Reversing water loss in a rural municipality

In June 2019, the town of Oneida, Tennessee, was experiencing an impossible situation. With increasing state regulations and massive water loss, the water department was taken over by the local government.

Oneida produces approx. 1500 million litres of water a year and saw a 51% water loss, meaning that over 750 million litres were being lost to leaks every year. The loss was costing the municipal council approx. €183,000 annually and meant the water treatment plant had to operate on 12- to 14-hour days to keep up with demand.

Oneida received a warning from the EPA and, like many rural municipalities with limited resources and ageing infrastructure, was overwhelmed by increasing expectations and out of ideas.

“We were in trouble. We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know what to buy.”

“To me, the scariest thing about this project was the topography.”

During the initial three-month period after the Kamstrup meters were installed, Oneida uncovered and repaired a single leak that had been running for five months at an estimated cost of approx. €21,000 per year.

The relationship between Kamstrup and Oneida was established with the arrival of a new General Manager, Stephen Owens, at the Oneida water department. A veteran water steward, Owens came out of retirement to help the town, working on the pre-condition that the municipal council needed to fix the leaks before it could overhaul its infrastructure.

Owens sought an AMI partner (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) with ALD experience (Acoustic Leak Detection) to help detect leaks for the municipal council. Owens started with Kamstrup, an impressive company he had encountered years earlier at a trade show.

The municipal council of Oneida became Kamstrup’s first fully ALD system in the U.S.

“The system is performing better than expected. We think it’s even surpassed what Kamstrup expected.” 

– Stephen Owens, General Manager, Oneida Water Department

Oneida installed 4,600 Kamstrup meters and erected 12 collectors in the EPA’s designated five-week timeframe. With no more than four, or .08%, meters non-operational upon arrival, this proved to be a huge success.

Once the meters were installed, Oneida shifted its focus to activating the ALD system. “It lit up like a Christmas tree,” which was a relief for the water department, as it gave them information, direction and pinpointed exact locations to start fixing leaks.

In the first three months after the Kamstrup meters were installed, Oneida’s non-revenue water was reduced by 23%. The municipal council’s 51% water loss was reduced to 38% loss, and the water treatment plant operation was reduced by three hours per day. With leak detection in tow, Oneida has transitioned to recovery and is steadily upgrading its infrastructure, utilising a two-man crew to fix an average of five to six leaks per day.

“We’ve been able to cut back our water treatment plant operations by three hours a day, which means our staff can do other things like fixing leaks.”

The water department has become adept at using the Kamstrup ALD system. They are doing the hard work of methodically addressing leaks and repairing their infrastructure. The municipal council is aiming to repair approx. 3.2 km of pipe per year and reduce its water loss to under 15%. With leaks and loss under control, the Oneida water treatment plant continues to improve its operating time.

Oneida is now a showcase for municipal water management in Tennessee. In spring 2022, the municipal council was awarded additional grant money for infrastructure improvement thanks to its proactive efforts and transformation.

As partners in leak detection and water management, Kamstrup and Oneida actively share intelligence and insights. The project has exceeded every expectation. In the words of Oneida’s Stephen Owens: “We think the system performs even better than Kamstrup thought it would.”

“We went from being on a warning to being a source of pride for the state of Tennessee.”