Guest Column
By: Alfonso Tomás Solares
Manager of the Service in Oviedo (FCC Aqualia)
When and how is water
consumed in Oviedo?
Five years’ experience with smart meters
End-to-end water management is an en-
vironmental service par excellence since,
without this commodity, it would be impos-
sible to carry out our daily lives. Although
the Smart City concept has many defini-
tions, all of these include three elements:
efficiency, sustainability, and closeness to
the citizen. Five years ago, when this con-
cept came to the limelight, at the Oviedo’s
Municipal Water Service, we decided to
tackle a project that would enable us to
learn about the consumption habits and
trends of this resource by household users.
Once data had been compiled and inter-
preted correctly, we would have valuable
information that would be essential when
making management decisions, strategic
as well as operating.
The technological element which served
as the basis for the first study is a latest
generation electronic meter. This sophis-
ticated, smart measuring equipment is a
hybrid system with a mechanic sensor and
In the image, the work team that is carrying out the study in Oviedo. From left to right: Miguel Toyos,
data processing manager; Alfonso Tomás, manager of the service; Valentín Fuertes, operating mana-
ger of the installations; and Ricardo Álvarez, manager of the Clients Department.
