The urgent need for sustainable water management solutions has never been clearer, especially in regions like India, where growing populations and agricultural demands place significant pressure on limited freshwater resources.
In an exclusive interview with
Website Planet, Kapil Dev.G shares the inspiration behind his IoT-based Smart Water Management solution and how it aligns with global sustainability goals. Drawing on over a decade of experience in software and technology, his team developed a system that monitors water usage, optimizes consumption, and ensures equitable distribution.
This innovation not only addresses India’s unique challenges but also contributes to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for clean water and sanitation.
What inspired the development of your IoT-based Smart Water Management solution, and how does it align with global sustainability goals?
India is a country with significant agricultural activities, a growing population, and complex water management challenges. Globally, freshwater availability is less than 3%, and consumption is increasing rapidly across sectors—agriculture, industry, households, and commercial use. This growing demand, coupled with the limited availability of freshwater, inspired us to act.
Hearing reports of severe water scarcity in regions like South Africa, where groundwater levels have dropped to critical levels, made us realize the urgency of the issue. As a software and technology company with over a decade of experience, we decided to leverage our expertise to develop a sustainable solution. Our focus turned to water management, especially in India, where challenges range from inconsistent metering systems to overconsumption of fresh water for non-essential purposes like car washing and construction.
In many Indian states, there is no water metering system, leading to unregulated consumption. While urban areas often have ready access to water, rural communities face significant challenges, with many traveling miles just to obtain drinking water. Recognizing these disparities, we aimed to create a solution that would not only monitor but also optimize water usage.
The Government of India has taken initiatives, such as establishing the Ministry of Jal Shakti, to address water management. Inspired by these efforts and understanding the critical role water will play in the future, we developed our IoT-based Smart Water Management solution.
Our solution is designed to monitor water consumption, quality, and pressure levels, and automate water management processes. By digitizing water management, we provide real-time insights into water usage, helping users—whether individuals, government bodies, or industries—understand and optimize their water consumption. Key features include monitoring water quality (e.g., dissolved solids, chlorine levels) and ensuring the water supplied is safe for drinking.
The solution also aligns with the Government of India’s agenda to provide 65 liters of water per capita daily. By integrating IoT systems, we enable intelligent monitoring, ensuring equitable distribution and efficient usage.
Development of this product began in 2017, with rigorous R&D over three years leading to the launch of our flagship product: KarIoT – AI IoT based Smart Water Management. The name “Kar” honors the name after King Karikala Cholan who built the famous still operable “Kallanai Dam”. This historical reference reflects our commitment to sustainable water management practices rooted in tradition and innovation.
Our solution directly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for clean water and sanitation, contributing to a future where water is conserved and utilized responsibly.
Can you explain the key features of your solution and how it optimizes water usage for residential, industrial, or agricultural applications?
Our solution is intelligent and integrates multiple sensors to monitor key parameters like flow rate, pressure, water quality, and consumption patterns. For residential applications, it allows households to track their daily, weekly, and monthly water usage. For example, you can see that in one month you consumed 5,000 liters and paid a certain amount. If your consumption doubles the next month, you’d immediately see the impact on your bill. This kind of data encourages users to adjust their consumption habits to save water and lower costs, similar to how energy meters work for electricity usage.
We provide real-time alerts and analytics, offering detailed insights into consumption patterns. This empowers users to make informed decisions and reduce waste. For industrial applications, we integrate our solution with sewage treatment plants, effluent treatment plants (ETPs), and water treatment facilities. Our platform offers comprehensive dashboards and animated plant models, which provide real-time analytics. This helps industries monitor operations, detect inefficiencies, and plan maintenance proactively.
In addition to optimizing operations, our solution eliminates the need for manual interventions. Previously, government employees had to physically visit multiple locations to record water meter readings twice a day, often resulting in errors and inefficiencies. For instance, in Chennai, a single individual would travel to 13 locations daily, and the city as a whole has 562 such locations. This process involved a lot of labor, time, and the risk of manual errors.
With our IoT-based solution, the entire process is automated. Data is transmitted in real time, and reports are generated at the click of a button. This automation saves significant time, reduces manpower requirements, and eliminates human error, creating a more efficient and reliable system.
By integrating these features, our solution addresses water management challenges across residential, industrial, and agricultural sectors, ensuring better resource utilization and supporting global sustainability goals.
How does your IoT system leverage real-time data to minimize water waste and enhance efficiency?
Our IoT system leverages real-time data to optimize water management and minimize waste. By connecting to a smart water meter equipped with a data-enabled SIM card, the system transmits real-time data to both web and mobile dashboards. This eliminates the need for manual monitoring. For instance, instead of deploying someone to check meter readings manually, our solution provides instant access to data remotely.
