Abstract
Brief Summary
Groundwater resources are seen as a much more reliable source of water than surface water and are regarded as the main water supply in times of drought. Indiscriminate use of these priceless resources leads to some inevitable consequences such as a decline in groundwater tables, which is irreparable in short run. In the meantime, water pumping requires loads of energy; therefore, another issue is the increasing energy demand for running electro-pumps of water wells.
RSA Electronics Co. develops to solve all these kind of problems by offering an effective and practical solution. This project is aimed at decreasing the environmental hazards by monitoring and management of groundwater resources. This solution includes three main elements: A metering Device, a communication Device and Software. The meter which was patented in USA measures water consumption volume by measuring the amount of energy consumption via electro-pump of water wells. RSA Electronics signed contracts with all Regional Water Utility companies in Iran for manufacturing, installation and calibration of more than 50K meters in every province all across the country. Moreover, the company’s general target markets are North Africa and West Asia for implementation of new projects.
The project addresses the following management goals:
- Providing the most efficient use of groundwater
- Controlling and preventing waste of groundwater
- Controlling and preventing subsidence and other environmental hazards
- Protection and conservation of groundwater resources
- Controlling the electricity demand in peak hours
- Preventing well’s drying up
According to the success of the project in mentioned areas, Northern Khorasan has been announced as our case study in Iran. We implemented the project at this province completely and all of the wells are equipped with smart energy and water meter. In this case, yearly water level drop of groundwater has decreased from 75 cm to 6 cm.
In practice, the solution resulted in a variety of positive feedbacks such as:
- The amounts of pumping water from groundwater resources are monitored
- Beneficiaries are biased toward increasing the efficiency of water use (irrigation methods, etc.)
- The volume of over-pumping has been decreased
- Prevented from groundwater related subsidence
- Controlling the saltwater intrusion
- Decrease cost of pumping and well infrastructure
This project which aimed at preventing groundwater over pumping by a smart tool is novel in the world.
Writer
Hossein Nazarboland Jahromia, Mehdi Jafari Hamedanib, Seyed Foad Dolatabadic
aChief Executive Officer at RSA Electronics, No. 23, Bld. 436, Beheshti Street, Tehran (15867-64663), Iran
bMarket Development Manager at RSA Electronics, No. 23, Bld. 436, Beheshti Street, Tehran (15867-64663), Iran
cMarket Development Senior Expert at RSA Electronics, No. 23, Bld. 436, Beheshti Street, Tehran (15867-64663), Iran