Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company Limited (ELDOWAS) is a water service provider for Eldoret town in the Rift Valley of Kenya.
The company was the first water service provider in Kenya to attain ISO 9001:2008 certification in international Quality Management Standards. Ever ambitious, it planned to continue setting national standards as a pioneer in customer satisfaction.
However, its network was facing a number of challenges, including extensive leaks and Non-Revenue Water.
By partnering with Diehl Metering to implement a pilot AMR project, ELDOWAS has managed to overcome these challenges. Thanks to regular and accurate data readings, the company can now quickly address network issues and has increased overall stakeholder satisfaction. Additional meters are set to be added to further expand the network.
Key figures
74% of the network was affected by problems relating to readings, estimations and coverage
The disparities in the new environment under the AMR project, reporting NRW levels at 6% unlike other areas whose NRW levels are at 42%
500 Altair V4 volumetric meters & 200 Aquila V5 single jet meters have been installed by the end of 2020
The challenge: Improve network service to boost customer satisfaction
The long-term ambition of ELDOWAS has always been to provide exceptional customer service to all its stakeholders, including end consumers and its principal shareholder, the County Government of Uasin Gishu. To become recognised as a leader in customer satisfaction, it needed to address a number of network problems.
At around 42%, Non-Revenue Water was a significant challenge. Fraud and water theft meant that ELDOWAS needed to monitor its network much more closely. In addition, the company faced extensive coverage problems, as well as inaccurate readings and estimations. Water leaks were also common, particularly in areas at very high altitude with differential pressure issues when there is air in the pipes.
The solution: An AMR network for remote and accurate readings
In October 2018, Diehl Metering began working with ELDOWAS to implement a pilot AMR project, enabling the company to read meters remotely. This was one of the first AMR projects in Kenya, and initially comprised 100 meters.
The network was then expanded, and is now composed of 500 Altair V4 volumetric water meters, 200 Aquila V5 single jet meters and 3 WESAN Bulk Meters.
Readings are transmitted using 703 IZAR RCi G4 radio modules, 2 RDC Standard receivers, and a Mobile reading solution (IZAR@MOBILE2 – CATS41 – Bluetooth Receiver – OptoHead). All the network data can then be easily accessed by ELDOWAS using the IZAR PLUS PORTAL software.
Throughout the project, the Diehl Metering team in Africa has worked closely with its partner Eastern Africa DANCO Limited to provide the necessary support and expertise to ELDOWAS technicians.
Benefits: Customer satisfaction through better monitoring, billing and reactivity
The most striking impact of the solution has been in the comparison between the new environment under AMR project recording 6% on Non- Revenue Water levels compared to the environment that is not under the project recording NRW levels as high as 42%. In just a few months, the quality of the remote data reading has enabled ELDOWAS to dramatically reduce illegal water traffic, fraud and theft during the night.
Data is now generated remotely on a daily basis, empowering ELDOWAS to deliver more accurate billing and detect leaks much more quickly. As a result, customer complaints have been significantly reduced.
Thanks to network alarms for leaks and hardware problems, ELDOWAS has managed to reduce the time required for maintenance work. Previously, it could take months to resolve network problems. Today, most issues are fixed within a week.
In addition, the quality of Diehl Metering’s Altair V4 meters means there are no longer any issues with pressure in high altitude areas.
Combining AMR solution with Aquaflex HDPE pipe’s outstanding features of powerful hydraulics. Because of it’s fewer fittings and minimum thrust blocks. The pipe does not corrode in the environment, and maintains its flow capabilities over time, unlike ferrous piping systems, which will rust and build up internal resistance to fluid flowing through it. This combination with AMR has therefore reduced the Non-Revenue Water levels tremendously.
The World Bank recommends that NRW should be less than 25% of the total water produced. ELDOWAS is now able to serve its customers better while ensuring the company’s sustainability.