System gives alerts if homes may have leaks
SAWS testing device that could help you conserve
The San Antonio Water System is trying out a new device that lets customers check their home water use via their smartphones and get alerts about possible costly leaks.
SAWS recently launched a pilot program with a device called Flume, which was developed by engineers in California to give homeowners real-time information on their water use.
On average, single-family homes lose 12 percent of their water to preventable leaks — “an amazing number,” said Karen Guz, SAWS director of conservation.
SAWS invited about 18,000 customers in November to buy a Flume at the discounted price of $30. SAWS provided a $179 coupon to defray the remaining cost.
Five hundred customers from low to heavy water users were selected to receive Flume. Another 500 who requested Flume but did not receive it will serve as a control group whose water consumption will be monitored for patterns.
There are other residential flow sensors on the market, but they cost up to $1,000 and are more complicated to install.
“We’ve been interested to see when flow sensors would become cost-effective,” Guz said. “Flume caught our attention, as we’ve been watching the market, because this is less expensive than some other ones that are out.”
The detector is the latest effort by SAWS to lower consumption and boost conservation, and not just during droughts. For example, SAWS helps homeowners buy drought-tolerant plants and patio materials if they will eliminate part of their waterhungry lawns.
From 1982 to 2016, San Antonians reduced water use from
225 gallons per person daily to 117 gallons, according to SAWS. The utility aims to cut it to 88 gallons daily by 2070.
Flume has been used by several water utilities in California and Nevada, and now it is part of a pilot program in Alabama, Colorado and Ohio by American Modern Insurance Group, whose interest is in prevention of water damage to homes.
The key component of the system, the Flume Water Sensor, is strapped on to the water meter and measures the magnetic field generated by a disc in the meter that spins when water flows through. The sensor, powered by four user-replaceable AA lithium batteries, sends a radio frequency signal up to 1,000 feet away to the Flume Bridge in the house. That relays the information via Wi-Fi to the Flume app on the customer’s smartphone.
Although Flume does not identify the location of a leak, it can alert customers by text or email about leaks so they can be stopped before they get worse. Customers also can check hourby-hour summaries of water use.
On standard 5/8-inch or 3/4inch residential water meters, Flume estimates that it can detect flow rates as low as 0.01 gallons per minute — about the volume of
a dripping faucet.
The app allows customers to get a low-flow leak alert when water runs constantly for two hours and to get a high-flow alert when there’s use of 5 gallons per minute for 15 minutes.
There’s also an “away leak” alert, when water is running for five minutes. Users can also set their own parameters for alerts when water runs continuously.
Flume hopes to add the capability to alert customers when they are likely to exceed normal monthly consumption, Guz said.
If the pilot is successful, SAWS may expand its coupon program for Flume by the end of the year, she said.
“I’m expecting to see some really good savings in the summer,” she said.
Laurie Casias, chairwoman of the SAWS Community Conservation Committee, which advises the utility on methods of conserving water, said she volunteered to install Flume because she’s interested as a licensed irrigator and a homeowner. Casias, owner of Best Landscapes, had a leak about two years ago that doubled her normal monthly water and sewer bill of $250 to $300 at her home on the far North Side.
“If I have a 50-gallon-per-minute leak, I’m going to know about it immediately,” she said. “That’s going to eliminate the high water bill from happening.”
Casias, who has tried other conservation devices and began using the system a few weeks ago, said she was surprised by the simplicity of installation of the sensor — a five-minute job — and use of the app. The system lets customers compare their water use with similarly sized households and track use patterns. When Casias recently hosted family members during the holidays, she saw her water use increase 49 percent.
Someone with the system also can use it to isolate and measure how much water they use to shower, wash clothes or dishes, or water their lawns. Although she is not currently lawn-watering after the recent rains, Casias said she set the app to send an alert on her smartphone when her sprinkler system exceeds normal water use by 10 percent.
“I can see that my water softener recycles at 3 o’clock in the morning,” she said. “This system makes you think in terms of things you’ve never thought (of ) before.”
According to the Flume website, the system is compatible with about 95 percent of U.S. water meters.
Guz said SAWS customers not in the pilot program need to decide for themselves whether to buy the product on their own at a cost of $209, including shipping.
“If you’re a person who’s at risk for damage to your house (from a leak) and you travel a lot, you may not care about the cost,” she said.