A case study involving Aqua Pennsylvania’s use of the AMERICAN Flow Control SEMPER® Remote Pressure Monitor (RPM) appeared in the November 2023 Opflow. Aqua PA began using the pressure sensing technology more than two years ago to identify pressure transients, reduce water main breaks and mitigate nonrevenue water.

One specific example in Aqua PA’s Chalfont system demonstrated the technology’s efficiency in pinpointing pressure transients. AFC SEMPER RPMs were deployed after Mike Henry, Aqua PA’s distribution maintenance manager for Chalfont, noticed an uptick in main breaks. Within a few days of deployment, Aqua PA isolated the problem to a specific pump within one of Chalfont’s pressure zones that was causing transient pressure swings exceeding 100 psi. This was detected thanks to the AFC SEMPER RPM’s ability to collect up to 256 pressure measurements per second, which provides visibility to transients that Aqua PA was unable to detect using traditional pressure gauges. Aqua PA installed a soft-start control on a pump for less than $5,000 and observed a significant reduction in transients. The installation and response reduced main breaks by 80%—despite the water system’s experiencing a more extreme winter than the year before—and reduced service line leaks by 100%. Read the full story here.

The AFC SEMPER RPM is a wireless, battery-powered pressure recorder that provides utilities with data to monitor water pressure throughout their system. It can be installed on any system asset or fire hydrant, is portable and can be used for “lift and shift” applications. It seamlessly integrates with the cloud-based Trimble Unity® Remote Monitoring (RM) software for quick and easy data analysis.