Last week (March 19-21) the Aqua Netherlands fair again in Gorinchem. A well-attended event where solutions in the field of water management and technology are central.
MCS has a lot partners who are active in wastewater, drinking water, process water for industry, water boards and municipalities. That is why we could not be absent from this fair!
In this blog, MCS'er Frank Olsthoorn will inform you about the insights he gained during his visit. What are the latest developments and challenges in the water sector? And how are they making the digitalization move?
Climate change & digitalization central themes
Climate change was an important theme during the fair. During various presentations, the latest insights on this were shared. And the impact on water management, asset (installations) management and urban water and sewer management was examined.
But digitalisation was also central to our partners at the fair. Much attention was paid to, among other things, controls (PLCs) for pumps and pumping stations, sensors for water quality and alarms and fault management. Or better yet: to prevent faults.
Monitor and manage with reliable communication
Reliable communication is essential for successful water applications. Especially since many things are controlled, managed and monitored remotely. Sometimes this is arranged via fixed fibre optic connections, for example in large fixed purification plants or main pumping stations.
For the numerous smaller pumping installations at municipalities and water boards, mobile connections are often used. Think of a measuring and control cabinet (indoor/outdoor) containing, among other things, a mobile modem/router in combination with a vandal-proof puck antenna.
Rely on expertise and support
Some partners use self-developed data loggers or I/O modules for this purpose, which are also equipped with a mobile module. External modems are often used. Or better said: routers that connect the installations in the field with the monitoring software on the other side via a secure VPN connection.
For this last business-critical component, the communication between the field and the central side, many partners rely on the expertise and technical support of MCS.
Mobile 4G for dry feet
A big shock during the fair was that in the water world people think that there are still quite a few 2G connected locations in the field. This while many water boards and municipalities have to take action now to be well prepared for the phasing out of 2G/3G later this year.
Frank previously wrote a blog about this 2G/3G sunset in 2024In this he explained more about the necessary inventory and actions to migrate existing 2G connections to 4G.
Water world and 4G: an ideal combination
4G connections are particularly suitable for real-time critical applications. For example, think of (remote) management and control of installations that keep the water level in our cities, rivers and polders in order. For this, 4G offers more than sufficient capacity and speed for data transfer.
But what about 5G, we hear you say? Good question! 5G is just getting started and will take over the role of 4G over the years. But don't worry, we expect that to take at least another 10 years. So 4G will remain a suitable technology for water applications for a long time to come.
The rise of NB-IoT in the water sector
What also became clear to Frank at the Aqua Nederland trade fair is that there will be more applications that can be used via NB-IoT communicate. This is especially true for sensors that measure water quality in sewer manholes, for example. These manholes are located just below ground and under the familiar street manhole covers, and must occasionally send their data outside.
NB-IoT can be seen as a very small and very energy-efficient 4G connection that can easily transmit a level measurement, fault contact, water temperature or other water quality value.
This technology is comparable to LoRa, the other often used LPWAN (low power) sensor technology. In addition to a national public (KPN) LoRa network, LPWAN is mainly used in local private network environments. An example of this is the Private LoRa network from MCS.
Public NB-IoT is sometimes preferred over public LoRa
Experiences from our partners show that public NB-IoT (offered by Odido and Vodafone, among others) provides better signal penetration than (public) LoRa in comparable locations.
The possibility of real-time two-way traffic in terms of communication is also an advantage of NB-IoT. That is why many sensor applications are equipped with NB-IoT modules or external NB-IoT modems.
World Water Day during the Aqua fair
The Netherlands Waterland: in the Netherlands we grew up with the challenges and possibilities of water. But we too are increasingly confronted with both floods and droughts. That is why during the Aqua Nederland trade fair, in addition to all the commercial solutions, attention was also paid to the annual 'World Water Day'.
This day was created by the United Nations to make global water issues known to a large audience. From disaster preparedness to sharing knowledge at a regional level. Everything is put into action to prevent water-related disasters and give people worldwide access to clean and safe water.
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