“To secure water supplies for future generations, a digital network is a key part of the solution”
South East Water is leveraging digital innovation to secure a sustainable future for Melbourne’s water supply. The utility’s Digital Metering Program uses IoT technology for real-time water management, addressing leaks, increasing operational efficiency, and helping customers save money.
South East Water provides water, sewerage and recycled water services to over 1.8 million people in Melbourne's southeast. In this interview, Lara Olsen, Managing Director of South East Water, shares insights into their Digital Metering Program. In her role, she works with a team of over 800 professionals with a focus on enhancing customer service and environmental protection. From early leak detection to the integration of cutting-edge IoT technologies, the Digital Metering Program aims not only to enhance the efficiency of water management but also to empower customers with real-time data and proactive solutions.
Can you provide an overview of the Digital Metering Program and its primary objectives?
Our purpose at South East Water is to deliver healthy water for life for our customers, community and environment. We know that as we look to the future, we need to innovate, and act with care to preserve our precious water in a warmer and drier climate, so we can contribute to the liveability that our community values so highly.
Our Digital Metering Program has been a key part of our organisation’s strategy for future-proofing the water network since our earliest digital meter trials in 2010. The primary objective is to use data insights from digital meters to drive benefits – like early leak detection in customer properties, as well as preventing leaks within the water network. It’s also about using data to identify where preventative maintenance is needed and generating insights that drive an efficient and effective water network.
The Digital Metering Program is a key commitment in South East Water’s five-year customer commitment through our Price Submission 2023–28 to support customers, community and environment, now and into the future.
The Digital Metering Program has been a key part of South East Water’s strategy for future-proofing the water network since early trials
Since the program’s inception, we’ve alerted over 17,000 customers to a leak on their property. In many cases, the meters detected small leaks weeks or months before they came to the surface. In the 2023-24 financial year, our customers saved more than AUD 2.9 million (nearly US$2 million) and 683 ML of drinking water that may have been lost had the leaks gone undetected. Our data shows that, if a leak is detected, customers save an average of AUD 100 (US$68) off their next quarterly bill by taking action early. The meters are also quicker to read than traditional meters, leading to bills that are more accurate.
We’ve recently reached an exciting milestone in the digital metering program, and we’ve officially moved out of the test and trial phase and into network-wide rollout. Our aim is to replace around 1 million traditional water meters with upgraded digital meters by 2029. The rollout is one of many ways South East Water is optimising its operations in delivering seamless, fair and affordable services for all.
What specific technologies are being used in metering and communications?
We have developed our own fit-for-purpose ultrasonic digital meters, and an enterprise IoT platform to digitally manage our water infrastructure and services. Our fully integrated NB-IoT digital meters deliver rich, customisable data points and built-in alarms, so we can deliver a better customer experience and provide granular data which in turn, helps detect usage abnormalities (like a continuous flow) that may indicate a leak.
This data is triaged using our enterprise IoT platform, triggering automated alerts to help the customer take action to address the leak and prevent a higher-than-expected water bill. Customers receive a notification via SMS, email or letter and we support them to identify the cause of the potential leak.
Can you share some insights into the pilot phase of the program?
After initial technology trials of emerging metering solutions showed great promise, we proposed a pilot phase within our funding submission to the government regulator, the Essential Services Commission, that would help determine if the use of digital meters could achieve the customer value we hoped for.
The organisation’s aim is to replace 1 million traditional water meters with digital meters by 2029, one of many ways to optimise operations
We undertook this phase collaboratively with our metropolitan water peers. The purpose of the pilot was to confirm that a sustainable end-to-end system could be built, and that our key assumptions around customer value and network efficiency could be further refined.
We had six clear objectives and outcomes that we wished to achieve and report back on at the end of the phase. We were able to demonstrate that the end-to-end solution for the remote collection of data from the new digital meters was reliable, efficient and able to immediately show customer benefits. The meters were found to be extremely reliable, secure and able to work even in the most difficult locations.
Two immediate customer benefits arose from the pilot. Firstly, the ability for our customers to access granular consumption data through the mySouthEastWater online portal. This allows customers to understand when they were using water and how much they were using, with the aim to better manage usage and reduce bills. Secondly, customers are notified in near real-time when they have leaks on their properties. In contrast, with mechanical meters, the only indication of a hidden leak is usually when a bill arrives, causing the classic “bill-shock” experience. Digital meters allow leaks to quickly be relayed to the customer so that they can be fixed.
How will the new meters provide insights into water usage patterns, and what tools will customers have to access this information and receive alerts about potential leaks?
Our digital water meters allow our customers to access near real-time data about their water consumption. Customers can use the mySouthEastWater portal to break down their household use into monthly, daily or even half-hourly increments – helping them to save water and money.
