LPWAN SOLUTIONS
Water and Wastewater
End-to-End LPWAN Wireless Sensors for Water & Wastewater Infrastructure.
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Real-time pressure and flow monitoring to detect leaks and reduce non-revenue water.
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Automated smart meter digitalization and remote data collection.
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Stormwater, sewer, and flood level detection to prevent hazardous overflows.
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Ruggedized, battery-powered LPWAN sensors built for multi-year maintenance-free operation.
Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Monitoring
The water and wastewater sector forms the foundational backbone of municipal public health, ecological protection, and industrial manufacturing. Across the globe, this industry manages the continuous, closed-loop water lifecycle: abstracting raw freshwater from aquifers and surface reservoirs, purifying it into safe potable water, distributing it across vast subterranean pipe networks, collecting industrial and municipal effluent, and treating wastewater for safe environmental return or closed-loop reuse.
Historically, water infrastructure operated through isolated civil assets and periodic manual inspection. Today, the industry is experiencing a structural transition known as "Water 4.0," which integrates traditional physical systems with continuous edge sensing, industrial telemetry, and predictive software.
Within this ecosystem, underground water infrastructure and network monitoring represent a critical priority. Buried pipelines, valves, and pump stations constitute the largest and most capital-intensive assets belonging to utilities. Because these networks are hidden beneath roadways and soil, failures historically went unnoticed until surface flooding or catastrophic main ruptures occurred. Modern infrastructure monitoring bridges this visibility gap, transforming blind, reactive distribution grids into transparent, predictive networks that proactively safeguard water resources, preserve structural integrity, and optimize operational budgets.
The modern water industry addresses the complete, interconnected lifecycle of water across municipal utilities, industrial production facilities, and natural watersheds. Rather than treating water supply, wastewater collection, and infrastructure management as separate operational disciplines, modern water stewardship evaluates them as a single closed-loop continuum:
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Raw Water Sourcing, Abstraction, and Potable Purification: Capturing raw water from surface reservoirs, rivers, or subterranean aquifers and treating it to meet strict public drinking water standards. Unit processes include coagulation, flocculation, dissolved air flotation (DAF), multi-media gravity filtration, advanced oxidation (ozone and UV), and residual disinfection. Modern facilities increasingly deploy advanced separation systems—such as granular activated carbon (GAC), specialized ion exchange (IX), and reverse osmosis (RO)—to extract synthetic industrial chemicals like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
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Subterranean Water Infrastructure and Network Monitoring: The extensive distribution grid responsible for transporting pressurized potable water across hundreds of miles of transmission mains, distribution networks, customer service lines, storage reservoirs, and booster stations. Infrastructure monitoring continuously tracks the physical integrity of these buried pipes using acoustic surveillance, transient pressure loggers, and automated district metered area (DMA) water balances to detect micro-fractures and dynamic stress before pipes burst.
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Wastewater Collection and Resource Recovery: Collecting municipal sewage and industrial wastewater through gravity collection networks, lift stations, and force mains, followed by treatment in centralized Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs). Beyond basic biological oxygen demand (BOD) removal, WRRFs use activated sludge, membrane bioreactors (MBR), and biological nutrient removal (BNR) to extract excess nitrogen and phosphorus, preventing downstream algae blooms and environmental degradation. Modern plants also co-generate energy by capturing anaerobic digestion biogas and converting residual biosolids into agricultural-grade fertilizers.
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Industrial Process Water Conditioning and Closed-Loop Recycling: Conditioning raw feedwater to extreme purity tolerances for specialized commercial applications (including semiconductor fabrication, pharmaceutical manufacturing, pulp and paper, and boiler feedwater). Facilities deploy closed-loop recycling and Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) configurations to reclaim process water, drastically lowering freshwater intake, eliminating trade-waste sewer surcharges, and avoiding regulatory non-compliance penalties.
Core Advantages of Water & Wastewater Infrastructure Management
Upgrading water systems and deploying continuous infrastructure monitoring delivers clear operational, financial, and environmental advantages across municipal and industrial organizations:
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Active Leakage Reduction and Water Conservation: Permanent correlating acoustic sensors and automated district metered area (DMA) water balances identify small, subsurface micro-fractures before they rupture into full main breaks. Reducing physical water loss (real losses) conserves raw water resources, lowers pumping and chemical treatment costs, and avoids emergency excavation and road repairs.
