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Advanced technology enable real-time water monitoring in Latrobe Valley and Bungaree

Southern Rural Water is upgrading metres in southern Victoria, including the Latrobe Valley and Bungaree areas, to improve water management, efficiency, and reliability. Automation technology will benefit customers and reduce field visits.

By news@gippsland - 18th May 2023 - Back to News

We're upgrading metres that measure groundwater and river water use to support better outcomes for our customers, including how entitlements can be managed. New technology is enabling monitoring in near-real time to support more effective and efficient water use. So far, we've connected 2,158 automated metre reading devices across southern Victoria. Next up we're preparing to install devices in the Latrobe Valley, under a two-year plan to roll out automation technology to a remaining 1,700 metres.

Installation of automated metre reading enhances on-farm efficiency by providing daily usage data to customers for effective water management

Initiating automation in the Latrobe

In the coming months we'll also be upgrading metres in the Bungaree area, near Ballarat, to ensure reliability and efficiency for years to come. Metres are required to measure water use and track against the approved entitlement - the amount a property is entitled to take. This ensures the equitable and efficient management of Victorian water resources under the Water Act 1989.

In the Latrobe Valley, we're installing a radio network system to activate automated reading of around 500 groundwater and river metres. Automated metre reading can help improve on-farm efficiency, as usage data is collected daily and available on request for customers to manage their water. Program Manager Metering Modernisation, Terry Clapham, said automation also reduces the need for Southern Rural Water field officers to visit properties to read bore and surface water metres. "This helps protect biosecurity on farms and allows extra time for our field staff to address customer queries," Terry said.

Metering action plan updates

Cross-industry collaboration is enabling Southern Rural Water to install the radio hardware on existing Gippsland Water towers. "We're excited to get these works underway," Terry said. "Once the network is live, field officers will begin installing devices on metres around the Moe, Neerim and Warragul area."

The automation devices will provide more detailed data, providing a clearer picture of water usage. "This helps Southern Rural Water to make more informed operational decisions in terms of water resource management to benefit users and the local environment."

Works are currently also being carried out in and around the LaTrobe River, Mitchell River, Sale, Rosedale, Yarram, Giffard and Denison. "We'll continue to provide broader metering action plan updates in our newsletter and website, as well as engaging directly with customers," Terry said.

Boosting reliability and accuracy

In Bungaree, we'll be upgrading 162 existing metres to 'pattern approved' metres, which meet current Australian standards. The new metres will be reliable for years to come and enable future capability to access water usage online, such as from a laptop or phone.

This upgrade is consistent with Southern Rural Water's metering action plan, which will see 578 metres replaced by the end of June 2023. In the next five years, we plan to replace a further 1,200 metres with pattern approved metres. Bungaree has been identified as a priority area, based on usage and to ensure water resources are protected.

Pictures from Wikipedia website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com