Water Industry Slow To Embrace Data, Report Shows

Water industry pros have to make better use of data, according to a new report by consultants at Black & Veatch.

“Water and wastewater systems are increasingly outfitted with data-producing instruments, but that information is too often siloed, or buried and out of sight like much of the infrastructure itself. What if water industry leaders actively embraced not just collecting data from their assets, but uniting the data with information from adjacent yet dependent systems? What if we enabled operators to rapidly process intelligent sensor data at the device level and take immediate action if warranted?” said the report, a survey of water industry stakeholders released annually.

“Unfortunately, far too much data remains captive within bucketed systems that don’t communicate,” the report noted.

The analysts added that “far too many providers are sitting out data’s impact on their systems.”

Last year’s report noted that collaborations between industry and municipalities to bring more smart infrastructure to American cities are sometimes missing the voice of water utilities.

“Proactive utilities, for their part, benefit from pushing for smart city programs in ways that align with their strategic goals and investment plans. Water utilities, however, are lagging in the planning process, and risk losing their seat at the table with electric and gas utility peer companies as the smart city programs advance,” the report said.

So, why has the water industry been slow to embrace smart technology and data?

Security is one reason, the new report said. “Some utilities are unwilling to embrace cloud computing — where analytics can really flex its muscle by quickly collating, processing and presenting massive amounts of data — because of security concerns,” the report said.

A lack of trust in automated processes is another reason. “Managers may also fear that data analytics and other automation technology could ultimately reduce the labor force and at least partly remove human intuitive decision-making from the operational equation,” the report said.

And cost, of course, is another concern.

“[The cost of installing a smart meter is a] heavy lift no matter what the size of the utility,” George Hawkins, DC Water’s chief executive officer and general manager, told Bloomberg BNA in a recent report.

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Asset Management Solutions Center.