DIGITALISATION
makes a huge difference in the water sector
Sabine Dall’Omo, chief executive of Siemens Southern Africa and Eastern Africa, talks to Kirsten Kelly about digital solutions that can help manage water. Sabine Dall’Omo, chief executive, Siemens Southern Africa and Eastern Africa
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or many years, leak detection and water meter management were manual processes. But with digitalisation, a customer or utility can view their meter readings by clicking a button and a municipality or water board can be notified of a leak, abnormal deviation with a pump, or water pressure changes via an alarm or SMS. “Water utilities and municipalities need to distribute and treat water as efficiently as possible, water treatment works (WTWs) must have as little downtime as possible, and municipalities must send out accurate and timely billing. Digitalisation can help with all of this,” says Sabine
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Dall’Omo, chief executive of Siemens Southern Africa and Eastern Africa. She adds that there has been a massive leap in terms of technology since most of South Africa’s WTWs were built. “Digitalisation allows for the monitoring of an entire water distribution network. A water utility’s first step towards digitalisation would be to learn what types of technologies are available. The second step would be to reach out to various organisations that support developing countries and get feasibility studies off the ground in trialling various technologies. It is very important to have an understanding of what technologies
are a ‘nice to have’ and what technologies are a ‘must have’.” Siemens products Siemens supports the water industry with a comprehensive set of solutions for the entire water cycle. Smart water management technologies and digital management systems, combined with faster response times, could dramatically increase water reliability and significantly reduce losses. Siemens Water (SIWA) applications are developed for the water and wastewater industry operators, and can be used to optimise energy efficiency, avoid water