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Process Energy Optimization and Decarbonization: Transitioning from static, fixed-speed equipment to dynamic, demand-responsive control significantly reduces facility electrical draw. Utilizing automated dissolved oxygen setpoint trimming and variable frequency drive (VFD) synchronization in aeration basins cuts energy consumption by 10% to 20%, directly supporting utility net-zero and Scope 2 emissions goals.
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Predictive Asset Health and Extended Operational Life: Continuous monitoring of vibration, bearing temperature, acoustic signatures, and electrical current profiles across critical pumps, blowers, and valves detects mechanical wear and cavitation weeks before equipment fails. This shifts facilities from high-cost emergency repairs to planned, low-cost maintenance windows, minimizing downtime and extending capital asset life.
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Automated Regulatory Defensibility and Audit Readiness: Continuous inline instrumentation monitors critical water quality parameters—such as turbidity, free chlorine residuals, pH, dissolved oxygen, and chemical oxygen demand—in real time. Automated data logging eliminates human transcription errors, provides verifiable compliance records, and protects utilities from regulatory fines and public health liabilities.
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Transient Shockwave Mitigation and Pipe Fatigue Protection: High-frequency dynamic pressure sensors detect destructive water hammer transients generated by fast-closing valves or sudden pump starts. By coupling transient detection with automated, flow-modulated pressure reducing valves (PRVs), utilities can smooth system pressures across peak and off-peak demand cycles, preventing premature pipe fatigue and burst events.
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Revenue Assurance and Accurate Meter Accounting: Upgrading from aging mechanical meters to solid-state ultrasonic meters eliminates mechanical drift and under-registration over time. When connected via cellular Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), utilities recover unbilled apparent water losses, eliminate estimated billing disputes, and establish a stable, equitable rate-recovery foundation.
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Cyber-Physical Resilience and Risk Management: Applying standardized cybersecurity architectures (such as IEC 62443 frameworks and AWIA Section 2013 requirements) enforces strict network segmentation between operational technology (OT) and enterprise IT networks. This isolates supervisory control loops and chemical feed systems from external cyber threats, ensuring continuous public safety.
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Rapid Return on Investment (ROI): Deploying continuous LPWAN pressure, flow, level, and water quality monitoring delivers rapid return on investment (ROI)—typically within 6 to 18 months—primarily by curbing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) losses and automating labor-intensive field operations. Continuous pressure logging and night-flow telemetry identify subterranean micro-fractures before they burst into catastrophic main breaks, drastically reducing lost treated water, pumping electricity costs, chemical treatment fees, and emergency road excavation expenses. Simultaneously, long-range wireless sensors replace manual manhole inspections, routine tank measurements, and manual water sampling visits ("truck rolls") with automated remote data collection, operating maintenance-free for up to 10 years on internal batteries. By eliminating manual field labor, preventing severe sewer overflow regulatory fines, and protecting critical pumping infrastructure from dynamic fatigue, water utilities achieve immediate operational cost reductions that directly safeguard capital budgets. Learn More
Find the Right Monitoring Solution for Your Application
Every industrial site operates under unique constraints—whether you are managing remote water infrastructure, protecting critical equipment, or automating environmental compliance. Ellenex simplifies IoT deployment by offering pre-engineered, battery-powered monitoring solutions configured for your specific operational needs.
To help you quickly find the exact setup for your project, explore our solution portfolio through two distinct lenses:
Solutions by Asset Performance
Deploying Industrial IoT is not just about mounting hardware—it is about maximizing the value, reliability, and lifespan of your physical infrastructure. Our Asset Performance solutions are designed to address the core operational challenges faced by site managers, reliability engineers, and enterprise leaders. By combining battery-powered LPWAN sensors (NB-IoT / LTE Cat-M1 and LoRaWAN) with real-time telemetry on the Ellenex Platform, we turn raw equipment data into actionable operational intelligence.
Solutions by Sensor Type
While asset performance focuses on the health and lifespan of your physical infrastructure, Solutions by Operational Purpose targets your core business and operational objectives. Every industrial facility operates with specific targets—whether that means eliminating manual inventory audits, cutting carbon emissions, preventing environmental contamination, or automating workflows.
