Bratislava Water Company (BVS), Slovakia, has successfully implemented a pilot project digitizing the water distribution network with battery-operated IoT sensors and software for data visualisation.
The need for reliable information about network conditions
For some gate valve installations, it is important to ensure reliable information about valve open/close positions. That can be for valves at DMA inlets or other critical points in the supply network. Traditionally, valve status has been determined by manual check-ups which are, however, both costly and time-consuming.
Also, pressure and flow measurements, e.g. at DMA inlets, pressure reducing valves and other critical points in the network, are important for optimal performance and management of the supply network.
These challenges are effectively addressed by AVK battery-operated IoT sensors collecting data directly from the network and visualise this in AVK Smart Water’s dedicated software platform VIDI Cloud.
BVS initiates digitization with AVK Smart Water sensors
A three-month pilot project has kicked off the journey of digitizing the BVS supply network with AVK Smart Water battery-operated wireless IoT sensors. The project includes valve open/close position indicators, pressure and flow sensors as well as software enabling visualisation and analysis of data.
Position indicators were installed on selected gate valves of which it is of particular interest to know the exact valve open/close position. BVS also wanted to test a new solution for pressure and flow measurements, and sensors for this purpose were installed in a designated well.
Setup of VIDI software and subscriptions for the pilot project period has been taken care of by AVK in order for BVS to easily get started utilizing their data.
Moving forward with digitizing the supply network
It has been a pleasure to collaborate with BVS on providing reliable, efficient and cost-effective solutions for digitalisation of their distribution network, and we are looking forward to being part of their continuous digital improvements.
BVS is evaluating performance of pressure and flow sensors for installation in a wider area of their supply network. It has already been decided to continue the use of VIDI Positioners at DMA inlets and other critical points in the network, and they will increase the number of Positioners significantly to get real-time data on open/close positions of even more gate valves.
Bratislava Water Company
Bratislava Water Company (BVS) supplies drinking water to approx. 740,000 customers in 118 municipalities across western Slovakia. The distribution network consists of more than 3,200 kilometers of pipes and 130 water reservoirs.
In addition, BVS is handling wastewater treatment and manages more than 1,800 kilometers of pipes for this purpose.
AVK Smart Water IoT sensors
VIDI Positioner is a battery-operated device that detects in percentages how much a gate valve is open. That way it is easy to detect if valves are rightfully opened or closed. Other VIDI sensors are VIDI Pressure, Flow, Temperature, Cap, Level and Open/Close.
Data can be integrated into any preferred IT system which makes it easy to compare data and compile a complete overview of the network.
Learn more about IoT sensors
