Parkes Shire Council in collaboration with Indicium Dynamics is thrilled to announce that they won the Local Government category in the iTNews Benchmark Awards for the Parkes Recycled Water Scheme.
Now in its ninth year, the awards which were hosted via a special online presentation on Thursday 25 March, recognises standout IT projects in government and industry – including federal, state, local government, finance, health, education, industrial and primary productions and consumer mass-markets.
The project focused on the ‘End User Control System, which is part of the $20.9 million recycling water scheme helping to save water and reduce energy usage.
The ‘End User Control System’ presents a novel approach to managing the supply-demand balance, water quality risks and customer engagement and is pushing the development of new technology that the broader industry can benefit from.
Council is connecting new customers to the distribution system via an innovative meter stand arrangement incorporating IoT technology that not only provides smart metering, but also offers supply control through an integrated pressure sustaining and solenoid control valve.
This enables the implementation of a web-based water allocation ‘End User Control System’ that encourages and informs water conservation and manages the supply-demand balance under a supply-constrained scheme.
Andrew Francis, Director of Infrastructure said, “The control system also benefits Council’s Presentation team as it means that they can track and manage water consumption easily through the web portal. It also provides an easy way to identify leaks, as they can see water use remotely and in real time and compare it with scheduled access.
“The Control System also gives us an additional non-treatment barrier by monitoring live weather data and stopping supply during unfavourable conditions that can lead to irrigation spray drift and runoff. The project focused on the end user control system, which is part of the $20.9 million recycling water scheme helping to save water and reduce energy usage.”
Mayor of Parkes Shire Cr Ken Keith said, “Council strives to be a leader in technology and sustainability. This scheme not only includes ensuring the security of our water supply in a changing climate, but also ensuring our infrastructure is resource and energy efficient, which is not only good for our environment, but is also cost effective. Congratulations to all those involved in winning this award.”
To watch the awards presentation, visit itnews.com.au/award/winners.
