IoT-Enabled Smart Water Meter for Real-Time Monitoring, Anomaly Detection, and Automated Billing

This work presents the development and evaluation of an Internet of Things (IoT)- enabled Smart Water Meter (SWM) designed for precise, real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and automated billing of water consumption. The system architecture integrates ESP8266 microcontrollers for processing, flow sensors for volumetric measurement, and LoRa modules for long-range wireless data transmission. Field deployment results indicate a 22% improvement in measurement accuracy over conventional mechanical meters. A pilot study involving three consumer connections demonstrated the system’s capability to log previous and current readings, compute total consumption, and automatically generate billing, including water and sewerage charges, as well as previous outstanding amounts. For example, Meter RSV8970001 recorded a consumption of 318 KL, generating a total bill of ₹5,492, while Meter RSW1120002 reported 516 KL usage with a corresponding bill of ₹18,632. The system also handled smaller-scale consumption cases, such as Meter EX0017727 with 130 KL usage and a bill of ₹2,829. These results confirm the SWM’s scalability for varying consumption levels, accuracy in billing computations, and integration readiness for municipal water management systems. The proposed solution offers a sustainable, automated approach to water resource management, reducing manual intervention, enabling early leak detection, and supporting equitable tariff implementation through precise metering and digital record-keeping.