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India is experiencing the worst water shortage. In the next 30 years, India’s urbanisation rate would rise to above 60%, according to a new report by NITI Aayog, with 7%–9% predicted economic growth. According to the WRG Report, which was released in late 2017, 40% of Indian population may not have access to clean drinking water by 2030.
According to the paper, there are instances in cities all over the world where 40% or more of the water pumped into a distribution grid is wasted before it ever reaches the user. It is now necessary to act.
India is in a crisis. Most people are aware of how closely tied India’s traditional ways are to the country’s economic and social systems of governance.
Given that it is already the second most populous country in the world (Census, 2011), India’s natural resources are heavily burdened, with water being the most essential of them.
This suggests that the threat to the depletion of water supplies caused by the expanding population has been significant. The constantly expanding population is a fact.
Water accessibility per person has decreased from 2,309 cu m (Sharma and Bharat 2009 study) in 1991 to 1,588 cu m in 2001 due to population growth (CWC, 2010). When taking into account the anticipated growth in population by 2025, the per capita
Shocking, is not it? Well, there’s more to it.
Dry taps, low water levels, and drier seasons to follow
The Composite Water Management Index’ (CWMI) says nearly 600 million Indians are facing high-to-extreme water stress –where more than 40 percent of the annually available surface water is used every year–and about 200,000 people are dying every year because they do not have access to safe water.
The same report cautions us by saying that the situation is likely to worsen as the demand for water will exceed the supply by 2050. According to a report by ASSOCHAM and Skymet Weather Services, with the rapid rise in the day and night temperatures, India is drying out set apart by industrious dampness shortage conditions.
The report also notes that nine states are currently experiencing a dry spell, and it shows that the mean annual air temperature is rising across several regions of the country.
India must act quickly to find a solution before the water issue worsens. IoT provides us with intelligent water management options to address India’s water crisis. Let’s get in-depth on the Internet of Things and water management concepts in this conversation.
IoT for Water Management: Smart Sensors and Automatic Pumps
Installing level sensors and other equipment that is spread out over reservoirs and overhead tanks is necessary for efficient water management in homes and workplaces.
When the ideal level is reached, these IoT-based level sensors can determine a tank’s or reservoir’s maximum capacity and notify the central servers.
Regular transmission of this information to the central servers assists in calculating daily water usage and provides an indication of the amount of water in the reservoirs or storage tanks.
When the ideal level is attained, the water supply is instantly halted. Every time the water level reaches half of the container’s total water content, the automatic pump activates once again.
Using IoT to Manage Water: Intelligent Irrigation Watering schedules in the fields are automatically adjusted by smart irrigation systems, which continuously monitor weather, soil conditions, evaporation, and plant water usage.
This prevents water shortages and minimises water waste. The frequency and length of the irrigation schedule are determined by smart controllers using weather and/or site data.
Smart irrigation controllers with soil moisture sensors assess soil moisture content using IoT-based technology.
The sensors, which are buried in the root zone of turf, trees, or shrubs, properly measure the soil’s moisture content and send this information to the controller. There are two distinct sensor-based techniques for measuring soil moisture: •
Suspended cycle irrigation systems can be programmed with watering schedules, start times, and durations just like conventional timer controllers. When the soil is sufficiently moist, the irrigation system will halt before the next planned irrigation.
Water on demand Irrigation: It requires no programming of irrigation duration (only start times and days of the week to water). It has a user-set lower and upper threshold, which initiates irrigation when the soil moisture level fails to meet those levels.
According to industry experts, smart irrigation systems and controllers conserve water from 40% to as high as 70%, winning over traditional irrigation controllers.
A water-efficient irrigation study of the Saving Water Partnership, a coalition of 24 water purveyors, was conducted in Washington State’s Puget Sound and the results are astounding.
The reported water savings were 20,735 gallons per year per site for sites with rain sensor controllers and 10,071 gallons per year per site for sites using traditional controllers.
Smarter Cities with IoT-based Water Management
The WRG report goes on to state that many cities have also found that if they simply reduce water pressure in the grid, they also reduce leakage and minimize wear and tear on aging pipes.
Based on the historical data collected and analyzed by predictive analytics and combined with the consideration of special events, holidays, as well as the weather in that city, water consumption for a city may be calculated.
Issues like water wastage and unequal distribution can be addressed by ‘smart’ technologies such as Grundfos’ Demand Driven Distribution pressure control system, which can save both water and money by delivering optimal water pressure at any given time.
This system can automatically monitor grid use patterns with remote sensors and adjust the water pressure accordingly using a Grundfos software algorithm.
The Internet of Things technology also makes use of optimization techniques to send a notification to the residents regarding the unavailability of power on a particular day.
Internet of things for smart cities ensures that water as a resource is equitably distributed, and not wasted. Adopting a sustainable mindset is as much required as using smart technological innovations.
Individuals should start adopting eco-friendly practices and products. Simple measures like rainwater harvesting and water aerators go a long way in overcoming the crisis of water shortage.
Smart water management solutions from IoT Solutionz (an initiative by Pixel Solutionz,) with smart monitoring and automatic pump control services, help you cut down on power bills, and save water for later use. Interested? Call us for IoT-based water management solutions.
