Converging social will, environmental stewardship, and financial responsibility – or the Triple Bottom Line – requires that smart water metering technology providers adapt and deliver 21^st Century sustainable solutions.

We have seen successful smart water metering deployments where a vendor deploys a fixed network and ensures that hundreds of thousands of smart water meters communicate according to engineering specifications. The utility then quantifies field labor cost reductions, and identifies various opportunities to realize operational efficiencies. In the case of a progressive utility, additional success metrics relative to leak detection and a reduction in non-revenue water loss is also applied. Thus, tangible short-term and long-term benefits were realized.

While such success factors remain true, the water management landscape is increasingly becoming scrutinized within a broader landscape. This landscape includes municipal government entities leading regional conservation initiatives, and commercial and industrial customers routinely applying environmentally responsible solutions that reduce costs.  Residential customers, now more than ever, are able to link modifications in water consumption behavior to reducing their carbon footprint.  Solution delivery must now integrate environmental, economic, and social benefits.  The end customer and external stakeholders will only become more empowered.