Zpryme_2015_SWS_Report_10-1-15

7/17/2019 Zpryme_2015_SWS_Report_10-1-15

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12015 Smart Water Survey | October 2015etsinsights.com | zpryme.com

Neptune Report Cover Here

NEPTUNE TECHNOLOGY GROUP PRESENTS:

SMART WATER SURVEY REPORT 2015OCTOBER 2015




• Executive Summary 3

• Methodology 4

• Key Findings 5

• 2015 Survey Results 7

• Respondent Information 7

• Smart Water Overview 15

• Smart Water Technology 20

• Smart Water Challenges 25

• Smart Water Spending 28

Table of Contents




Sponsored by Neptune Technology Group, this report comes from a smart water surveyof 86 U.S. water utilities completed by Zpryme and the Smart Water Summit (SWS).Nine out of 10 water utilities have a smart water plan, and many water utilities arebeginning to embrace smart water technologies, including AMI as well as analytics.

Key Takeaways

• The focus now is on smart meters and billing, but those capabilities will expand as

utilities gain more experience with smart water technologies.

• Cost is the top concern for smart water efforts, but the challenges are more thanfinancing, including finding the right business model to make smart investmentsfeasible for water utilities.

• Many water utilities use traditional forms of customer engagement, such as doorhangers and paper bills, but are looking to expand their customer engagement effortsto include social media.

Executive Summary




Zpryme and the Smart Water Summit (SWS) conducted the survey from Augustthrough September 2015. The survey consisted of 42 questions about smart waterinitiatives in the U.S. A total of 86 water utilities responded to the survey.

• Data reported in this report are a percent of the total respondents.

• Water utilities in this survey came from all over the U.S., with the largestrepresentation from the South Atlantic (30%).

• In terms of water production, most respondents produced between 10 and 100 MGD.

• In terms of expertise, many respondents were operations (42%) as well as a goodrepresentation of the different disciplines, including engineering (15%). Manyparticipants felt they wore “multiple hats” in their organizations.

Methodology




Key Findings

• The top concern related to water treatment is sensors for better monitoring andmeasurement (70%) followed by better command and control (58%).

• Respondents agreed that smart water infrastructure should cover a variety oftechnologies, including meter data management (MDM) (94%), leak detection(92%), and geographic information systems (GIS) (91%).

• Many respondents are still in the planning/investigation stage (42%) for smart water

systems, but most (49%) are undertaking at least some smart water efforts,including pilot programs.

• Smart water systems are priorities in the plans of most water utilities in the next 24to 36 months. Many utilities rate smart water systems as high priorities (48%) andmoderate priorities (41%) in their plans.

• Although basic benefits of smart water are still important, such as automating meterreads (73%) and improved customer service (50%), water utilities are finding moreadvanced benefits like analytics-based decision making (35%).




• Water utilities are taking on a variety of smart water technologies, includingautomatic meter reading (AMR) (60%). A third of respondents are working onadvanced metering infrastructure (AMI), MDM and data analytics.

• Some utilities are considering managed services (27%), but nearly half are not sureabout managed services (47%). Some respondents weren’t sure because they did

not understand managed services.

• Smart water systems also include customer engagement tools. Water utilities usetheir website the most, followed by email and social media.

• Even with the opportunities and benefits of smart water systems, there are stillchallenges, primarily cost (79%). Business model (49%) and cybersecurity (35%)round out the top concerns.

• Smart water isn’t just about technology; people are an important part of it, too. The

biggest skill gaps facing water utilities include systems integration (52%) and dataanalytics (47%) skills.

• Most water utilities are planning to spend up to $1M on smart water in the next 12months (75%), with slightly less than half (43%) planning to spend between $1M and

$5M in the next 24 months.

Key Findings


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RespondentInformation



What is Your Functional Expertise?

