Coimbatore Corporation plans IoT-based smart water distribution for added areas

Coimbatore Corporation plans to implement IoT-based smart water distribution system for equitable supply in newly added wards.

Coimbatore Corporation plans to implement an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart water distribution system to ensure equitable supply in the 40 wards added to the city after 2011.

A pilot project costing ₹2.5 crore has been implemented in Cheran Nagar, Kavundampalayam, covering 400 houses.

While a 24/7 water supply project is underway for the 60 pre-2011 wards, the added areas currently receive intermittent supply.

To address this, the Corporation has partnered with PSG College of Technology under a Department of Science and Technology (DST)-funded programme. The project aims to implement a smart distribution system using water meters, valves, sensors, and data analytics.

Instead of individual tapping for each house service connection (HSC), a bulk tapping system will be used for a group of houses on a street, forming a Sub-District Metering Area (Sub-DMA) unit. All meters, valves, and sensors are secured within a Sub-DMA panel, with service pipes extending to individual houses. These panels are linked to a central control panel via Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), allowing remote monitoring.

Each consumer is allocated 650 litres per day, supplied over a fixed timeframe. Once the designated quantity is delivered, the valve automatically shuts off. Consumers can request adjustments based on their needs.

“The water is supplied without any stoppage from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., and the systematic distribution is good. Earlier, operators used to supply water at midnight, and the frequency varied, leaving people clueless about the supply,” said P.R. Mahalingam, a resident of Cheran Nagar.