Level Monitoring Solutions
Water Quality Monitoring Solutions
TECHNICAL CENTRE
Ellenex Cellular NB IoT and LTE-M Cat M1 Products
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Frequently Asked Questions
How can water utilities detect underground pipeline leaks and reduce Non-Revenue Water (NRW) before bursts occur?
Water distribution networks lose billions of gallons of treated drinking water each day due to hidden subterranean fractures, joint weeping, and service connection failures. Traditional utility responses are largely reactive, identifying leaks only after sinkholes appear or pressure drops trigger customer complaints. Proactive non-revenue water (NRW) management relies on continuous monitoring across District Metered Areas (DMAs) and tracking baseline hydraulic behaviors during minimum night-flow periods to spot anomalous volume drops and localized pressure deviations.
Ellenex addresses this by deploying rugged, battery-powered pipeline pressure transmitters (such as the PTS2 and submersible IP68 PTS3 series) directly into buried distribution mains and underground valve chambers. The sensors utilize intelligent edge sampling algorithms that operate in an energy-efficient sleep state while continuously analyzing pressure fluctuations. When an abnormal pressure drop or transient profile is detected, the device wakes up immediately to transmit alarm telemetry over low-power cellular (NB-IoT/Cat-M1) or LoRaWAN networks to the Ellenex Software Platform, allowing utility crews to pinpoint and repair micro-leaks long before they evolve into catastrophic street bursts.
What is the most effective way to monitor pressure and transients (water hammer) in remote PRV chambers without grid power?
Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) chambers are critical nodes for stabilizing network pressures and minimizing pipe fatigue, yet they are notoriously difficult to monitor. These chambers are located in subterranean concrete vaults or metal-lidded pits that act as Faraday cages to block wireless radio signals, lack access to electrical grid power, and frequently flood during storm events. When fast-closing commercial valves or sudden pump shutdowns cause water hammer transients, the resulting pressure spikes can severely weaken joint seals and cause pipeline ruptures if left unmonitored.
Ellenex resolves these operational hurdles with purpose-built LPWAN pressure devices engineered for extreme environments. The IP68-rated PTS3 pressure transmitter withstands continuous underwater submersion, while the PDS2 differential pressure sensor monitors filter and strainer clogging across PRVs to prevent valve malfunction. Operating on internal lithium batteries that deliver 5 to 10 years of life, Ellenex devices utilize high-speed edge sampling to capture transient shockwaves while utilizing NB-IoT's deep signal penetration or optional external antenna extensions to transmit through heavy vault lids.
How do municipalities prevent Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) and detect Inflow & Infiltration (I&I) in wastewater collection systems?
During heavy rainfall events, aging municipal gravity sewer networks frequently suffer from Inflow and Infiltration (I&I), where stormwater breaches sewer lines, rapidly overwhelms lift stations, and triggers unpermitted Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) into natural waterways. Because manholes and collection pipes are distributed across vast municipal zones and contain corrosive gases like hydrogen sulfide, manual inspection during storm events is dangerous, resource-intensive, and often too late to prevent environmental contamination.
Ellenex handles wastewater collection oversight through non-contact radar and ultrasonic level monitoring solutions (such as the DRC3 series) mounted directly within manhole chimneys and wet wells. Designed with IP68 immersion ratings and corrosive-resistant housings, these wireless sensors continuously measure wastewater crests and rate-of-rise metrics without contacting the effluent. Telemetry streams via LPWAN to the Ellenex platform, giving operators automated early-warning alerts for rising blockages or storm surcharges so maintenance teams can dispatch vacuum trucks and prevent unpermitted spills.
How can industrial facilities and utilities monitor remote wastewater and chemical dosing tanks safely and cost-effectively?
Storage tanks holding biological sludge, corrosive chemical coagulants, or raw industrial effluent are difficult to monitor using mechanical float switches, which frequently stick, clog, or corrode. Sending maintenance personnel to perform manual dipstick gauging introduces serious chemical exposure hazards, increases labor overhead, and creates data gaps that can lead to accidental dry-run pump damage or environmental overflows.
