Image
C edit:
Wikipedia
Au o a,
Colo ado,
is
usi g
sma t
wate
mete s
to
e fo ce
d ought
ules
as
the
city
faces
seve e
wate
sho tages.
The
mete s
t ack
wate
use
th oughout
the
day.
This
allows
Au o a
Wate ,
the
city’s
mu icipal
utility
depa tme t,
to
ide tify
law s
bei g
wate ed
outside
the
pe mitted
schedule.U de
the
city’s
cu e t
Stage
1
d ought
est ictio s,
g ass
ca
be
wate ed
o ly
two
days
a
week
a d
ot
betwee
10am
a d
6pm.
A
thi d
wate i g
day
ca
the efo e
sta d
out
i
the
data
a d
lead
to
a
wa i g
o
fi e.
The
app oach
gives
the
city
a
way
to
mo ito
thousa ds
of
p ope ties
without
elyi g
e ti ely
o
eighbou s
to
epo t
violatio s.
It
also
shows
how
wate
co se vatio
is
becomi g
mo e
closely
li ked
with
digital
tech ology,
as
Au o a
t ies
to
educe
outdoo
wate
use
while
p otecti g
ese voi s
that
a e
o ly
about
half
full
du i g
a
pa ticula ly
d y
yea
ac oss
Au o a.
Why
has
Au o a
tu ed
to
sma t
wate
mete s
Au o a
is
deali g
with
a
se ious
wate
sho tage.
Acco di g
to
the
‘City
of
Au o a’s
d ought
i fo matio ,’
the
city
is
cu e tly
i
Stage
1
d ought,
with
ese voi s
o ly
about
half
full.
The
city
says
etu i g
those
supplies
to
sustai able
levels
could
take
seve al
wet
wi te s.
As
pa t
of
its
espo se,
Au o a
Wate
is
aski g
eside ts
to
educe
outdoo
wate
use
by
20%.That
has
made
law
wate i g
a
pa ticula
focus.
U de
the
cu e t
est ictio s,
g ass
ca
be
wate ed
o ly
two
days
each
week.
Wate i g
is
also
p ohibited
betwee
10am
a d
6pm,
while
othe
measu es
cove
issues
such
as
i igatio
leaks,
wate
u i g
o to
st eets
a d
u est icted
hose
use.
The
ules
would
be
difficult
to
e fo ce
ma ually
ac oss
a
city
of
hu d eds
of
thousa ds
of
eside ts.
Sma t
mete s
give
Au o a
Wate
a othe
optio
of
allowi g
the
utility
to
see
whe
wate
is
bei g
used
a d
spot
patte s
that
may
i dicate
i igatio .
Sma t
Met e.
Image
C edit:
EVB
E e gy
Ltd/Wikipedia
How
do
the
sma t
mete s
detect
law
wate i g
The
system
is
pa t
of
Au o a’s
Adva ced
Mete i g
I f ast uctu e,
o
AMI.
Acco di g
to
the
‘City
of
Au o a’s
Adva ced
Mete i g
I f ast uctu e,’
the
mete s
eco d
wate
flow
at
egula
i te vals
a d
se d
eadi gs
to
Au o a
Wate
usi g
a
mobile
pho e
sig al.
The
system
p ovides
the
utility
with
a
much
clea e
pictu e
of
how
much
wate
is
bei g
used
a d
whe .
The
Colo ado
Su
epo ted
that
Au o a’s
mete s
p ovide
updates
eve y
15
mi utes.
That
level
of
detail
mea s
a
sudde
i c ease
i
wate
use
ca
eveal
whe
a
i igatio
system
has
switched
o .If
the
same
p ope ty
wate s
its
law
fo
a
thi d
day
i
a
week,
the
patte
ca
be
picked
up
by
the
system.
Au o a
Wate
ca
the
eview
the
i fo matio
a d
issue
a
wa i g
o
fi e
whe e
a
violatio
is
co fi med.
The
Colo ado
Su
epo ted
that
the
city
had
se t
mo e
tha
2,500
wa i g
lette s
a d
issued
234
fi es.
