Rural water and wastewater infrastructure has been around since the late 1950s and is in dire need of attention. Municipalities that rely on this infrastructure often face budget constraints, meaning they don’t fix problems or replace structures until disaster strikes. This model has proven to be very expensive.
Today, municipalities deploy “intelligent” technologies that leverage the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Placing sensors at critical points in the distribution network to deliver real-time data to centralized analytics systems optimizes efficiency and identifies problems before they cause an outage.
Using a solid IIoT can help alleviate many of the pressures currently plaguing communities dealing with rural water and wastewater issues. Check out Rugged Telemetry’s guide on optimizing your area’s water infrastructure.
What are Rural Water & Wastewater?
If you do not live in a densely urban setting, there is a good chance the water you use in your home operates through a rural water system. The people who run these rural water systems are public servants who have a significant amount of power regarding the health and safety of the communities they serve.
Wastewater is the water that has been touched or tainted by humans or industry. The water that humans flush or drain becomes wastewater, and some of that water can be hazardous if not properly treated.
Before wastewater can be filtered back into well systems and become safe rural water, it must undergo a treatment process. Water servants must oversee this process with care and concern for the people of the surrounding area. Without completing the necessary procedure, wastewater lives up to its name and can become an environmental hazard.
Industrial Internet of Things
A typical Internet of Things (IoT) is the communication process that binds your devices to each other and analyzes the data they share. The most crucial difference between a standard IoT network and an IIoT is the amount of data collected. An IIoT setup can allow for even more precise results in whatever you are trying to monitor.
In the context of rural water and wastewater utilities, you can find easy access to all of the necessary information regarding your water supply based on the data compiled by your IIoT system. Leaders in the rural water and wastewater industry can quickly track the status of the water they oversee, allowing them to make on-the-fly changes in the case of an issue.
Using a solid IIoT can help professionals monitor water quality and abundance, sparing workers the added duty of sending water samples to a lab. Instead, an IIoT infrastructure will utilize real-time monitoring systems to capture changes in the water as they are happening. They also deploy real-time countermeasures that save money while keeping water safe.
Rugged Telemetry Can Help
Rugged Telemetry has been working to build and deploy water telemetry and rural water solutions that can help keep your community stocked and safe. We start with the distribution infrastructure that controls the pumps, valves, and single and multi-tanks and later deploy edge intelligence and sensors to monitor water systems and operate in real-time.
We use the latest hybrid communications to provide analytics in the cloud that delivers predictive maintenance schedules, leak detection, and usage patterns.
