As Austin works to upgrade the city's pipes, Austin Water’s My ATX Water program also offers near-real-time data, detecting and alerting customers to potential leaks.
A digital smart meter initiative is identifying and monitoring leaks in Austin, Texas — and has saved the city over a billion gallons of water since 2021.
Smart Cities Dive reports that Austin, like many large Texas cities, loses over 9 billion gallons per year due to leaks and water main breaks — enough to fill Lake Austin, an audit found.
But the 267,000 wireless smart meters that Austin Water has installed through the My ATX Water program since 2020 have begun to plug the drain.
"Along with alerting users to potential leaks, the smart water system offers daily water-usage reports, water-budgeting tools and water conservation opportunities," SCD reports. "The city is also replacing insufficient water pipes and secured $45 million from the state last year to upgrade its polybutylene pipes. Polybutylene, a material that was popular from the 1960s to the 1980s, becomes brittle over time and is prone to leaks, according to the city."
Read the full story, below.
FULL STORY: Smart meters have saved Austin, Texas, more than a billion of gallons of water, utility says
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