Te
of
the
la gest
fi es,
wo th
$2,000
each,
we t
to
busi esses
a d
la ge
i igatio
use s.
Th ee
eside tial
custome s
had
eceived
a
seco d
$250
fi e,
while
o e
had
eached
a
thi d
fi e
at
the
time
of
the
epo t.
What
happe s
whe
a
eside t
b eaks
the
wate i g
ules
As
epo ted
by
the
Colo ado
Su ,
the
sma t
mete s
ale t
Au o a
Wate
to
possible
violatio s.
Wate
officials
the
co fi m
the
use
befo e
se di g
a
wa i g
o
fi e.
This
disti ctio
matte s
because
i c eased
wate
use
ca
have
diffe e t
causes,
i cludi g
leaks
o
othe
household
activity.
Au o a
Wate
officials
said
that
the
data
ca
p ovide
a
clea
eco d
of
i igatio .
I
some
cases,
eside ts
who
i itially
disputed
a
wa i g
we e
show
the
usage
i fo matio
a d
ca
see
why
the
city
ide tified
i igatio
at
thei
p ope ty.Fo
eside ts,
the
same
tech ology
ca
also
be
useful.
The
City
of
Au o a
says
custome s
ca
view
thei
ow
wate -use
i fo matio
th ough
a
o li e
po tal.
They
ca
mo ito
usage,
look
fo
ways
to
co se ve
a d
set
ale ts
fo
possible
leaks.
That
mea s
the
mete s
a e
ot
desig ed
o ly
as
a
e fo ceme t
tool.
They
ca
also
help
households
fi d
a
leaki g
pipe
o
i igatio
p oblem
befo e
it
causes
sig ifica t
damage.
Au o a
say
the
tech ology
matte s
du i g
d ought
The
scale
of
the
cu e t
d ought
helps
explai
why
the
city
is
elyi g
o
detailed
wate -use
i fo matio .
The
‘City
of
Au o a’s
d ought
page’
says
Colo ado
is
atu ally
p o e
to
d ought
a d
eceives
elatively
little
p ecipitatio .
Du i g
sho tages,
the
available
wate
supply
has
to
be
p io itised
fo
esse tial
eeds
such
as
life,
health
a d
safety.
Au o a’s
d ought
pla
the efo e
focuses
eductio s
mai ly
o
outdoo
wate
use.The
Colo ado
Su
epo ted
that
Au o a’s
400,000
eside ts
we e
usi g
27%
less
law
wate
tha
i
2025,
while
combi ed
i doo
a d
outdoo
use
had
falle
by
9%.
The
city’s
ese voi
system,
howeve ,
was
o ly
49%
full
whe
it
should
have
bee
above
80%.
Those
figu es
show
why
eve
o di a y
household
decisio s,
such
as
wate i g
a
law
fo
a
ext a
day,
have
become
impo ta t
to
the
city’s
wate
st ategy.
Au o a
Mu icipal
Ce t e.
Image
C edit:
Ke
Lu d/
Wikipedia
Does
the
system
aise
p ivacy
co ce s
The
use
of
detailed
household
wate
data
also
aises
questio s
about
p ivacy.
The
p ivacy
g oups
have
p eviously
aised
co ce s
about
sma t
household
devices,
i cludi g
wate
a d
elect icity
mete s.
Detailed
usage
patte s
ca
pote tially
eveal
i fo matio
about
whe
people
a e
at
home
a d
what
they
a e
doi g.Au o a
Wate
has
p ese ted
the
mete s
diffe e tly.
A
city
official
compa ed
the
tech ology
to
a
pe so al
fit ess
t acke ,
a gui g
that
the
i fo matio
ca
help
people
ecog ise
patte s
a d
cha ge
thei
habits.
The
city
also
poi ts
out
that
eside ts
ca
access
thei
ow
wate -use
data.
The
esult
is
a
oticeable
cha ge
i
how
law
wate i g
is
t eated.
