“The technology allows us to detect errors or failures more quickly.” – Andreu Cortes, Mayor of Les.

In 2018, we had the opportunity to implement a water supply control system in the municipality of Les, in the Val d’Aran. Two years later, our Smarty Water solution is still fully operational. The best part is that the solution is providing multiple benefits, as confirmed by the local council.

So, after interviewing Andreu Cortes, Mayor of Les, let’s tell you how these benefits are being realized.

Where is the municipality of Les?

Les is a mountainous town (630 meters above sea level) located along the Garonne River in the Val d’Aran region of Catalonia.

Its climate has a pronounced Atlantic influence, resulting in fairly regular precipitation throughout the year. The typical rainfall in the area rarely exceeds 1,200 mm annually. As for temperatures, the average in summer is around 20°C. In winter, however, the thermometers barely reach above 0°C.

Les has a stable population of about 1,000 residents. During the holiday season, it increases to around 1,500 people due to active tourism and accommodation options. However, the main economic activity in the area is cross-border trade (France is less than 5 km away).

Potable water supply in Les

The geographical location of Les means that the water supply system depends entirely on the precipitation and snowfall throughout the year.

Currently, the potable water supply network consists of the following sources:

  • Two interconnected reservoirs to ensure a reliable water supply
  • Intakes located in the mountainous area
  • Distribution network

Technological Solutions for Preserving a Scarce Resource

Water scarcity is one of the challenges that Les could face in the future. The variability in precipitation resulting from climate change could impact the availability of this scarce natural resource.

Aware of this possibility, the municipality of Les considered implementing a water supply control system with the following objectives:

  1. Improve efficiency and responsiveness in maintenance work and fault detection.
  2. Have tools to track the volume of water supplied in the network, thus increasing information about water and its usage in the municipality.

The actions focused on three key areas: water intake, storage, management, and treatment; and the efficiency of the distribution network.

Smarty Water, a water supply control system that also proves effective in small populations

After enhancing the water distribution capacity and zoning the supply network into 14 sections, monitoring systems were implemented. Today, the telematic tools installed by Arantec allow us to identify areas of higher consumption and detect outliers in data.

Smarty Water, un sistema de control del suministro de agua en Les

The early detection and inspection of these points, often associated with losses in distribution, enable more effective management of water resources.

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Conclusion

Water supply monitoring systems like Smarty Water provide numerous benefits, regardless of the size of the municipality. They provide better information that can be used to address periods of drought with greater confidence. However, Les’ water supply control system also enables more efficient use of water, contributing to the conservation of this scarce resource.

As Andreu Cortes himself stated, “Technology allows us to detect errors or failures more quickly. In this way, we can efficiently manage the service by intervening as soon as anomalies are detected in the accumulation and treatment of water, as well as in its distribution.”

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