Town of Baunach
The town of Baunach is modernizing its water supply with equipment from SebaKMT®.
In Baunach, a small town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg, the water supply is being digitized step by step. Around 4,200 people live here and are supplied via a 50-kilometer drinking water network. This also includes a 40-kilometer sewage network. Like many other municipalities, Baunach was faced with the question of how to detect water losses at an early stage and thus make the water network future-proof.
Mayor Tobias Roppelt did not want to wait until 2023 for costly damage to occur. Several years ago, the decision was made to invest in modern monitoring technology. "We wanted to act in a timely manner and not wait until it was too late," says Roppelt. The goal was to secure the town's own water supply in the long term and make the network more stable overall.
Products in use
Collaboration with SebaKMT®
The city enlisted the support of SebaKMT® and Megger Germany GmbH to implement the project. Together with the team at the Baunach waterworks, a concept was developed that combines various measurement and monitoring technologies and is perfectly tailored to the municipality's needs.
Several systems are currently in use in Baunach, including:
• SmartEAR® and SmartEAR®+ for acoustic monitoring of the pipe network
• POSEYEDON® as a platform for data collection and analysis
• SebaFlow, HL 7000, HL 50-BT, and Correlux C-3 for precise leak detection and flow measurement
This has resulted in a system that significantly improves the monitoring of the drinking water network. All important measurement data is available in real time, enabling any anomalies to be detected immediately.
Initial practical experience
After almost three years of collaboration, the city has come to a positive conclusion: the interaction between the new devices now allows leaks to be located more quickly. "We can see immediately if something is wrong somewhere," explains Jörg Reich, a water supply technology specialist. Employees no longer have to go out at night to take measurements manually. "The technology does it for us. That saves time and stress," adds Ulrich Schmittlutz, the city's water supervisor.
The reliability of the water supply has also improved. If something is noticed, it is possible to respond more quickly and resolve problems before the population even notices.
Hardly noticeable to citizens, but of great benefit
Most people in Baunach hardly notice this technical modernization, and that is precisely the point. A functioning, stable water supply ensures that failures do not occur in the first place.
"Water is a sensitive issue, even for us," says Roppelt. "We want to strengthen our own supply in the future and create additional security by connecting to the Upper Franconia long-distance water supply."
Baunach demonstrates that digitalization in municipal water management is no longer a topic for the future, but can already be part of everyday life.
Outlook for the future
The city intends to continue along this path. Further investments in infrastructure are planned, such as new elevated tanks and the expansion of the long-distance water connection. Digitalization processes are also to be further expanded in the administration and building yard.
"The relief in our daily work is already clearly noticeable," says Roppelt. "This investment will pay off in the long term. Not only for us, but above all for the citizens."