Imtiaz Sooliman – Gift of the Givers and Microsoft Smart Water Project

Imtiaz Sooliman
AI: Summary ©
A scientist explains how technology has made a big impact on society, reducing the risk of water damage and saving lives. The technology allows for monitoring usage and identifying leaks, which is a way to control water usage. The scientist also discusses a solution to control water usage and mentions that water is a national challenge for the world.
AI: Transcript ©
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08

With the advances in technology that we have

00:00:08 --> 00:00:08

seen,

00:00:09 --> 00:00:11

clearly there's a role for technology to have

00:00:11 --> 00:00:12

a huge impact on the way we live,

00:00:12 --> 00:00:14

the way we work, the way we play,

00:00:14 --> 00:00:16

and basically on humanity and society.

00:00:17 --> 00:00:18

This was something we had to take a

00:00:18 --> 00:00:20

role in, and we looked at how we

00:00:20 --> 00:00:21

could have a meaningful contribution.

00:00:22 --> 00:00:24

And, it has been an amazing journey with

00:00:24 --> 00:00:26

the gift of the givers as well as

00:00:26 --> 00:00:28

the department of health. We found 2 partners

00:00:28 --> 00:00:30

who have who are similarly looking at this

00:00:30 --> 00:00:33

problem, and together, we found a way forward

00:00:33 --> 00:00:36

to to participate together in addressing this challenge.

00:00:36 --> 00:00:37

Historically,

00:00:38 --> 00:00:40

we see a cyclic pattern

00:00:40 --> 00:00:43

that repeats itself round about every 220

00:00:43 --> 00:00:44

years,

00:00:45 --> 00:00:45

of

00:00:46 --> 00:00:46

exceptionally

00:00:47 --> 00:00:49

dry years for a period of 10 years.

00:00:50 --> 00:00:52

And at the moment, we are in roundabout

00:00:52 --> 00:00:54

year 7 of 10 years

00:00:54 --> 00:00:57

of below normal rainfall.

00:00:57 --> 00:01:00

So it seems like to me as a

00:01:00 --> 00:01:03

scientist that we are not out of the

00:01:03 --> 00:01:03

dry cycle.

00:01:06 --> 00:01:08

When we detected detected the leak in,

00:01:09 --> 00:01:10

the reticulation

00:01:10 --> 00:01:13

network at Crude de Ski Hospital which is

00:01:13 --> 00:01:15

one of the 2 largest hospitals

00:01:16 --> 00:01:17

in the province,

00:01:17 --> 00:01:18

conservatively,

00:01:18 --> 00:01:20

we think we saved R5,000,000

00:01:22 --> 00:01:24

in terms of water over a year.

00:01:24 --> 00:01:26

And then in a smaller hospital in Montague,

00:01:26 --> 00:01:28

I think we saved,

00:01:29 --> 00:01:29

a R100,000

00:01:30 --> 00:01:33

once the leak was was detected and remedied.

00:01:34 --> 00:01:36

So this gives you some idea of the

00:01:36 --> 00:01:36

potential,

00:01:37 --> 00:01:41

savings that can be achieved. Essentially, the technology

00:01:41 --> 00:01:43

bits that come together, it allows you to

00:01:43 --> 00:01:44

be able to control your device,

00:01:45 --> 00:01:46

from a point of view of control your

00:01:46 --> 00:01:49

usage rather based on measurement of the device.

00:01:49 --> 00:01:50

So the intention of this is to make

00:01:50 --> 00:01:52

it as easy as possible.

00:01:53 --> 00:01:54

It gives you a view and and color

00:01:54 --> 00:01:57

coded as well. So visually, you can tell

00:01:57 --> 00:01:58

if you're in trouble. The beauty in it

00:01:58 --> 00:02:00

lies in the technology chosen. It doesn't

00:02:01 --> 00:02:03

chew, data. In fact, if you can compare

00:02:03 --> 00:02:07

your consumption versus this device, it's minuscule in

00:02:07 --> 00:02:07

consumption.

