EMR selected by Irish Water to upgrade telemetry networks in €1m deal
SCADA network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions has announced it has been selected by Irish Water to upgrade its telemetry networks in Waterford and Leitrim, in a deal valued in excess of €1m.
The upgrade plays a significant role in the battle against ‘unaccounted for water’, giving Irish Water greater monitoring capability and control over the water distribution network in those counties. Increased automation and more granular visibility into water flows, pressure and quality provides early warning alerts to network bursts and improves the quality of supply for customers.
Commenting on the deal, Mark Quinn, managing director with EMR Integrated Solutions said:
“This capital investment project supports Irish Water’s ongoing efforts to streamline water distribution networks in the county, and having greater control over assets in the field allows them to quickly identify and react to adverse events as they occur. Minimising network leakage is a key objective and the ability to remotely measure and monitor flows plays a critical role in helping Irish Water to achieve that.”
The Waterford network upgrade involved consolidating the telemetry network across the city and county, following the merger of both councils in 2014. Telemetry Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) and data loggers were deployed at over 200 logger sites* to monitor water flow and pressure on the pipe network, providing early warning alerts to network bursts.
The system also enables data acquisition from major water assets such as reservoirs and pumping stations and for automated remote control of these sites from the central SCADA system.
In Leitrim, the EMR team installed telemetry RTUs and GPRS data loggers together with the associated flow and pressure monitoring instrumentation at over 90 sites**, tying them back to the centralised SCADA system in Carrick-on-Shannon. This system augmented the extensive SCADA and telemetry network previously installed by EMR in the major water treatment plants and water distribution assets throughout the county.
“We build our telemetry networks based on principles of resiliency, reliability and flexibility,” explains Mr Quinn.
“Where we have onsite telemetry, Irish Water can monitor and control the water network remotely, increasing operational efficiencies, reducing waste and providing faster response times to adverse events as they occur.
“Utility providers are increasingly adopting the concept of smart networks and EMR is at the forefront of designing and deploying the technology to help them plan for the future,” he said.
EMR has a strong track record in the water utility industry. The company has already performed two major network upgrades for Northern Ireland Water valued at well over €1m and last year it announced its entrance to the UK market.