Operations27%

Engineering15%

Technology4%Maintenance

7%

Customer service7%

Informationtechnology7%

Meters7%

Communications1%

Infrastructureproject

management

5%

Multiple areas9%

Executive8%

Other 3%

In terms of expertise, many respondents were operations (42%) as well as a good representation of the differentdisciplines, including engineering (15%). Many participants felt they wore “multiple hats” in their organizations.



Location of Utility

New England1%

Mid-Atlantic0%

East NorthCentral

9%West North Central

8%

South Atlantic30%

East South Central4%

West South

Central11%

Mountain12%

Pacific26%

Water utilities in this survey came from all over the U.S., with the largest representation from the South Atlantic (30%).



Average MGD Produced by Water System

Up to 0.51%

0.51 to2.06%

2.1 to 5.016%

5.1 to 10.011%

10.1 to 25.029%

25.1 to 50.015%

50.1 to 100.014%

100.1 to250.08%

Over 250.00%

In terms of water production, most respondents produced between 10 and 100 MGD.



Source Water

Ground23%

Surface34%

Purchased9%

Mixture Ground /Surface

27%

MixtureGround /

Purchased7%

MixtureSurface /

Purchased0%

Most respondents relied on surface (34%) and ground (23%) water, or a combination of the two (31%).



56%

19%

53%

33%

0

44%

81%

47%

67%

86

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Manage a WW treatment plant?

Recycle gray water?

Monitor combined sewer/sanitary sewer overflows?

Mandate to monitor combined sewer/sanitary sewer overflows?

answered question

Yes No

Does Your Utility:

Respondents faced a variety of pressures and responsibilities from mandates to monitor combined sewer/sanitarysewer overflows (33%) to managing wastewater treatment plants (56%).

Have a mandate to monitor combinedsewer/sanitary sewer overflows?



Some respondents had some sort of water restrictions in place, including year-round (16%) as well as seasonal(23%) restrictions.

Water Restrictions

Seasonal23%

Year-round16%

None61%



Top Three Concerns Related to Water Treatment

2%

26%

38%

49%

57%

58%

70%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Biomass gasification

Organic/inorganic deposits

Security

Energy management

Water purity and filtering technologies

Command and control

Sensors for better monitoring & measurement

The top concern related to water treatment is sensors for better monitoring and measurement (70%) followed by bettercommand and control (58%).



Smart WaterOverview



Importance for Smart Water Infrastructure

70%

78%

83%

83%

85%

85%

85%

87%

88%

88%

91%

92%

94%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Network sensors

AMR

E-billing presentment/payment

Billing automation

Asset management

Work management

Equipment energy efficiency

AMI

Leak detection (customers)

Data analytics

GIS

Leak detection (network)

MDM

Respondents agreed that smart water infrastructure should cover a variety of technologies, including MDM (94%),leak detection technologies (92%), and GIS (91%).

Meter data management (MDM)

Geographic information system (GIS)

Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)

Automatic meter reading (AMR)



Status of Smart Water Infrastructure Deployment

Planning stage

44%

Approvingbudgets

0%

Pilot

deployment9%

Multiple applications20%

Large-scaledeployment

20%

No plans

7%

Many respondents are still in the planning/investigation stage (42%) for smart water systems, but most (49%) areundertaking at least some smart water efforts, including pilot programs.




Importance of Smart Water in the Next 24 to 36 Months

High priority48%

Moderate priority41%

Low priority12%

Not a priority0%

Smart water systems are priorities in the plans of most water utilities in the next 24 to 36 months. Many utilitiesrate smart water systems as high priorities (48%) and moderate priorities (41%) in their plans.




Top Three Benefits of Smart Water Technology

2%

5%

8%

16%

28%

29%

31%

31%

34%

50%

73%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Reduced customer bills

Increased security

Better use of limited water resources

Lower utility costs

Water conservation

Better use of personnel

Increased distribution visibility/control

Decreased non-revenue water loss

Analytics-based decision making

Improved customer service

Automated meter readings

Although basic benefits of smart water are still important, such as automating meter reads (73%) and improvedcustomer service (50%), water utilities are finding more advanced benefits like analytics-based decision making (35%).