If the meters detect a large leak, defined as a continuous flow of water at a rate of 120 litres per day or more, for at least 24 hours, our enterprise IoT system will generate an alert. In most cases, we send a notification via SMS, email or letter and step the customer through some simple checks to help identify the cause of the potential leak.
We’ve found that, most of the time, customers are quick to take action when they receive a leak alert. However, during our digital meter trials, we became aware that not all customers were taking steps to identify and fix potential leaks – for a number of different reasons. One of these reasons was a concern about the unknown cost of engaging a plumber compared to the size of the leak. So, in 2022, we established a plumbing referral process with our plumbing partner to offer free virtual leak audits and identify the location of leaks. The customer receives a plumber’s report and can engage our plumbing partner or their preferred plumber to make any required repairs. This enables customers to make an informed decision, as well as the choice to engage trusted plumbers at a reasonable price.
The end-to-end solution for the remote collection of digital meter data is reliable, efficient and able to immediately show customer benefits
This is a really important part of our customer care approach – not only providing information, but providing support options that meet our customers’ needs, recognising the barriers that can exist for customers who may struggle to take action based on their personal circumstances, and putting supports in place to make it easier for them to address leaks – with the ultimate goal of saving both water and money.
What are the costs associated with the installation of digital meters, and how do you expect these costs to be balanced with the savings and efficiencies gained?
It’s true that digital meters cost more than mechanical meters initially, but they save money – both for us and our customers – over the long term, so we feel it’s important to invest in the technology now.
As part of the customer engagement program for our current pricing submission, we presented a number of cost options for a digital meter rollout and asked customers how they would like to see the rollout of digital meters take place. Our customers told us they’d like to be better informed of disruptions, including better visibility of leaks on their premises and receive timely warnings when there are wider network disruptions.
By installing advanced network monitoring and digital meters across our whole service region we’ll be able to provide more customers with access to near real-time water usage information and notifications of any irregularities. This will allow issues to be detected and fixed quickly, and provide customers more control over their water use and bills. Through our customer engagement, we found that when customers understood the benefit of digital meters, they supported an increase in their bill to pay for the meters.
What are the next steps for the digital metering program, and how do you plan to integrate new technologies as they emerge?
We’ve recently moved out of the test and trial phase and into network-wide rollout. Our aim is to replace around 1 million traditional water meters with upgraded digital meters by 2029. Our cross-functional project teams have been preparing for this milestone and have been working closely with our customer and delivery teams to support a smooth rollout of digital meters.
South East Water has established a plumbing referral process to offer free virtual leak audits and identify the location of leaks
In this early stage, our approach is slow and steady, with a plan to scale up deployment from 2025. This approach allows a purposeful ramp-up in digital meter exchanges, giving us the necessary time to adapt to new work processes and system changes. We’re also keen to gain insights into our customers’ experience of the enhanced meter exchange process.
In terms of integrating new technologies, because the meters use IoT technology, we can remotely deploy software updates that allow us to integrate new features, address any issues and ensure we’re continuing to deliver the best experience for our customers.
Can you comment on the collaboration between the three metropolitan Melbourne water utilities in the digital metering joint program?
We partnered with Yarra Valley Water and Greater Western Water to form the Digital Metering Joint Program. Together, we worked to understand the views of our customers in relation to the future of water meters and the benefits they could receive, trial new technologies in metering and communications, understand the financial implications of digital meters and develop a customer-generated value proposition and insights to guide engagement planning and inform the business case for digital meters.
We found three of the top six drivers of customer satisfaction related to leak alerts - being alerted about potential leaks, knowing their utility was across their water usage and costs, and knowing that their utility would address and fix problems.
As we look to the future, we’re still partnering with other water utilities to support the widespread adoption of digital meters. Our commercialisation partner, Iota, recently announced that they’re teaming up with Barwon Water to accelerate and expand its digital meter rollout to save water. Through the partnership, they’ll be supplying Barwon Water with our South East Water-designed meters, and our enterprise IoT platform, called Lentic, to optimise device management and streamline alarms.
South East Water is excited to be able to share the technology and systems developed with other water utilities both locally and globally
We’re really excited to be able to share the technology and systems we’ve developed with other water utilities both locally and globally, through Iota. We’ve invested in and developed our digital utility program for many years now, and we believe we have a great, integrated solution that really meets the needs of the water industry. We recognise that now is the time to take action to secure our water supplies for future generations, so we can deliver a reliable, sustainable water supply in the face of population growth, changing rainfall patterns and a warmer and drier climate. A digital, connected network is a key part of the solution, and we’re proud of the work we’re doing at South East Water to innovate, and look to the future as custodians of our water network.