This paper reviews the drivers, development and global deployment of intelligent water metering in the urban context. Recognising that intelligent metering (or smart metering) has the potential to revolutionise customer engagement and management of urban water by utilities, this paper provides a summary of the knowledge-base for researchers and industry practitioners to ensure that the technology fosters sustainable urban water management. To date, roll-outs of intelligent metering have been driven by the desire for increased data regarding time of use and end-use (such as use by shower, toilet, garden, etc.) as well as by the ability of the technology to reduce labour costs for meter reading. Technology development in the water sector generally lags that seen in the electricity sector. In the coming decade, the deployment of intelligent water metering will transition from being predominantly "pilot or demonstration scale" with the occasional city-wide roll-out, to broader mainstream implementation. This means that issues which have hitherto received little focus must now be addressed, namely: the role of real-time data in customer engagement and demand management; data ownership, sharing and privacy; technical data management and infrastructure security, utility workforce skills; and costs and benefits of implementation.
Climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events such as droughts, fl oods and heat waves, as well as more gradual changes in temperature and precipitation. The city of Cape Town (South Africa) is at risk from projected climate-induced warming and changes in rainfall variability. This makes resource management and infrastructure planning more challenging and increases the urgency of the need to adapt city-level operations to both current climate variability and future climate change. To date, however, the main focus of adaptation planning has been at the national level, and has not adequately addressed municipal-scale adaptation. This paper presents and discusses an overarching framework that would facilitate the development of a Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP). The example of the city of Cape Town illustrates some of the sectorlevel assessments and potential climate threats, as well as resource mobilization issues that need to be addressed during the development and implementation of a MAP. In conclusion, a number of barriers to developing a MAP are discussed.
Water resources, and in particular run-off, are significantly affected by climate variability. At present, there are few examples of how the water management sector integrates information about changing intra-annual climate conditions in a systematic manner in developing countries. This paper, using the case study of Cape Town in the Western Cape, South Africa, identifies processes and products to facilitate increased uptake of seasonal climate forecasts among water resource managers. Results suggest that existing seasonal forecasts do not focus enough on specific users' needs. In order to increase uptake, forecasts need to include information on the likely impact of precipitation variability on runoff and water availability. More opportunities are also needed for those with climate knowledge to interact with water resource managers, particularly in the developing country context where municipal managers' capacity is strained. Although there are challenges that need to be overcome in using probabilistic climate information, seasonal forecast information tailored to the needs of water resource planners has the potential to support annual planning and is therefore a means of adapting to climate change.
Water conservation in urban centres is an ongoing challenge in which new technologies can play an important role. Smart water metering in conjunction with end-use analysis enables the collection of more detailed information on household water consumption than was previously possible. This presents a new and currently underexplored opportunity to promote more efficient water use via the provision of detailed customised water-use information to householders. Among the variety of possible approaches, is the option of paper-based reports containing a highly detailed 'snapshot' of household water use. This paper describes a mixed methods study in which customised paper-based 'Home Water Updates' were provided to a group of households in Australia to explore the idea of providing detailed feedback, including detailed end-use consumption information on uses of water within the home. The methods used within this research are described in detail to disseminate experience in this relatively new area of research. Analysis of the postintervention householder evaluation survey showed the provision of detailed water-use information via the Home Water Updates appealed to the vast majority of householders; and further resulted in changed behaviours (e.g. shorter showers and full washing machine loads) and installations of new infrastructure. These research findings suggest a potential role for customised household water and end-use information via smart metering. However, more work is required to optimise approaches to enable a significant contribution towards more sustainable urban water management.
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