00:02:08 --> 00:02:11

This is a great system because it's basically

00:02:11 --> 00:02:13

in your pocket. You have an app on

00:02:13 --> 00:02:14

your phone.

00:02:14 --> 00:02:17

You can set alarms or SMS's can be

00:02:17 --> 00:02:19

sent to you. An email can be sent

00:02:19 --> 00:02:21

to you warning you of a leak, warning

00:02:21 --> 00:02:22

you of a tap that's running unnecessarily.

00:02:23 --> 00:02:25

This system has been initialized due to the

00:02:25 --> 00:02:27

drought in the Western Cape. And then this

00:02:27 --> 00:02:29

will flag the customer when there is a

00:02:29 --> 00:02:30

leak

00:02:30 --> 00:02:32

or whether there is a high usage.

00:02:32 --> 00:02:33

And it'll also

00:02:34 --> 00:02:36

point out to the customer when the high

00:02:36 --> 00:02:38

usage is happening on the whole system at

00:02:38 --> 00:02:39

the hospitals.

00:02:39 --> 00:02:41

So what we've given them is the ability

00:02:41 --> 00:02:43

for them to monitor the water consumption near

00:02:43 --> 00:02:46

real time. That gives you much more control

00:02:46 --> 00:02:47

on the impact it has on the cash

00:02:47 --> 00:02:49

flow, and this is why it's important for

00:02:49 --> 00:02:52

us to now control every single element of

00:02:52 --> 00:02:54

water consumed in a property. The beauty of

00:02:54 --> 00:02:56

the system is that it's fairly simple to

00:02:56 --> 00:02:59

install, especially if you've got an existing meter.

00:02:59 --> 00:03:01

Then all you need to do is retrofit

00:03:01 --> 00:03:04

the communication module that sits onto the meter

00:03:04 --> 00:03:06

itself with an optical or pulse pickup.

00:03:07 --> 00:03:10

Gift of the Givers has been involved initially

00:03:10 --> 00:03:11

with bringing bottled water,

00:03:12 --> 00:03:14

stockpiling it in 12 different warehouses

00:03:15 --> 00:03:17

throughout the city of Cape Town,

00:03:17 --> 00:03:20

and whilst doing that delivering water both to

00:03:20 --> 00:03:23

human in all age homes, children's homes, pet

00:03:23 --> 00:03:24

shelters,

00:03:24 --> 00:03:25

hospitals,

00:03:25 --> 00:03:28

and communities in need of water suddenly shut

00:03:28 --> 00:03:30

off. Right now we're pumping close

00:03:30 --> 00:03:33

to 200,000,000 liters of water per month. You

00:03:33 --> 00:03:34

know, Microsoft

00:03:34 --> 00:03:37

came to us, selected us as a partner,

00:03:37 --> 00:03:39

and to us it made sense. And Microsoft

00:03:39 --> 00:03:41

is very open to dealing and discussing those

00:03:41 --> 00:03:44

issues with us. So together, we come up

00:03:44 --> 00:03:46

with a comprehensive solution because we want something

00:03:46 --> 00:03:47

permanent,

00:03:47 --> 00:03:49

efficient, and that we can implement not only

00:03:49 --> 00:03:51

the country, but in the continent and in

00:03:51 --> 00:03:52

the world where there are similar problems. South

00:03:52 --> 00:03:55

Africa often appears in the list of top

00:03:55 --> 00:03:57

20 driest places in the world.

00:03:57 --> 00:04:00

So water scarcity is not a Western Cape

00:04:00 --> 00:04:03

or provincial problem. This is a national problem.

00:04:03 --> 00:04:05

And of course, going forward, I do believe

00:04:05 --> 00:04:08

water is going to be a challenge for

00:04:08 --> 00:04:08

the globe.

Share Page