F18W41_Poster-Ver0_EMBEDDED.pdf
Currently, the design of water distribution systems is reliant on approximations of typical demand behaviours for different types of land use. This general approach appears to fail to capture unique behaviours and water use profiles of individual users. As a result, infrastructure is often over-designed and underutilised resulting in inefficient systems. Smart flow meters present an opportunity to increase the efficiency of current and future water distribution systems by better understanding how and when water is consumed. Data from 12 smart flow meters at mains inlet points of the University of Adelaide has been used in a case study to demonstrate the potential application of smart water meters to improve water demands estimation and assist in decision making. A method has been developed to allocate demands to buildings across the system using the measured inlet flows and the floor space of the buildings. These estimates were compared to those predicted by typical water supply codes for the current system. For an isolated network of the current system, water demands calculated using the smart water meters were on average, 105% less than those predicted using traditional code techniques. In addition, a selection of water demand strategies were explored as a means for improving operational efficiency and tested for their feasibility. Further monitoring on a finer scale such as the sub-metering of key buildings may allow for improved estimations of water demand. This could be used to target water management strategies with more precision.