One key feature is its ability to detect leaks. For example, when water is being sent from location A to location B, a drop in pressure indicates a potential leakage. The system immediately sends a notification to the relevant personnel, allowing them to address the issue before significant water is wasted. Without this technology, such problems might only be identified after substantial delays, resulting in unnecessary water loss.
In rural areas, our system supports efficient water distribution. When water is pumped to storage tanks in villages, it also monitors water quality. For instance, during the chlorination process to disinfect water, the system measures the chlorine level (PPM). If the chlorine exceeds the safe threshold, the system automatically prevents the water from being distributed. It sends a notification to ensure the issue is resolved before the water reaches households. This ensures that only clean and safe water is supplied for drinking and other uses.
By combining real-time monitoring, leakage detection, and quality control, our IoT system enhances efficiency and ensures safe water distribution, meeting the needs of both urban and rural communities.
What challenges did you face during the design and implementation of the Smart Water Management system, and how were they addressed?
The initial stages were quite challenging as we transitioned from a purely software-based division to an IoT-embedded solution. IoT (Internet of Things) involves connecting hardware devices to the Internet via cloud platforms and integrating them with software solutions. Think of it like a smart device, such as a CCTV camera or Alexa, where the hardware is linked to a cloud system that you can monitor through a dashboard.
We had been a software-focused company for over a decade, so moving into the hardware domain posed significant challenges. Identifying suitable sensors, and components, and designing the boards were particularly difficult at first. However, through extensive research and development, we overcame these obstacles and successfully implemented our solution. Today, our system is operational in various industries, including government agencies.
One of our key advantages is that we possess expertise in both hardware and software, which are now part of our patented technology. Many companies excel in either hardware or software, but not both. This dual expertise allows us to customize our solutions without relying on external providers. For example, we started with a board for monitoring water consumption and quality, which we later adapted to integrate with sewage treatment plants (STPs) and effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
By connecting these plants to our IoT system, real-time data on plant performance and mechanics is available via the cloud. Previously, plant operations required manual labor to monitor performance and identify issues. Now, our IoT solution eliminates that need. For instance, if an air blower in the STP fails, the system sends an immediate alert, enabling technicians to address the issue promptly. This integration has significantly streamlined operations and improved efficiency in industrial applications.
Could you share a success story or case study where your solution significantly impacted water conservation?
One notable success story involves the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB), the primary water management authority for our state. We participated in and won a water challenge organized by the Central Government of India. This victory led to a significant opportunity to implement our smart water management solution.
Previously, water quality and management in the region required manual monitoring, with personnel traveling to various locations to check systems. After deploying our solution, we revolutionized the process. The system now provides real-time monitoring and insights, eliminating the need for manual intervention and significantly enhancing operational efficiency.
As a result of this success, we secured a million-dollar tender from CMWSSB. This project, funded by the World Bank, aims to transform the entire Chennai metropolitan area into a Smart Water Management hub.
Beyond this, we’ve implemented our solutions in numerous industries, as well as in residential, rural, and urban areas. Over the past two to three years, we have sold more than 500 gateways, integrating them with thousands of sensors. These efforts have firmly established us as leaders in the smart water management space, driving meaningful impact in water conservation and quality management.
What are your future plans for expanding the capabilities of your system, and how do you see it contributing to global water resource management in the coming years?
Our future plans are focused on expanding our system’s capabilities and addressing the growing global demand for effective water management solutions. For example, we are currently working on a patented product tailored to the Indian market, which has significant potential due to its scale and increasing interest from global water metering companies. Water meters are key sensors in monitoring water consumption, and as companies shift focus from markets like China to India, the demand here is rapidly growing.
India, with its young workforce and emerging economy, is poised to become a global hub for water management solutions. We plan to capitalize on this by diversifying our offerings and targeting metropolitan areas, particularly high-rise apartments. Our goal is to introduce “metering as a service,” which allows residential complexes to adopt our solutions without incurring high capital expenses. This model involves implementing our metering technology and charging a subscription fee—say, $1 to $1.50 per month per household—over a 10-year contract. This approach minimizes upfront costs while promoting water accountability and conservation.
Additionally, we aim to expand into industrial IoT and large-scale applications such as IT parks, technology hubs, and green buildings. These facilities have high water consumption, and our solutions can provide detailed insights into usage at granular levels—by building, block, or department. Such data not only highlights consumption but also fosters a mindset of conservation by showing where reductions can be made.
Water is a finite resource, a gift from nature, and essential for all life—not just humans. It cannot be artificially created or replaced, making it critical to conserve for future generations. Our solutions aim to instill this awareness by attaching value to water through precise monitoring and sustainable practices.
By aligning our work with global sustainability goals, we are committed to saving water, not just for people, but for all living beings that rely on it as the elixir of life.
Find out more at:
www.teamtweaks.com
