Mary McDavid

The U.S. loses trillions of gallons of water every year due to leaky old pipes rooted in the base of outdated infrastructure throughout American cities. The outdated infrastructure present in many American cities allows for issues such as excess water waste to go unnoticed or overlooked (Janewells, 2015). The water waste from leaks is immense. In household leaks alone, approximately 10,000 gallons of water every year can be accounted for with 10% of homes estimating to have leaks that waste up 90 gallons of water or more per day (Janewells, 2015). On a city-based level, it is estimated that there are approximately 237,600 water line breaks each year (Berst, 2014). Not only do these leakages result in extreme amounts of wasted water but is also predicted to waste 2.8 billion dollars annually (Berst, 2014). This leaves us with the question of what should we do about a problem such as this?  

A recent approach has been through the utilization of smart technology such as AMI meters that collect data constantly on the amount of water being used, where potential leaks could be present, and the overall costs this water is causing. These AMI meters allow for a type of two-way communication that connects the utility system itself to the meters (Berst, 2014). This advanced communication enables a quick and efficient reading that allows for responses to be made at a rapid rate to fix the water leakages at hand and change water usage patterns. This rapid form of detection can have a huge impact on the amount of water conserved as it allows for issues to be shut down and detected before excess amounts of water can be wasted. These meters can both prevent leaks from happening in general but can also prevent small leaks from becoming even bigger issues. These meters also provide American cities with the chance to reassess the infrastructure in place and update it where necessary. Thus, through these meters, we can enable better monitoring, management, and an overall change to the ways in which water is effectively utilized in city settings.   

(Molles and Borrell, 2016)

As seen in the graph above, which specifically depicts conservation efforts in New York city, it can be seen that meter installation acted as the greatest way to conserve water from the various water conservation strategies presented. It is through the ability to detect the loss of water itself that habits were changed and actions were enacted. This specific graph shows that approximately 790 million liters of water per day was potentially saved with the usage of smart meters in New York city between 1981-1998 (Molles and Borrell, 2016). Additionally, the EPA predicts in modern day that almost a trillion gallons of water could be conserved nationwide if leaks were mitigated or eliminated (Water Sense, 2017). Thus, the usage of meters and smart technology is extremely crucial to continue implementing throughout the U.S.  

Citations:

Berst, J. (2014, July 23). Patching up the Pipes: How Smart Technologies Help Cities Prevent Leaks and Save Money. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.waterworld.com/environmental/article/16192873/patching-up-the-pipes-how-smart-technologies-help-cities-prevent-leaks-and-save-money

Janewells. (2015, August 20). Even in the drought, America is leaking water. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/20/even-in-the-drought-america-is-leaking-water.html

Molles, M. C., & Borrell, B. (2016). Environment: Science, issues, solutions. In Environment: Science, issues, solutions. New York: W. H. Freeman Macmillan Learning.

Water Sense. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/pubs/fixleak.html