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Solana Beach, Calif., to Test Smart Water App

The app will flag any sudden spike in water consumption, which could indicate a broken or burst pipe, or a slow but steady increase, which might mean a pinhole leak or a loose connection.

(TNS) -- A new smart phone app to be tested in Solana Beach will allow residents to electronically monitor minute-by-minute water use at their homes.

The app will flag any sudden spike in water consumption, which could indicate a broken or burst pipe, or a slow but steady increase, which might mean a pinhole leak or a loose connection.

“You could shut down your water through the phone if there’s a big spike,” Solana Beach Assistant City Manager Dan King said this week.

The app will show real-time water use and allow the user to compare the data by days, months and years. It also could be programmed to automatically shut off all a client’s water in an emergency, saving the ratepayer from a huge bill and possibly flood damage.

It also could help the city meet the conservation goals of its state-mandated climate action plan, King said.

If approved in January by the Solana Beach City Council, the grant money will be used by HydroSmart Technologies to develop the software and oversee a pilot project in about 10 homes and one or two public buildings, possibly including Solana Beach City Hall.

Each app user will receive detailed, by-the-minute details on their water consumption, King said. However, the city will only get more general, aggregate information about residential consumption.

“The city was interested more for water conservation,” King said. “The technology they are using for this could also potentially be used for energy tracking with things like solar or other power sources.”

Solana Beach is considering forming a Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, which would allow residents to buy electricity from sources other than San Diego Gas & Electric Co. That would allow the city to rely on a higher percentage of renewable sources such as solar and wind power.

The money for the project is from one of two $80,000 grants awarded in November by the nonprofit San Diego Foundation as part of its Smart Cities and Water Solutions Program. The other grant went to the County Regional Airport Authority to pay for sensors to monitor water condensation captured from air conditioning units in buildings and jet bridges.

“For so long water users have been consuming in water-data-darkness and defenseless against significant financial water losses and water damage,” HydroSmart Technologies CEO Mario Larach said in a news release. “Our Smart Monitoring Platform delivers a trifecta of security, conservation and knowledge.”

Solana Beach gets its drinking water from the Santa Fe Irrigation District, which also supplies water to Rancho Santa Fe.

©2016 The San Diego Union-Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.