Summary
Advanced metering (AMI) supports water quality in four ways your utility may not have considered.
Four Ways Advanced Metering Helps Protect Water Quality (HINT: It’s About More Than Billing)
Water meters aren’t just used for accurate billing these days.
Today’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) gives utilities continuous visibility into what’s happening across their distribution system. That’s helping operators identify problems sooner, make smarter decisions, and better protect the quality of the water they deliver.
And what better time to talk about that than August, since it’s National Water Quality Month!
Here are four ways AMI helps support water quality every day.
CAPTION (above): United Systems Senior Account Manager Matt Steinkamp
(top right, standing) talks with a group of customers at our 2026 User Conference
at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 1. Reducing Water Age
Producing safe, quality drinking water is only half the job.
Once treated water enters the distribution system, utilities work to keep it moving to minimize “water age”—the time it takes to get from the plant to your tap.
“The longer drinking water sits in the pipes, the more it loses chlorine and increases disinfectant byproducts,” says United Systems Senior Account Manager Matt Steinkamp.
(I didn’t even know this was a thing!)
Water that sits too long in storage tanks or low-demand areas can also experience changes in taste or odor, among other water quality concerns.
How does AMI help water age?
AMI gives utilities a much clearer picture of water use in real time.
“AMI networks can not only tell utilities how much water every customer is using every hour of the day, but the utility can install meters in their distribution water mains to break down their system into smaller districts and see how much water is going in and out of each district every hour of every day,” explains Matt.
That means your staff can:
- better understand system demand
- optimize tank turnover
- identify low-use areas where water may remain stagnant longer
- and make operational adjustments that encourage healthier system circulation
The result? Fresher water moving through the distribution system.
2. Detecting Leaks Before They Become Bigger Problems
You’re losing more than water with every leak.
Large leaks waste treated water, strain infrastructure, and in some situations (particularly when pressure drops occur) can increase the risk of contaminants.
Matt—who’s served the water industry for more than 15 years now, specifically in distribution and meter/AMI networking—says this was a very real issue for a United Systems customer during a recent cold snap in Tennessee.
“During that event, many homes had pipes freeze and burst. So many, in fact, that the water district struggled to pump enough water to keep up. Large sections of the system were under minimum pressures allowed and were forced to go into a boil order. Homes on hilltops were without water.”
How does AMI support leak detection?
In that customer’s case, the AMI network allowed them to identify homes with big leaks and shut those services off so they could return pressure to normal.
Advanced metering helps operators quickly spot problems that otherwise may go unnoticed for weeks with:
- continuous flow alerts
- unusual overnight usage
- and abnormal consumption patterns
“AMI networks can be the communication backbone that can allow for the deployment of all kinds of devices, like temperature monitors, pressure monitors, and remote shutoff valves,” Matt adds.
That United Systems customer in Tennessee did not have the latter.
“[Remote shutoff valves] could have allowed them to react more quickly and keep their employees off the dangerous roads. That utility is now considering remote shutoff valves for their snowbirds and secondary structures, like hunting cabins.”
AMI gave that customer options they didn’t have to add right away.
With a changing climate, constantly shifting regulations, and costs that just keep climbing, having options is key.
3. Supporting Better Pressure Management
Speaking of pressure, maintaining consistent system pressure is essential for both reliable service and water quality.
Pressure that’s too low can increase the potential for contaminants. Excessively high pressure can contribute to water main breaks and accelerate infrastructure wear.
How does AMI support better pressure management?
Advanced meters don’t replace pressure sensors. But the usage data they generate helps utilities better understand how water moves throughout their system.
AMI data provides another valuable layer of operational insight when combined with:
- SCADA
- pressure monitoring
- and hydraulic modeling
That improved visibility helps utilities make more informed decisions about pressure zones, storage operations, and system performance.
4. Turning Data into Better Oprational Decisions
Perhaps the greatest value of advanced metering isn’t any single alert or report.
It’s the ability to make better decisions every day.
“The granular data you can get from AMI gives utilities much better visibility,” says Matt.
Utilities now have access to detailed consumption trends that simply weren’t available with monthly meter readings. Operators can:
- evaluate how demand changes throughout the day
- monitor seasonal shifts
- verify conservation efforts
- and prioritize maintenance using real-world system data.
AMI also gives utilities a broader operational view, giving context to anomalies like unexpected spikes, sudden drops in consumption, or unusual usage patterns. Those could point to:
- broken mains
- valve issues
- pressure changes
- or other distribution system events requiring investigation.
Utilities are more often anticipating problems—moving from reactive to proactive.
Matt emphasizes, “That’s a significant advantage, not only for operational efficiency, but for protecting the long-term reliability and quality of the water customers depend on.”
Water Quality is a System-Wide Responsibility
Protecting water quality requires more than effective treatment.
It depends on maintaining infrastructure, responding quickly to leaks, understanding system conditions, and making informed operational decisions every day.
Advanced metering doesn’t replace water quality monitoring. But it does give utilities another valuable tool to ensure safe, reliable water service.
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