Thousands of Dundee residents may have their water use monitored for three years.
Scottish Water is asking around 2,300 homes in the north-west of the city to let them examine their household water usage.
The trial will involve temporarily installing a smart monitor in each property.
The company wants to find out whether giving its customers regular updates on their water use would “significantly” reduce domestic demand for water.
Scottish Water says the monitors will provide households with information to help save a large amount of water over time, reduce leaks and lower energy bills.
It will be handing out postcards to the affected homes this weekend.
Each monitor will download water use information once a day.
Households will be able to see how much water they are using online and on an app.
The company hopes that using the monitors will help it reduce the demand for water.
Households use nearly 1,000 million litres every day.
This is just over half the amount of water produced per day.
Scottish Water said it had selected the north-west area of Dundee for the pilot because it has a “good spread of homes and demographics”.
Scottish Water answers questions from The Courier
The Courier put the following questions to Scottish Water for further clarification about the trial:
Will people be asked to volunteer for this or will these be added to people’s water systems regardless of whether they want to participate?
“Customers can choose to opt out. All will be invited to a community event to discover more.
“Letters and detail will be sent to householders and they can opt out if they wish.”
What if someone doesn’t want to have their water use monitored?
“They can opt out and no one is being forced to take part.
“We hope that customers will be keen to help us help them to reduce consumption and be kinder to the environment.
“This is for Scottish Water to better understand usage and potential leakage that we cannot account for without further intervention.
“Each home taking part will be able to see the amount of water it uses, enabling customers to understand their water habits and make sustainable choices.
“We can track patterns, spot issues and identify ways in which improvements can be implemented that make Dundee a water-efficient city.”
Smart monitoring trial won’t ‘limit what people can use’
How would you respond to concerns people might have about sanctions or having their water supplies reduced if they are deemed to be using too much?
“Customers are unlikely to know if they use a lot of water or not.
“This trial will enable them to see how much they use.
“And as a result they may choose to make more sustainable choices.”
Could this ultimately lead to limiters being put on people’s water supplies?
“No. We want to better understand customer usage and how we can reduce that by working with customers.
“This doesn’t limit what people can use. But it will reduce the flow of water to the home.
“For example, it may take slightly longer to fill a sink.
“It is unlikely this will be noticeable and if service is impacted we will remove the device.”
Will there be any disruption?
Will any disruptive work be required to install the monitors?
“We will install your monitor in a boundary box which exists, or will be provided, on the pavement next to your property.
“We will not ask to come into your home to fit a monitor.
“A boundary box is a piece of street furniture often located on the pavement outside your house.
“If a boundary box is already present, installation can be completed with minimal disruption.
“You do not need to be at home for the monitor installation. But we will need to temporarily shut your water off for a brief time.
“We estimate your water supply will be off for no more than two hours if we are installing a new boundary box.
“If you have a boundary box installed at your property, we will complete the installation within an hour, unless we come across problems such as removing debris from the box.”
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