Moreton Bay Council tracking water levels from space


By Dylan Bushell-Embling
Tuesday, 14 September, 2021


Moreton Bay Council tracking water levels from space

Moreton Bay Regional Council is using satellite IoT technology for smart water monitoring, and expects to save around $20,000 per annum from the project.

The council selected Optus Enterprise and Myriota to design and deploy the solution, which will use IoT sensors to monitor the level of water in outdoor water tanks in public facilities.

The Australian-first solution has been designed to enable near real-time insights into water levels at the locations, enabling the council to make informed decisions about water leakage, tackle problems involving unexpected water shortage, and optimise operations and resource management.

Eliminating the need to send out council workers to manually check tank levels is expected to contribute to an anticipated 200% decline in operational and maintenance costs as a result of the project.

Satellite IoT technology company Myriota entered a partnership with Optus in 2019 to provide remote and regional connectivity for IoT devices and applications. The solution uses the Optus satellite network, low-cost IoT satellite modems from Myriota and water tank sensors developed by Australian industrial automation company Ellenex.

Optus Enterprise Managing Director Chris Mitchell said that collaboration between Optus and Myriota was central to developing the tailored IoT solution.

“Myriota are global leaders in nanosatellite IoT and by partnering with them and leveraging  our amazing network, we were able to unlock new opportunities of IoT by delivering connectivity solutions to industries and regional areas previously constrained by coverage and cost,” he said.

Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery added that this marks the latest in a line of smart city technologies adopted by the council.

“As a council we have made great strides in implementing smart technologies, from our AI road scanning system on garbage trucks to pathway defect detection e-bikes, just to name a few,” he said.

“And the deployment of these innovative IoT satellite sensors for water monitoring is just another step we take to embrace technological solutions for the benefit of our community. These water tanks are critical in supplying water for toilets and other amenities at our region’s remote areas, which are used by many locals and tourists each year.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Yarr65

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