Water is the lifeblood of a thriving community and with temperatures rising we can’t afford to waste a single drop. This industry expert shares advice on how utilities can combat leaks and safeguard this precious resource.
Water loss through leaks is one of the most persistent challenges facing utilities across Australia. For many councils and water providers, decades of underinvestment in infrastructure have left ageing pipes vulnerable to leaks, bursts, and inefficiencies. At the same time, demand for water is increasing, and utilities are under pressure to reduce operating costs, meet regulatory obligations, and deliver reliable service to customers.
Taggle Software Product Owner, Ashlynn Davies, brings first-hand experience to this issue – and in her experience pressure management offers one of the most effective and economical ways to address these challenges.
By carefully monitoring and controlling pressure within a distribution network, utilities have found that they can not only reduce leakage, but in turn extend the life of assets and create a more resilient and efficient system.
Applying practical experience
A chemical engineer by training, Ms Davies began her career working with central New South Wales councils to improve the efficiency of water distribution networks from both a water loss and energy perspective.
She found that the councils had a range of low-cost optimisation opportunities, often involving pressure management strategies – from simply reconfiguring the network using existing stop valves to adjust zone boundaries, to installing a pressure-reducing valve (PRV) with monitoring to safeguard minimum service levels. By focusing on utilisation of existing infrastructure and extending the life of current assets, these approaches delivered significant leakage reduction at a fraction of the cost of full pipeline renewals.
These insights are at the heart of Taggle’s approach. With digital water meters now entering the market equipped with optional pressure sensors, utilities can capture pressure data alongside consumption information.
Working alongside water and infrastructure managers like Narromine Shire Council Manager – Utilities, Doug Moorby, Taggle is exploring how pressure monitoring in district metered areas (DMAs) can transform network management.
“Most leaks usually move downward rather than upward, making them more challenging to detect. The sensors assist us in monitoring changes and validating findings with hydraulic models,” Mr Moorby said.
“By focusing on one of the DMA’s, we have managed to get [non-revenue water] down to just two per cent water loss from six per cent in November [2024], which is amazingly low. Australian utilities frequently lose around 30 per cent in the network, so we are really pleased with our results.”
From supporting proactive pressure management strategies to providing evidence for customer service, pressure sensors are becoming a critical tool in modern utility operations. According to Ms Davies, some of the key use cases and benefits include:
Leakage reduction and asset protection
Lower pressure means lower leakage rates. By maintaining stable, appropriate pressures, utilities can significantly reduce losses across the system. PRVs combined with pressure sensors help safeguard pipes, joints, and household connections from fatigue, extending asset life and deferring expensive capital replacement costs.
Planning pressure management actions
Continuous pressure monitoring highlights patterns of stress across the network. Utilities can use this intelligence to plan interventions such as valve reconfigurations, PRV installations, or pump scheduling adjustments.
Avoiding unnecessary over-pressurisation not only reduces leaks but also saves energy, translating directly into reduced operating costs. Pressure sensors ensure that planned actions are based on evidence, not assumptions.
Monitoring and optimisation of actions
Once a pressure management action is implemented, sensors provide the feedback loop needed to track how pressures respond across the network.
This visibility helps operators verify whether pressure has stabilised as intended and assess whether further adjustments are needed. By linking observed pressure changes with flow and consumption data, utilities can close the loop between planning and execution, ensuring actions deliver the desired outcomes.
Demand management
Customer demand is pressure dependent. Reducing pressure can directly reduce consumption, particularly from appliances and leakage on customer properties. Reducing pressure therefore becomes a useful tool for managing peak demand periods and balancing supply across the network.
Compliance and customer service
Monitoring pressure helps utilities maintain minimum service pressure requirements and provide reliable supply across the network. They also give operators concrete data to address customer complaints about low or inconsistent pressure. In this way, pressure monitoring improves both operational performance and customer satisfaction.
Event detection and rapid response
Pressure anomalies, such as sudden drops or surges, can signal a burst pipe, valve closure or hydrant use. When these are combined with consumption patterns from digital meters, utilities can quickly distinguish between unusual demand and genuine leaks. This enables rapid field response, minimising disruption and water loss.
The next step in efficiency
For Taggle, pressure monitoring and management is a natural extension of its digital metering technology. With pressure sensors embedded in digital meters, utilities gain access to a wealth of new data that goes beyond consumption alone.
Pressure monitoring throughout the network, enriched by digital meter data, enables utilities to reduce losses by identifying leaks early, improve customer experience by ensuring stable supply, cut operating costs through efficient pumping and demand management and extend asset life by reducing stress on pipes and infrastructure.
This capability marks another step forward in the water efficiency journey that digital metering supports.
By turning raw data into actionable intelligence, Taggle helps utilities move from reactive problem‑solving to proactive network management.
The future of water management lies in making every drop, and every unit of pressure count when saving water for a sustainable future.
For more information, visit taggle.com
