News | August 28, 2012

Panama City, Florida Selects The Sensus AquaSense Smart Water Network For Flow Detection, Customer Service And Zero-Lead Meters

Panama City and AWWA survey respondents prioritize flow measurement detection in smart meters

Panama City, Florida’s 36,000 residents will benefit from smart water network technologies now being installed throughout the city. A long-time Sensus customer, Panama City is upgrading its water distribution system to incorporate the AquaSense™ solution, which includes the Sensus FlexNet™ communications network. The city will also replace nearly 25,000 existing water meters with zero-lead Sensus iPERL™ residential and OMNI™ commercial meters. Panama City is expected to complete its deployment by the end of 2012.

Panama City chose the AquaSense solution after a water audit revealed 20 percent of its water was not accounted for, with its water meters contributing 12-15 percent of that loss. AquaSense implementation will enable better tracking and accounting for this lost water.
 
Water loss reflects a significant concern for utilities across the country. A recent Sensus survey showed flow measurement capability as the most important factor in evaluating a water management system. Results of that survey were gathered at the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) ACE12 event.
 
“The AquaSense portfolio, including the FlexNet utility communications network, smart water meters and software, is known for its flow measurement capabilities, which is a great benefit to Panama City and utilities across the nation,” said Doug McCall, marketing director at Sensus. “Using our Remanent Field Technology, iPERL residential water meters enable greater accuracy, even at low flows.”
 
In addition to reducing the amount of unaccounted for water, Panama City selected AquaSense to improve customer service and operational efficiency and keep up with regulatory requirements by installing zero-lead water meters.
 
“We wanted efficiency, data accountability and customer credibility,” said Ron Morgan, utilities director at Panama City. “Sensus is out front on technologies and solutions to achieve all of our goals. The power of Sensus technologies also enabled us to save money by only requiring two base stations to send and receive meter information.”
 
As a current Sensus customer, Panama City was also able to save the time of changing out the entire system since its system was already standardized for Sensus.
 
Panama City also considered the pending zero-lead federal regulatory requirements that take effect in January 2014. For this reason, Panama City chose zero-lead Sensus iPERL meters. iPERL meters also enable distinct technological advancements for Panama City such as increased reliability due to no moving parts, greater sensitivity to flow changes for unprecedented low-flow measurement and decreased susceptibility to temperature impacts. The iPERL guarantees advanced lifetime accuracy and offers regulatory compliance, two-way communications and a sophisticated suite of alarms.
 
About Sensus
Sensus is a leading utility infrastructure company offering smart meters, communication systems, software and services for the electric, gas, and water industries. Sensus technology helps utilities drive operational efficiency and customer engagement with applications that include advanced meter reading, data acquisition, demand response, distribution automation, home area networking and outdoor lighting control. Customers worldwide trust the innovation, quality and reliability of Sensus solutions for the intelligent use and conservation of energy and water. Learn more at www.sensus.com.

Source: Sensus