ATLANTA – August 4, 2016 – The State of California, already under a state-mandated water conservation program, continues to struggle due to property owners – residential and commercial – not heeding the State’s warning. As of late, a persistently dry year in Metro Atlanta has many wondering if the State of Georgia is next.
Before state legislators issue a Level 3 drought (no landscape irrigation) or worse (full water reduction mandate), WaterSignal, an Atlanta-area water technology and conversation company, offers a solution to multifamily and commercial properties. Through the use of WaterSignal, property management can monitor water flow in real time and detect water spikes which, as a result, can save consumption and cost by 14% on average.
“The City of Atlanta already has one of the highest water rates in the country – partly due to the demand for water under drought conditions incurred over the past couple of years,” says David Taylor, senior vice president, WaterSignal. “If larger users don’t change their water conservation practices soon, the State will be forced to step in.”
As reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, DeKalb County has already recommended that residents limit outdoor watering as metro Atlanta and northern corners of Georgia have remained in an extreme drought this month. DeKalb County also mentioned that limits on water are expected to grow throughout the summer.
“While the State has not yet stepped in, the addition of more counties implementing limits may force the State’s hand,” says Taylor. “The goal is to start saving now so we all don’t pay more later through fines and rate increases.”
Through a non-invasive device on the water meter, WaterSignal reads water flow in real time and wirelessly sends the data to an easy to use dashboard for the facility manager to measure, compare against other buildings and even analyze down to the hour. WaterSignal averages 14% savings for commercial and multifamily properties; as a result, the system essentially pays for itself in six to eight months.
In addition to real time data, the WaterSignal system features instant alerts in the event of a major leak; much like an energy surge popping a circuit breaker. The alert can be sent to both computers and smartphones, and can be customized for business hours, after hours and weekends.
“Like we are currently doing in California to help those property owners, we offer services that go beyond our water conservation technology. One is a thorough water audit that pinpoints other best practices and products – such as low flow fixtures, cooling tower valve replacement and new irrigation heads – that enables a property to save water and money,” says Taylor.
With 260 systems installed in 2015, collectively, WaterSignal has over 1000 systems installed in 19 states.
