Arkansas city modernizes aging infrastructure

The City of Hot Springs took decisive steps to reduce non-revenue water loss by nearly 50 percent using advanced digital solutions from Xylem (NYSE: XYL).

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The City of Hot Springs Utilities in Arkansas credits advanced metering infrastructure and leak detection for reducing water loss and strives to continuously improve with virtual district metering areas. (Photo: Business Wire)

Hot Springs’ 143-year-old water system experienced frequent leaks due to aging infrastructure and the rocky terrain. The city modernized their system and reduced non-revenue water loss nearly in half.

"Our first wise investment was the deployment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), which allowed us to monitor the system more efficiently with Sensus iPERL^® meters and the FlexNet^® communication network,” said Monty Ledbetter, director of utilities at the City of Hot Springs.

The technology upgrade enabled remotely managed water monitoring and real-time leak detection. It helped Hot Springs identify a sudden water loss of four million gallons. The team quickly located the water line and repaired a broken air release valve.

The utility continued its digital transformation by adding virtual district metering areas with Xylem Vue. The integrated software and analytics platform allowed the city to pinpoint high water loss areas by creating smaller, more manageable zones within the network.

Daily monitoring of the analytics dashboard has been key. When the system flagged unaccounted-for water in one zone, utility workers investigated, and after three inspections, discovered a fire hydrant leaking 2,000 gallons per hour into a creek.

"With Xylem Vue, we're not just reacting to leaks. We're proactively detecting them before they become major issues,” said Ledbetter. “This ability to pinpoint problem areas in real time allows for substantial cost and time savings.”

The city strategically plans to expand the virtual zones and aims to bring non-revenue water down to 10 percent. To learn more about Hot Springs’ digital transformation, read the case study.

About Xylem

Xylem (XYL) is a Fortune 500 global water solutions company that empowers customers and communities to build a more water-secure world. Our 23,000 diverse employees delivered combined pro forma revenue of $8.1 billion in 2023, optimizing water and resource management with innovation and expertise. Join us at www.xylem.com and “Let’s Solve Water.”

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