Decreased non-revenue water




Smart WaterTechnology




Technology Status

60%

34% 35% 36%

67%

45%

8%

10% 7% 5%

0%

5%

8%

22% 29% 35%

15%

28%

6%

14%14%

14% 5% 5%1% 8%

7%5% 7%

9%16%

12% 8% 6% 6% 8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

AMR AMI MDM Data analytics Cyber andphysical security

Customer engagement

Underway/Complete Pilot Next 3 years Next 5 years Next 10 years Never

Water utilities are taking on a variety of smart water technologies, including AMR (60%). A third of respondents areworking on AMI, MDM and data analytics. Security is important, but mostly focused on physical security.




Technology Status, Continued

62%

77% 77% 72%

55% 51%

6%

0% 2%2%

7%2%

15%

16% 13% 19%

19%29%

5%1% 5% 5%

10% 9%6%

2%3% 1%

6% 1%7%

3% 0% 1%3% 7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Underway/Complete Pilot Next 3 years Next 5 years Next 10 years Never

More traditional technologies, such as CIS (62%) and GIS (77%), have greater usage within water utilities than newer

smart water technologies.




Would You Consider Managed Services?

Yes27%

No27%

Not sure47%

Some utilities are considering managed services (27%), but nearly half are not sure about managed services (47%).Some respondents weren’t sure because they did not understand managed services.




Use of Customer Engagement Tools

27%

12%6% 2%

12%5% 5%

37%

28%

27%

6%

32%

11%4%

30%

25%

18%

16%

22%

20%

15%

2%

18%

7%

23%

11%

10%16%

3%

11%

18%31%

16%

36%

24%

0%6%

24% 21%

7%19%

35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Companywebsite

Social media IVR Text Email Mobile apps Third-partyservices

Use extensively Use regularly Use some

Use rarely Never use, but plan to Never use, no plans to

Smart water systems also include customer engagement tools. Water utilities use their website the most, followedby email and social media. Many admitted that they need to increase their customer engagement efforts.




Smart WaterChallenges




Top Three Concerns for Implementing Smart Water

11%

11%

15%

20%

23%

24%

30%

35%

49%

79%

0%20%40%60%80%100%

Physical security

Lack of interest

Regulatory approval

Interoperability

Lack of skilled employees

Lack of knowledge

Unknown customer adoption

Cybersecurity

Business model

Budget

Even with the opportunities and benefits of smart water systems, there are still challenges, primarily cost (79%).Business model (49%) and cybersecurity (35%) round out the top concerns.




19%

24%

26%

27%

29%

41%

47%

52%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Project management

Organization design/change management

Customer engagement

Systems engineering

Utility process design

IT network management

Data analytics

Systems integration

Smart Water Skill Gaps for Existing Workforce

Smart water isn’t just about technology; people are an important part of it, too. The biggest skill gaps facing water

utilities include systems integration (52%) and data analytics (47%) skills.




Smart WaterSpending




75%

38% 38%

13%

43%32%

4%10%

16%

7% 9%14%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Next 12 months Next 24 months Next 36 months

Up to $1M $1M to $5M $5M to $10M More than $10M

Smart Water Spending Trends

Most water utilities are planning to spend up to $1M on smart water in the next 12 months (75%), with slightly lessthan half (43%) planning to spend between $1M and $5M in the next 24 months.



Neptune Report Closing Here

ABOUT NEPTUNE

Neptune Technology Group Inc. is a leader inthe development of automatic meter reading(AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure(AMI) technologies for more than 50 years. Bysponsoring this study, Neptune hopes to furtherits vision of being our customers' most valued

partner. Learn more at www.neptunetg.com.

Documents

Zpryme_2015_SWS_Report_10-1-15