Smart Water Grid

(Originally posted on waterefficiency.net)

By Elizabeth Cutright
Editor
Water Efficiency

As editor of Water Efficiency’s sister publication, Distributed Energy, I’ve heard a lot about the “smart grid” and its potential to shift our energy infrastructure into a modern—and more efficient—incarnation. No wonder then, that an article posted this week on CNET news caught my eye. Entitled “IBM Dives into ‘smart grid for water,’” Martin LaMonica’s piece lays out IBM’s ambitions and details exactly what we can expect from a “smart water grid.”
As part of a $20-billion IT-related water portfolio, IBM is teaming up with Intel to form “a working group to study how information technology can be used to improve water management.” Here at Water Efficiency, we’ve always focused on the relationship between technology, data integration, and resource management. It looks like the folks at IBM are on the right track—and following in our footsteps—by focusing on aging infrastructure, water quality, and metering.
After launching Big Green Innovations in 2007, IBM has recently begun to focus primarily on “advanced water management,” which the company describes as encompassing “a broad agenda from availability and quality to distribution and consumption.” By upgrading water conveyance systems, IBM sees an opportunity to mimic the path of smart grid implementation for electric utilities. Part of this implementation of a smart water grid would involve the collection of information related to water delivery, water quality, and non-revenue water.
Why the push into water efficiency? According to the CNET article, IBM recognizes that the connection between energy use and water delivery presents an opportunity to promote smart water use and increased water conservation, while reducing operating expenses. Additionally, several water-intense industries—like agriculture, beverage manufacturers, and semiconductor companies—are keen on controlling costs by managing their water resources wisely.
So what do you think? Is there anything new in what IBM is proposing, or is the “smart grid for water” just a new label for the water efficiency protocols we’ve been discussing for years?