Club Catalina in Batemans Bay has potentially saved thousands of dollars in water bills after Council installed a smart water meter to help track its water use and detect leaks.
Eurobodalla Council helps the shire’s biggest water-consumers to manage their water usage through its business water efficiency program.
Club Catalina took advantage of the opportunity and installed a smart water meter in July 2017. It paid off - the smart meter identified two major leaks, and several minor leaks, which would have cost the club more than $10,000 in extra monthly water costs had they gone unnoticed.
The meter captures water use in real time and displays results on an online portal, accessible to both the consumer and Council. An automatic alert is sent via email or text message whenever there are unusual or excessive usage patterns.
Club Catalina Operations Manager Owen Quinn said this meant it could identify leaks sooner rather than later.
“The leak alert that is emailed to us brings the leak to our attention. I then check the online portal daily until we have located and repaired the leak,” he said.
“Club Catalina has sand-based soil so both major leaks probably would have gone unnoticed for some time had we not had the smart water meter.”
Barlings Beach Holiday Park also participates in the program. Manager Stephen Piper said the savings made after installing the data logger were in the tune of hundreds of dollars a day.
“I strongly endorse the use of a smart meter for all commercial operations, especially in a holiday park scenario,” he said.
Council’s Business Water Efficiency Officer Lucy Carew Reid said Council had been working with 20 other high water-consuming businesses and several schools as part of the program.
“Smart meters aren’t necessarily the sole solution to sensible water management - for example, Club Catalina regularly inspects the bathrooms to check for leaking taps, toilets or pipes,” she said.
Ms Carew Reid said that collectively, a lot of water had been saved through the program.
“Due to its success, Council will continue to loan the devices to businesses and will look into expanding the service to other high water consuming water customers,” she said.
For more information contact Council’s Business Water Efficiency Officer Lucy Carew-Reid on 4474 1000 or email lucy.carewreid@esc.nsw.gov.au
Above:: Catalina Club Operations Manager Owen Quinn stands above where they found a major water leak. Fortunately it wasn’t too difficult to locate and replace the fractured water pipe without needing to cut sections of the driveway.