Ellenex solves this by deploying submersible hydrostatic level transmitters engineered with chemical-resistant stainless steel or specialized alloy bodies and vented polyurethane cables for barometric pressure compensation. Submerged directly into tanks, sumps, or lined lagoons, the sensor continuously converts hydrostatic pressure into precise liquid level and volume calculations. Integrated wireless transmitters send battery-backed level data directly to the Ellenex platform, providing automated high/low capacity alarms, tracking usage trends, and preventing chemical supply outages at treatment facilities without requiring complex on-site wiring.
Why should utilities choose LPWAN (NB-IoT/LoRaWAN) over traditional wired SCADA or standard cellular modems for remote water monitoring?
Traditional wired supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems require substantial capital investment for trenching, conduit, and dedicated power supplies, making them economically unfeasible for monitoring hundreds of distributed pipeline assets or rural storage tanks. Meanwhile, conventional 4G/5G cellular modems consume high amounts of electrical current, exhausting field batteries within weeks and requiring frequent, costly maintenance visits.
Ellenex bridges this gap by engineering its sensor portfolio natively around Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) protocols, including Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), LTE-M, and LoRaWAN. NB-IoT delivers strong subterranean signal penetration (up to 20 dB stronger than standard cellular), allowing devices in buried pits to transmit reliably without local repeaters. Paired with low-power device engineering, Ellenex devices achieve multi-year battery lifespans on internal lithium cells, enabling utilities to deploy remote monitoring across previously unreachable locations at a fraction of traditional SCADA capital costs.
How do operators automate regulatory compliance and water quality reporting for effluent discharge and remote waterways?
Municipal treatment works and industrial manufacturers operate under strict discharge permits (such as NPDES guidelines), where unmonitored parameter exceedances can result in statutory fines, legal penalties, or immediate production shutdowns. Manual water grab sampling provides only intermittent snapshots, leaving significant operational gaps during off-hours or unexpected process upsets where non-compliant effluent can slip into public drainage systems.
Ellenex simplifies environmental compliance by integrating continuous water quality instrumentation—including sensors for pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity, salinity, and turbidity—with remote LPWAN communications. Positioned at outfalls, industrial clarifiers, or intake streams, these sensors automatically log timestamped water quality records. The Ellenex cloud dashboard compiles historical compliance audits, tracks parameter deviations against statutory limits, and sends instant automated notifications if water quality drifts, enabling rapid corrective intervention and audit-ready data defensibility.
How does an operator digitize mechanical water meters and older pipeline assets without full system replacement?
Many utilities and industrial plants operate with hundreds of mechanical flowmeters, legacy pressure valves, and analog level gauges that still function mechanically but lack digital connectivity. Undertaking a complete infrastructure rip-and-replace to install smart electronic meters or integrated SCADA hardware is capital-prohibitive and operationally disruptive.
Ellenex addresses this legacy gap with retrofit-compatible IoT instrumentation designed to attach to existing infrastructure. For flow monitoring, Ellenex provides water meter interface modules that read pulse or digital outputs from existing mechanical meters, converting analog usage data into automated 15-minute telemetry streams without cutting into pipelines. For pressure and level monitoring, standard industrial threads (NPT/BSP) and submersible form factors allow field crews to install connected sensors on existing pipe taps, valve ports, and access hatches in minutes, modernizing utility visibility with minimal capital outlay.
What is the difference between real and apparent water loss, and how does remote infrastructure sensing mitigate both?
Under the standardized American Water Works Association (AWWA) M36 audit methodology, Non-Revenue Water is categorized into real losses and apparent losses. Real losses represent physical water leaking from distribution mains, split joints, and storage overflows, squandering both the water resource and the electrical energy and treatment chemicals used to purify it. Apparent losses occur when water is consumed but improperly accounted for due to meter under-registration, data dropouts, or unauthorized consumption, draining utility revenue while masking true system demand.
Ellenex tackles real losses by providing high-density network pressure and transient sensors that detect leaks, manage pressure zones, and mitigate water hammer across distribution mains. For apparent losses, Ellenex retrofits pulse-enabled customer and boundary meters with automated LPWAN telemetry modules. This delivers continuous consumption profiles, flags meter freeze or reverse-flow conditions, and eliminates estimated manual billing errors, helping utilities maintain an accurate water balance and recover lost operating revenue.
