Cyberinfrastructure for Intelligent Water Supply: Measuring Water Use, Conservation, and Socio-Demographic Differences Using an Inexpensive, High Frequency Metering System

We present an inexpensive, open source, water metering system for measuring water use quantity and behavior at high temporal frequency. We have demonstrated this technology in multiple water metering case studies, including observing water use within two high-traffic, public restrooms at Utah State University (USU) before and after installing high efficiency, automatic faucets and toilet flush valves. For this case study, we also integrated an inexpensive sensor to count user traffic. Sensing restroom visits and water use events allowed us to identify fixture malfunctions, average water use per person, variability in use by fixtures (faucets versus urinals and toilets), variability in use by fixtures compared to manufacturer specifications, gender differences in use, and the difference in use after retrofit of the restrooms with high efficiency fixtures. Additional case study applications to which we have applied this system include investigating differences in water use of residential populations on USU’s campus with varying sociodemographics, investigating the effectiveness of dual flush toilets, and observing water use in residential homes. In this presentation, we describe both the inexpensive hardware we have used for collecting data along with results for each of our case study applications. Inexpensive metering systems like the one we have demonstrated can help institutions remotely measure and record water use trends and behavior, identify leaks and fixture malfunctions, and schedule fixture maintenance or upgrades, all of which can ultimately help them meet goals for sustainable water use.