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IBM sketches smart grid technology for water management
By siliconindia
Bangalore: Sketching out the technical architecture required to use fresh water more efficiently, IBM is developing IT-related water management technologies, a business which is estimated to reach a total of about $20 billion within five years. IBM and Intel will be forming a working group to study how information technology can be used to improve water management, according to IBM.
As reported by CNET, water systems even in developed countries like the U.S. are outdated, with faulty pipes, where some of them are still made of wood. This results in 25 percent to 45 percent loss of water. "The hard truth is that most of the countries in the developing world are outgrowing the amount of water that is available to them," said Peter Williams, the Chief Technology Officer of IBM's Big Green Innovations Program, who is representing IBM at a conference organized by the Water Innovations Alliance industry association. Also, there are several corporate risks involved in the poor water management system. Industries that rely on water, such as semiconductors, agriculture, or beverages, are susceptible to disruptions of supply. "Certainly, it's the case that water is the great sleeping crisis and it is most definitely starting to wake up."
To capitalize on constraints in energy generation, carbon emissions, energy in the data center, and water, IBM launched Big Green Innovations two and a half years ago. Also, IBM has already had a number of water-related deals. In a partnership with the Nature Conservancy, it's gathering data on various environmental factors to measure the health of river ecosystems. In the Netherlands, IBM is involved in the design of levies to understand potential breaking points. Upgrading the water utility infrastructure is analogous to the many smart-grid technologies now being tested to make the grid run more efficiently and use more renewable energy.
In these cases, IBM is building the software and networks to handle incoming data from sensors and to provide tools to let people analyze the information. It's also testing smart water meters that would provide more accurate consumption data and alert customer if there's a problem, such as a leak. It's also looking at new sensors being developed to track the level of pathogens or chemical contaminants that come from use of pharmaceuticals.
Big Blue's Maximo "asset management" software is used by many water utilities to keep track and maintain their equipment of pumps, plants, and filtration equipment.
