennett said. “This thorough approach has paid off, enabling us to achieve full coverage across our diverse and challenging terrain.”

Benefits and early successes

The rollout of digital meters took 18 months and was completed in 2024. Although still in the early stages of operation, the system has already demonstrated many benefits and improved operational efficiencies.

Now that the operations team has visibility into all the leaks across the network, staff can notify customers to have them fixed. Many of these leaks are quite significant. Roughly 150 properties currently have leaks upwards of 100 litres per hour, which can cause costly infrastructure damage for residents and businesses.

Large commercial facilities and schools often have the largest leaks and provide the opportunity to identify significant water losses. Fixing these prevents further wastage and financial losses.

Community engagement and demand management

Through the MyTRCWater Portal, residents can access real-time data about their water usage. This allows them to identify leaks and high-water consumption activities and empowers them to adopt conservation practices. Around 1,800 customers have already signed up for the portal, reflecting strong community interest.

The MyTRCWater Portal delivers monthly water consumption reports, graphs, and leak alerts via email and SMS. After signing up, customers can conveniently monitor their usage each month without needing to log in. This allows for easy identification of high-water usage activities and empowers customers to adjust their behaviours according to the provided data.

While the region is not currently experiencing a drought, MyTRCWater will be a key tool in helping residents reach daily targets set out through drought restriction messaging. This will help Council manage demand. Reducing demand through behaviour changes by 10-15 per cent can have a significant impact when water resources are scarce.

“Tamworth’s residents already have a strong commitment to water conservation, shaped by previous drought experiences,” Bennett said. “The new system enhances this culture by giving individuals greater control and visibility over their water usage.

“Feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, with many residents appreciating the transparency and functionality of the MyTRCWater Portal,” he said.

Operational efficiencies

Access to data has shifted Council’s approach from reactive to proactive water management. Manual meter readings, particularly spot checks during property sales and when customers query their bills, take considerable time. Now, with the data readily available, these checks can be done remotely, resolving any issues in a fraction of the time and improving efficiencies.

Staff now spend far less time manually checking meters on the road and more time resolving issues, optimising infrastructure and engaging with the community.

Billing accuracy and efficiency have also greatly improved by eliminating the risk of human error in the field. In the field, meters are often challenging to read because they are often covered in dirt, hard to see and sometimes hard to find under trees and bushes.

Transforming jobs

The transition to digital metering has required changes in workflows and staff upskilling. Roles within Council have evolved to become more dynamic and collaborative, fostering stronger relationships between teams in areas such as water operations, sustainability, finance, and customer service.

“This shift has made day-to-day work more engaging and varied for our staff, helping to attract and retain talent,” Bennett said. “It’s also encouraged a deeper understanding of water and financial operations across departments.”

Future plans and next steps

Looking ahead, Council intends to build on the success of the digital water metering initiative by enhancing community engagement. The goal is to encourage more residents to register for the MyTRCWater Portal, boosting public involvement in water conservation efforts. Additionally, Council plans to implement District Metering Areas (DMAs). The introduction of DMAs in smaller water supplies has already proven effective in leak detection, and there are plans to extend this strategy to Tamworth’s interconnected system by 2025. Non-revenue water incurs high costs, and DMAs will assist in pinpointing where these losses are most significant, allowing staff to prioritise maintenance in those areas.

Council is also investigating further applications for the water usage data. One such initiative is an ongoing study on the efficiency of evaporative coolers, integrating insights into broader sustainability efforts. To date, 100 residents have received Taggle digital water meters for installation on their coolers, enabling researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Institute for Sustainable Futures to monitor efficiency over time. The study involves servicing the units mid-project to assess the change in water consumption before and after the service. These digital meters will record hourly water consumption specific to the coolers, distinct from household usage. This data allows for a comparison before and after servicing, demonstrating the potential water savings from regular maintenance. With about 8,000 evaporative air conditioner systems installed within the Council area, understanding the savings could mean significant savings for Council, residents and businesses.

Investing in Taggle’s digital water metering technology has marked a significant step toward securing water resources for its communities. By combining technological innovation with strategic planning and community engagement, Council addresses immediate water management challenges and lays the groundwork for long-term sustainability.

As the project continues to evolve, its benefits, reduced water loss, enhanced operational efficiency, and empowered customers will undoubtedly inspire other regions to adopt similar approaches. Through its forward-thinking initiatives, Tamworth is demonstrating how Taggle technology and water consumption data can transform water security in the face of climate variability.

For more information, visit tamworth.nsw.gov.au and taggle.com