Make water consumption visible.
Keep each meter’s history distinct so changes in consumption can be understood in context. That provides a basis for investigating waste and making informed water-conservation decisions.
Water consumption / Leak monitoring
Estate water consumption and leak monitoring.
Making water consumption visible to support conservation and help identify potential leaks along ageing estate pipework, including runs across third-party land.
The starting question
How do you spot a potential leak when the pipework is spread across an estate?
Long runs of ageing water infrastructure can be difficult to keep track of, particularly where sections cross third-party land. A leak may develop out of sight, and tracing its source can mean investigating pipework across a wide area. The brief was to make water use more visible and provide a better starting point for recognising and investigating potential losses.
Alex’s role
Connecting the work.
The project connects distributed water meters through a private LoRaWAN network to a shared monitoring view. Each meter retains its own readings and history, bringing information from separate points on the estate into one place. The purpose is practical: understand consumption, recognise unusual demand and help focus investigation before an unseen loss continues unnoticed.
Decisions and lessons
Where the connections matter.
Look for signs of potential losses.
Unexpected or persistent consumption can provide a reason to investigate. A history of readings helps distinguish a change in use from a pattern that could indicate a leak.
Plan around the pipework and access.
Long routes, ageing infrastructure and sections crossing third-party land make monitoring locations and access for investigation part of the same brief. A private long-range network brings distributed readings together without requiring a separate internet connection at each meter.
What this means for you
Visibility where the infrastructure is hardest to see.
The value is in protecting a useful resource and understanding the infrastructure that carries it. A private LoRaWAN network connects remote readings to a local view of consumption, helping an estate owner recognise potential losses and decide where attention is needed.
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