Upgrading to gas Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is a crucial part of digitally transforming a gas or combination utility. It enables these utilities to leverage new efficiencies and opportunities while improving safety and long-term planning.

The largest water utility in New Mexico is on a mission to ensure this kind of water service interruption doesn’t happen. They’re leading the way in continuous improvement by transitioning to smart digital solutions.

Located in the heart of Washington State’s Tri-Cities—also known as “Washington Wine Country”—Benton Public Utility District (PUD) serves more than 50,000 customers across Kennewick, Finley, Benton City, Prosser and outlying areas. While residents of this “year-round paradise” are known for a sense of fun and adventure, they want their electric utility to be serious about reliable and efficient service.

This paper examines five critical steps gas utilities should take to build a communications infrastructure that will deliver immediate benefits and provide the foundation for future growth and technology advancements.

As the 12th largest U.S. city, Fort Worth, Texas, and its water utility is among the largest to use Xylem digital technology that has revolutionized their operations. Fort Worth Water successfully implemented Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in its mission to ensure clean and affordable water to the growing city and foster water conservation.

The Gainesville Department of Water Resources is using technology to make good on their pledge to bring the best in service and quality to more than 58,500 residents and businesses in the city and surrounding area.

Transitioning away from a traditional distribution model in a territory covering nearly 400,000 electric and natural gas customers isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Technology has helped the utility seize the opportunity for new grid controls while ensuring quality and reliability as demand evolves.

The City of Evans is located about an hour north of Denver. With approximately 20,000 residents and counting, the city is growing so fast that its newly-built Prairie Heights Middle School is already at capacity. Challenges with meter reads and billing will only get bigger as the population grows.

While water utilities are balancing daily operations, they’re also facing wide-ranging challenges that makes strategic planning, funding and technology even more important. Short-term solutions are no longer an option – solution longevity is a priority.

India has a water distribution problem, brought about by climate change, rapid industrialization, a growing population and a water supply network that has not kept up with demand. Currently, the water supply is often rationed across different districts by “key turners,” who turn it off for hours a day.

Nestled in between Lake Lanier and the Appalachian Mountains, about an hour north of Atlanta, is the Etowah Water & Sewer Authority (the Authority). Chartered in 1980 with a mission to improve the quality of life for its customers, community and the environment through proper management of water resources, the Authority serves 5,400 consumers and runs 1.5 million gallons of water per day through 175 miles of pipe.

Many water pipelines in the United States were installed in the early to mid-20th Century, with some systems still relying on cast-iron pipes more than 100 years old. Aging infrastructure stands as a critical challenge in the water sector for utilities across the nation, posing significant threats to the reliability and safety of water systems.

Silver Creek Water’s commitment to reliably track their customers’ water usage has led to their more than 40-year partnership with Sensus, a Xylem brand.

It was no ordinary February across the state of Texas. Severe and uncommon winter weather conditions led to a state of emergency. Fortunately, the City of Jacksonville, Texas kept the water flowing for its more than 5,000 residents with the help of its smart utility network from Sensus, a Xylem brand.

Imagine it’s winter in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey and temperatures drop to the low twenties by sundown. Summery, beach weather is nowhere to be seen in this coastal town and most residents have fled to warmer temperatures until summer returns. Water pipes can’t flock to warmer temperatures though, and while homeowners are gone, pipes can easily freeze and burst.

As the foundation is set for smart city applications across the utility industry, the future of managed services seems boundless. With so many utility solution providers jumping on the managed services bandwagon, the key is to ensure utilities are entering into effective and efficient partnerships for successful outcomes.

“Everyone in the utility industry helps each other out,” said Ivy. “One of the first groups to call and offer support was Xylem’s Sensus. We’ve been a Sensus customer for 12 years now, and I consider them my friends.”

Virtually all modern water distribution networks are pressurised to a level set by industry practice or regulation, and measured at the connection pipe to the end-customers property. Sometimes, the pressure requirement is also set to meet the needs of the fire service, who need a minimum pressure of water to deal with fires in standard residential dwellings.