Supporting Mount Isa’s Transition to a Smart Water Utility of the Future

Mount Isa is a city located in northwest Queensland in Australia. Its remote location and hot and semi-arid climate make water a particularly valuable commodity, increasing the need for localized, sustainable water management solutions.

Mount Isa City Council (MICC) has been investigating technologies to help it create smarter utilities and operations for the future. To support its smart water management vision, MICC has launched a $2.3 million (AUS $3 million) advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) smart water meter program. When deployed, the technology will accurately collect and report water consumption data, enabling customers to better manage their water usage and the council to identify leaks on customers’ properties and in the MICC water network, resulting in increased water savings for the community.

Jacobs was appointed to serve the effort as Procurement Lead, Technical Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Smart Water Meter SME.  In this role, we’ve provided insight and guidance that will facilitate MICC’s smart water journey and deliver the envisioned benefits.

Applying our knowledge of Smart Metering technologies and our experience in delivering programs for providers across the world, we’re helping MICC capitalize on its investment in AMI technology by harnessing value from enhanced consumption data and improved operational efficiencies and stakeholder engagement. Staff morale and productivity, customer satisfaction, and informed system planning will all be facilitated by AMI.

"Our track record in delivering similar projects enabled us to develop the technical specification and evaluation criteria to meet MICC’s unique requirements," said Jaason Englesmith, Global Technology Leader for Smart Metering at Jacobs. "Our customized approach, starting with the end in mind, has helped the Council to make strategic decisions to realize benefits at every step of this project."

Converting key technical requirements of AMI battery life and coverage into commercial requirements, Jacobs reduced risk and uncertainty for MICC over the 15-year battery lifecycle. By leveraging our deep technical understanding and experience, we helped MICC select the optimal solution amongst vastly different technical options. Selecting the solution with the static meters with embedded long-range connectivity over the traditional mechanical meters, we helped identify over $1million of savings for MICC.

Following the work MICC has done in de-risking the project using the advice Jacobs provided during procurement, the project is now approaching the deployment and implementation phase. This will see over 7,500 smart water meters installed across the region from July 2021, with an estimated completion date of December 2021.

Mayor Danielle Slade said the project was set to be a gamechanger for Mount Isa residents. “This project is going to be a big help for us when it comes to tracking water throughout the city. We’ll be able to isolate and detect leaks a lot more easily, which will save the community both water and money in the long run.”

“Jacobs’ AMI experience has been invaluable. The team has a deep understanding of the use cases, technology and processes involved in implementing AMI,” said Stephen Jewell, Manager of Water and Sewer at Mt Isa City Council. “Their guidance has allowed us to make an informed decision, simplifying the process while reducing the risks for MICC.”

Jacobs has been at the forefront of implementing AMI and smart water technologies around the globe, including at PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency. Read more about our role as AMI Specialist on PUB’s Smart Water Meter Program roll-out — a major step in the agency’s transition to a smart utility.

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