Goldstuck on Gadgets
Internet of Things can make Water Week real
The objectives of Water Week have always been about propaganda rather than reality, but IoT can change this, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK
It is not only a South African challenge. Even the world’s most powerful economy wrestles with the issue. In a 2017 study, the World Resources Institute (WRI) found that 22-billion litres of treated water were lost per day in the USA due to leaky pipes.
You don’t have to imagine how much worse it is in South Africa: the CSIR has done it for you. It reported in 2018 that as much of a third of the country’s water supply is lost due to leakage and aging infrastructure.
“Also, South Africa continues to deal with a dire energy shortage which means water infrastructure must operate in an optimised and sustainable manner,” says Jacques Squire, water and wastewater segment for Southern Africa at Schneider Electric.
“Financially strained local municipalities must also heavily invest in their water infrastructure to upgrade and maintain it, unfortunately, in some instances, very little or no maintenance is done on plant and water networks.”
Use of technology, he says, must be intentional and form part of a cohesive system of processes.
“For example, installing a new automation system is a good place to start but must, for example, be implemented in tandem with effective processes, designed to measure and improve operational value in real time.”
Such solutions may mean that future Water Months will be able to focus as much on success stories as on national disgrace. And make for school projects that are truly inspiring.
* Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee
