Power and Water Corporation have improved water services for many remote communities around the Northern Territory using Taggle Systems’ smart water meters and business nbn Satellite Service.
Power and Water Corporation provide water to 244,000 citizens in the Northern Territory across five major and 14 minor centres, 72 remote communities and 17 outstations.
With help from Taggle and business satellite coverage from nbn, Power and Water is using smart technology in some of these water-stressed remote communities to gather data for leak detection, demand management and network optimisation.
Smart thinking
These communities are incredibly remote. As such, they are often unable to benefit from technology. Even something most of us take for granted, mobile phone reception, is unavailable. This is where Taggle and business nbn Satellite come in.
Taggle uses its proprietary Taggle Byron Radio technology to collect hourly water data from smart water meters across regional and urban areas. This data is then delivered back to Taggle’s radio receiver to Taggle’s Aqualus IoT Platform. This takes place via the business nbn Satellite Service.
This satellite backhaul has enabled Taggle to service 100 per cent of mainland Australia and surrounding large islands, providing equality of service to Australians across all regions.
Serving the communities
The connected solution provided by Taggle and business nbn Satellite Service is helping Power and Water Corporation deliver services to those who need it most. It also supports innovations in understanding consumer demands. This is helping to ensure the future of the Northern Territory’s water sustainability.
“Taggle’s Smart metering enables us to manage demand and locate water leaks remotely. It has seen a 25 to 50 per cent increase in water efficiency,” said Cail Rayment, Water Demand Coordinator at Power and Water Corporation.
“Our challenge was that some of our most water-stressed remote communities couldn’t benefit from smart water metering services without internet connectivity.”
Data can also be collected from other sources using Taggle technology. That includes water pressure, water and wastewater levels, and weather stations. This data provides valuable insights to inform decision-making across the water lifecycle.
Long-distance data
Reaching remote communities through 3,000 kilometres of water mains, Power and Water’s customers are spread across 1.3 million square kilometres.
“Smart water meters are a critical piece of technology for us,” said Rayment. “Many of our smaller communities can face water scarcity issues, so we need to be able to monitor our systems and improve the sustainability of our infrastructure.”
Flexible data, scalable network
With the business nbn Satellite Service, Taggle found the scalability to suit its needs.
“New sensors and technology are being released quite often. We want to continue to offer customers like Power and Water the ability to measure even more. It was important for us to find a solution that could scale with us as we do. We found that with nbn,” said Steven Cato, Business Development Executive at Taggle.
The Taggle team can manage the radio network or increase the data rate. At the same time, the local Power and Water team adds additional sensors to the network without physically needing to visit any receiver sites.
Securing sustainable water service is crucial for smaller communities in the Northern Territory. Community leaders can be confident that their water supply will support them as their community grows and develops.
Power and Water have already established Taggle sensors and satellite support for 15 remote communities in the Territory. Due to its early success, the service is currently being expanded into at least seven other locations.
Get in touch to learn more about how Taggle has utilised the nbn Business Satellite to deliver services. Visit the business nbn website to learn more about the satellite service, or visit Taggle to learn more about smart water metering.
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