Schneider Electric’s Smart Water Solutions to Help Build ‘Water Smart & Resilient India’
Schneider Electric, the global leader in energy management and automation, has reiterated its commitment to enhance key processes across the water cycle by supporting water utilities in the country through integrated solutions and digitization. The organisation is committed towards building a ‘Water Smart & Resilient India’ by offering integrated solutions and smart water technologies to help utilities to improve operations thereby addressing the water shortage. This is in line with the government’s recent announcement of the Jal Jeevan Mission app to ensure conjunctive use of conserved water, drinking water source augmentation, drinking water supply system, grey water treatment and its reuse.
Speaking at an expert session on ‘Smart Water Management System for City Wide Water Distribution’ at the Innovation Summit 2021, Mr. Anand Nigam, Senior GM, Control & Automation, Schneider Electric India said, “Digital technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and Blockchain are key enablers for the water industry to analyse, automate, predict and minimize the risks that are continuously present in the sector. To address the water challenges of the country and make India water positive, we at Schneider Electric provide integrated, digital solution for sustainability and operational efficiency across the entire water cycle. We support modernization of water and wastewater management through our IoT enabled EcoStruxure solutions that help to ensure efficient operations, thereby ensuring sustainability & resilience in water sector.”
Industrialisation, fast-paced urbanisation and the emergence of smart cities are driving demand for water utilities in India. It is estimated that by 2050, more than 50 per cent of the country’s population will live in cities. This will put more pressure on the already scarce water resources. To address the water shortage, State authorities and utilities are investing in water management and treatment solutions leveraging automation.
Schneider Electric implemented its SCADA technology for the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) to manage and ensure efficient water supply and safe drinking water (500 MLD) to over 2 Million citizens of Vadodara city thru real time monitoring and controlling of water process parameters. The water segment in Vadodara was faced with multiple challenges such as unequal water distribution, growing population, decreased water quality etc. The smart water technologies not only improved the quality of life by ensuring efficient water supply to citizens, it also provided faster resolution of customer complaints and improved overall water quality. Apart from this, it has also helped in bringing down cost by reducing NRW (non-revenue water), ensuring efficient utilisation of manpower, better reconciling of water, thereby increasing transparency towards stakeholders.
Talking about the challenges and solution, Mr. Manish Bhatt, Director IT, Vadodara Municipal Corporation said, “Schneider Electric’s experience in executing multi-geography projects, strong engineering and integration capabilities, adaptable project management style including quick response and flexibility to have suit at site methodology as per client’s needs, have contributed significantly to the project’s success. It has helped us to effectively manage and administer water operations across the city. The solution is user friendly and everyone within VMC can access this central platform to derive information and data ensuring accurate and consistent reporting and analytics. Our team is now aware of the leaks within the distribution network which has helped us reduce NRW.”
Speaking on how digitisation and smart water technology can ensure safe, clean and adequate drinking water for an ever growing population and steps taken by the city in this direction, Mr. Salil Srivastava, OSD – Chattisgarh Govt and Ex – Additional CEO – Nava Raipur Smart City Ltd. said, “Water is the most scarce and precious commodity today. Many cities in India and abroad, have been facing tough times in terms of water shortage mainly due to rising urbanisation. By using a sustainable technology like smart water, which we have executed in Naya Raipur, one can help bridge the gap and address the issues faced by the sector. I would advise other cities, especially brownfields, to a similar model as it will help them to not only estimate the demand but also understand real time monitoring, water circularity as well as asset management for water networks, thereby saving time energy and money.”
