Safe Remote Water Monitoring in the Age of Covid-19

IoT Scotland is available free of charge to anyone responding to the unique challenges raised by Covid-19.

In the fifth article of our series, we explore the role IoT based remote water monitoring solutions are playing in helping to prevent dangerous water system conditions in buildings that are closed or operating at reduced occupancy.

Following the UK lockdown large swathes of the economy were forced to close to curb the spread of Covid-19, with many public and private sector organisations including schools, leisure centres, offices and retail centre closing their doors.

Bacterial & Legionella Risk

In particular environmental conditions, water systems can potentially develop harmful bacteria, so with buildings closed and systems being used less frequently, it’s more likely that conditions which encourage bacterial growth such as Legionella will occur as water becomes stagnant in pipes. Water temperature may also be adversely affected by unusual patterns of building usage such as central heating systems being turned down or off entirely.

Employers and landlords of buildings with dedicated water systems have a duty of care to protect the health and safety of employees and the general public by identifying and controlling the risk of exposure to Legionella, which may have occurred due to prolonged closure or lack of use.

Once a water system has been overwhelmed with bacterial growth such as Legionella it is very challenging to deal with and in most cases requires the building to be shut down until the bacteria are eradicated – which in extreme cases requires major structural work to cut out contaminated water system pipes. This serious and potentially avoidable situation can incur significant expense on an organisation and extend the shutdown of buildings, which may have already been closed for several months.

Safe Remote Water Monitoring

IoT Scotland partner, M2M Cloud’s Neptune Water Monitoring system is proven to reduce the likelihood of dangerous water system conditions occurring by identifying flow events and perpetually monitoring the temperature of both hot and cold water feeds. IoT Sensors are used to remotely record temperature readings, data captured is then presented through a visual management platform. Where water temperature is outside of predefined ranges the system sends a real-time alert to appointed staff, providing early notification of the potential risk and allowing action to be taken.

One organisation benefiting from the Neptune Water Monitoring technology and IoT Scotland connectivity is The Highland Council, who are in the process of installing into one hundred buildings across their expansive estate. Read More

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