Qatium gives us access to the kind of streamlined digital solutions usually only available to Australia’s largest utilities.”
—Gerard Simms, Manager of Information and Operational Technologies at Leeton Shire Council
Leeton Shire is a local government area in the agricultural Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. With 135,000 hectares of irrigated crops, the region is home to citrus, rice, cotton, grape, and walnut and wheat farming.
The Leeton Shire Council serves a population of around 11,000 residents across towns and villages, and has over 170 km of water mains to oversee. Although they already had some digital technologies in place, such as SCADA, GIS and AMI, they lacked hydraulic modeling capabilities and expertise — which is why they turned to Qatium’s open and secure water management platform.
The search for a digital twin
The Leeton Shire Council wanted to increase their autonomy and decision-making abilities, especially for day-to-day operational and maintenance purposes. They wanted more visibility into how their network was behaving instead of relying on trial and error through manual field checks.
They knew they needed to implement a digital twin because they wanted a user-friendly interface that could simulate system changes virtually before implementing them in real-time. In particular, they wanted a system that could simulate moving zone boundaries, closing/opening system valves, planning flushing operations, and testing the fire fighting capacities of hydrants.
This search for an affordable digital solution that could help them apply actionable insights is what led them to Qatium.
Qatium is a no-brainer. The cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the huge efficiency boost we get.”
—Gerard Simms, Manager of Information and Operational Technologies at Leeton Shire Council
An affordable, seamless solution
A common misconception is that digital twins are so costly, they’re only available to the largest of water utilities. However, Leeton Shire Council found Qatium — an affordable and open web-based platform that offers operational modeling and live data connectivity with a freemium option. What’s more, Qatium was able to integrate seamlessly with Leeton Shire’s existing smart meter implementation system, Taggle Systems. Together with Taggle Systems, Leeton Shire Council used Qatium to automate the creation and validation of a model that served as the foundation for the digital twin.
Project implementation and benefits
Through a proof of concept using a looped historical data feed to mimic live data entering the system, Qatium began integrating Leeton Shire’s live data. Soon thereafter, SCADA, AMI, and pressure and flow meter data were feeding the digital twin, updating at 15 minute intervals.
Leeton Shire began gaining real-time insights into tank levels, pump settings, flows, and pressures through Qatium’s network visualizations. This reliable digital twin enables assessment of fire flow capacity and other important activities such as:
-Water main shutdowns: Leeton Shire has a number of inoperable valves. Previously, the field crew spent a lot of time searching for an operable valve. With Qatium, they can isolate valves more easily to identify issues.
-Flushing: to renew stale water in pipes, Leeton Shire now knows how much water they need to flush out, and for how long.
-Understanding the impact of a new residential development: Leeton Shire Council can simulate the addition of a new development, consisting of 200 houses, and understand its impact on the network.
-Testing hydrants: using Qatium as a digital twin, Leeton Shire can run simulations to test the emergency capacity of fire hydrants.
What’s more, by leveraging their digital twin, Leeton Shire Council gained valuable insights into network resilience, identified potential bottlenecks, and tested alternative emergency responses. It also enabled the exploration of leak detection methods and infrastructure failure modeling, enhancing operational efficiency and asset management practices.
An affordable insights tool at your fingertips
Not only was Qatium an affordable solution in terms of financial costs, but through its seamless integration with Taggle Systems, it was also a low-cost solution in terms of time and human resources.
Throughout the project, key lessons were learned regarding the complexities of integrating operational technologies and the importance of having clearly defined processes for operators to use a tool like Qatium. Moving forward, Leeton Shire plans to enhance their digital twin further by integrating with other platforms, such as customer management systems, to improve customer interactions and service delivery. Overall, they are pleased with the experience and are excited to have a robust decision-making tool at their fingertips.
Want to learn more? Watch the SWAN–Qatium Partner Webinar: Smarter Water, Faster Decisions at Leeton Shire, Australia and visit https://swan-forum.com/publications/swan-qatium-partner-webinar/
Qatium: a low-barrier entry point for small-scale water utilities
Digital twins are no longer out of reach, no matter your size or budget. Building a network model is easy, and there are no modeling skills required. You can explore your water network in a map view, satellite view, or synoptic view — or go deeper with a granular view of system pressure or water flow.
Are you a water utility seeking a cost-effective solution to enhance your network’s efficiency and service levels? Explore Qatium’s water management platform to seamlessly create a digital twin, better understand your system’s needs, and improve services to your community.
