In the realm of pressure management, the company has implemented the i20 system; the world’s most advanced solution.

Municipalities, utilities and government organisations in South Africa have saved 82.9 Mℓ/d of potable water worth R100million a year over the last six years, through interventions by the JOAT Group, says company director, Mark Shepherd.

The Durban-based company, with a national network of branch offices, has an impressive list of key accomplishments gained during the 10 years it has addressed the needs of local government in the field of water distribution optimisation. This specialisation area includes demand, leakage and pressure management.

Over that period, the JOAT Group has worked on over 24 258 km of mains on systems ranging in size from 18 km to over 11 000 km, and has attended to over a million connections.

“We have yet had an unsuccessful project and we have a reputation as the company that solves our customers’ problems,” says Shepherd. ”The technical people within our customer base have full faith in our capabilities.”

The key services offered by the JOAT Group include system stabilisation, condition surveys of meters and valves, data logging, water audits and water balances, water system operations, optimal zoning of distribution systems, leakage management, revenue enhancement, asset and energy management, network analysis modelling, and pressure management.

“Our pressure management capability is of particular importance because of an increasing demand in South Africa for systems that run at optimal levels without interruption to customers. We have been at the forefront of designing, testing and implementing advanced management systems offered by a range of international manufacturers.”

He explains that the JOAT Group is keenly aware that many municipalities face financial constraints in terms of maintaining and replacing assets such as costly water infrastructure.

Extending the life of assets

“Decision-makers look to extend the life of assets, an important aspect of which is to reduce the operating pressure of a reticulation network in order to reduce cyclical fatigue on pipes and joints in addition to cutting down on the frequency of pipe bursts and the resultant increase in water losses.

“Based on our intensive exposure to a wide range of pressure management solutions on the international market, the JOAT Group has opted to support the British-manufactured i2O system as providing customers with the best possible solution. We have implemented the i2O solution in some of the major metropolitan areas in South Africa and have achieved exceptional results.”

“Not only has the i20 system delivered greater than expected leakage savings, it has also proven to be a very reliable device. The eThekwini Municipality prides itself as being forward thinking and the continuous research and development which goes into the i20 system insures that this solution remains current and sustainable, ”describes Simon Scruton, manager-Non Revenue Water Branch, eThekwini Water and Sanitation.

Shepherd says the i2O system can be used in all three types of pressure control: fixed outlet, time-based modulation and flow-based modulation.

“We believe that the i2O system has been developed to the point where it is far in advance of any other pressure management system currently available. The i20 is an integrated system that uses the nationwide GSM network and true artificial intelligence to ‘self-learn’ water distribution networks. It has a worldwide patent for self-learning capabilities through the application of an algorithm – no other product on the market currently has the same capability. Furthermore, the “open loop” control addresses all the weaknesses of “closed loop” systems currently in the market in that the system will still control to the desired parameters even if communication is lost with remote sensors.

“In that respect, customer intervention is not required as the system takes into account daily, weekly, monthly and even seasonal changes. This important capability is undertaken by the system automatically as it continually adjusts the pressure in the network. The customer can rest assured that with these ongoing pressure adjustments the network is at the optimum level at all times day and night to provide a good service to consumers but low enough to reduce leakages and the frequency of bursts.”

The i2O solution, which has been implemented in scores of locations worldwide, achieves its unique performance by:

• the careful monitoring of flow and pressure by robust, advanced loggers
• remote and automated control of pressure via a system controller and an advanced pilot valve
• software that continuously learns the characteristics of the network, enabling the optimum pressure reducing valve pressure to be set to meet pressure requirements under all demand conditions

Shepherd points out that the added advantages of the i2O system accrue to significant leakage savings and competitive costs compared with alternative leakage reduction measures.

“The i2O solution can be installed within one day and benefits will start accruing within the first week of operation. In addition, the system requires little or no maintenance in the first five years of operation.”

“The i20 system has saved us an additional R286 000 per year in a zone which was recently commissioned and optimised. The system seems to be very reliable and is operating under stable conditions, as we have not received any complaints from any operational staff managing the area,” says Melvin Engelbrecht, City of Cape Town.

How it Works

The i2O system makes a major impact on six key metrics: leakage, burst frequency, operating expenses, energy costs, lifetime extension of network infrastructure and customer service. The system allows water service organisations to:

• optimise water pressure continuously and automatically to meet agreed customer service levels throughout the network
• adjust water pressure levels in any part of a water distribution network remotely.

The i2O solutions combine hardware and software that give operators the ability to monitor or control their water networks from any Internet connection. Core solutions address three contexts of Advanced Pressure Management:

• Advanced Pressure Management –Pressure Regulating Valve(PRV)control– a world first and the most widely deployed system for automatically optimising and remotely controlling water pressure in water zones equipped with PRVs.
• Advanced Pressure Management – Pump control– This is similar to PRV control but optimises and remotely controls parts of a water network fed by pumps. It can achieve the same Advanced Pressure Management benefits in networks without PRVs, or enhance the benefits in networks with them.
• Network Data– i2O’s monitoring solution shows water service organisation executives and managers the real-time performance of their water systems from any Internet connection.

The i2O system has been installed in these municipalities: eThekwini (Durban), Ugu, iLembe, uThukela, Mangaung (Bloemfontein), City of Cape Town and Msunduzi (Pietermaritzberg). Installation in Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) is awaiting the completion of construction.

 

Dean Hansford, i2O’s Business Development manager for the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa, says that working with JOAT “has been so easy for us. As a company, it shares our passion for the use of innovative technologies in the water industry in Southern Africa. With the help of JOAT’s expertise in the field of non-revenue water reduction, i2O is becoming established as the Advanced Pressure Management system of choice in South Africa.”

The JOAT Group is the sole distributor for sub-Saharan Africa of the i2O solution.

Turnkey solutions

Referring to the provision of turnkey solutions for large scale non-revenue water reduction programmes, Shepherd points out that this type of appointment has been successful in allowing institutional customers to fast track procurement of the necessary service providers, contractors and suppliers.

“An appointment of this nature also allows the contracted service provider with the flexibility to respond to what can be urgent challenges that invariably arise.

“All turnkey projects implemented by the JOAT Group are compliant with municipal supply chain management rules and regulations,” he concludes.

The JOAT Group provides a nationwide service through branches in Pietermaritzburg, Port Shepstone, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. More than 60 people are employed in the group’s branches.