Smart Water Management Platform Announces Water Monitoring Trial Program for Drought-Stricken Texas Municipalities

Olea Edge Analytics, an edge computing platform for the water utility industry, is offering a risk-free 60-day trial of its solution to cities and counties affected by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent drought disaster declaration.

Olea is asking municipal leaders to take immediate action as triple-digit temperatures dry up bodies of water and damage crops. With water levels dropping, utilities with at least 1,000 large meters (2 inches and larger) can benefit from more visibility into the amount of water in their systems.

“As a Texas company, we’re seeing first-hand the effects of this brutal drought across the state,” said Dave Mackie, Olea Edge Analytics CEO. “We want to issue this as a call to action so that cities and counties can quickly address declining water levels. In a matter of weeks, utilities can identify the most critical problems, prioritize repairs and prevent the loss of millions of gallons of water.”

On July 8, Abbott issued a drought disaster declaration because “exceptional drought conditions pose a threat of imminent disaster.” The impacted areas include the cities of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth and cover 164 of Texas’ 254 counties. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lists dozens of public water systems that are limiting water use to avoid shortages.

Olea’s platform focuses on the health of large commercial and industrial water meters, which can lose accuracy by more than 10% per year under normal conditions. Cities have a responsibility to keep these meters working correctly as they account for 70% or more of a utility’s annual revenue. Through Olea’s AI, machine learning and edge computing technology, utilities have never-before-seen insights into the health of their largest revenue generators, enabling utilities to achieve a new level of commercial meter performance and dramatically reduce water loss.

Olea has been working with the City of Atlanta - Department of Watershed Management since 2018. Last year, the partnership expanded to more than 2,000 meters across the Atlanta metro area. In less than a year, the program identified $10 million in potential revenue. Earlier this year, Miami launched a pilot program to deploy Olea’s smart technology to more than 25 large commercial meters throughout Dade County.