Seoul’s Water Meter Reading System to be Smart in a hundred years

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will convert 660,000 meters, or 30 percent of 2.22 million water meters in the city, into a "smart remote water meter system" from this year to 2030.

‘Smart Remote Water Meter Reading System' is a method of receiving meter readings through the Internet of Things after installing a digital water meter and a remote meter terminal. It can be inspected non-face-to-face, and real-time usage can be checked every hour.

This is the first time that the method of water meter reading in Seoul is changed since the introduction of a water meter in 1924.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to invest 1.1 billion won in the first phase this year to replace 7,600 meters in Jung-gu and Seongbuk-gu with remote reading meters.

By 2026, the entire jurisdiction of Jungbu Waterworks, including Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Seongbuk-gu, and Yongsan-gu, will be converted to a remote reading system, and by 2030, parts of the jurisdiction of Nambu (Gwanak, Geumcheon, Dongjak, Yeongdeungpo-gu) and Gangseo (Guro, Yangcheon, Gangseo-gu) will be sequentially converted.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government expects that the smart remote meter system will increase the number of readings per year from 6 to 8,760 times, allow regular checks regardless of weather and other conditions, and develop a service that uses real-time water usage to identify signs of crisis.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, "With the implementation of the Critical Disaster Penalty Act, a safe meter reading method is required, and in the post-COVID-19 era, smart remote meter reading has been promoted in earnest due to changes in lifestyle, such as expanding demand for a non-face-to-face meter reading."

"The water meter has been merely a device for collecting charges, but it is expected to provide new services such as early detection of indoor leaks and social safety net-linked services through the conversion to a smart meter system," said Gu Ami, head of the Seoul Waterworks Authority.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is also planning to develop an operating system that can analyze and utilize meter data by the end of this year as well.
 

Reported by Smart City Today