Miami-Dade County plans to generate new revenue by doubling down on water sustainability.
The county partnered with Olea Edge Analytics to launch a four-month pilot program that deploys smart sensors to 25 commercial water meters in the area. That technology will help the county recover lost water revenue from large commercial users – such as airports or manufacturing facilities – by ensuring they are billed correctly.
"Water is precious and scarcity is a real thing," said Dave Mackie, CEO of Olea Edge Analytics. "Knowing how water is being distributed, and billing fairly, is critical."
Although individual residential meters make up most of Miami-Dade's water meters, large commercial and industrial meters still represent between 40% to 60% of the county utility's annual revenue. But commercial meters, which can be difficult to maintain or replace, can lose accuracy by more than 10% a year, Olea Edge Analytics reports.
As a result, many meters undercount water usage, leading some commercial users to consume more water than they actually pay for. That means less revenue for the county.
To remedy that, Olea Edge Analytics uses smart sensors to digitize the detection of any water meter reading problems.
"Our goal is to ensure large users of water pay their fair share, recover revenue, and advance sustainability goals," said Roy Coley, director of Miami-Dade County's water and sewer department.
Nationally, the company has identified about $3.5 billion in water that was not billed correctly due to leaks, damage or metering issues, Mackie said.
"What's really interesting is most cities don't know where that water is going," he added. "A lot of what we do is provide visibility into the water system."
Olea reports it identified more than $1 million in recoverable annual revenue when it launched a similar pilot program with the city of Atlanta in 2018. During the partnership the firm placed sensors on 19 water meters to identify malfunctions and common reading errors.
Founded in 2014, Olea is backed by more than $50 million in venture funding. It closed a $35 million series C round last June led by Insight Partners.
Urban density is expected to rise in the coming decades, with the United Nations projecting 68% of the global population will live in cities by 2050, up from 55% today. Cities will need to update their water infrastructure to conserve resources and guarantee efficient delivery to residents.
"In places like Miami where sea level rise is going to have an effect [on water infrastructure], having visibility into the distribution system will be especially critical," Mackie said.
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