Watercare, an Auckland council-owned water utility company, has enlisted Viotel in a three-year deal to install IoT seismic monitoring sensors across the Auckland region’s dams, reservoirs, and critical infrastructure.

Viotel, a data services company which specialises in large-scale engineering projects, will provide earthquake ground motion monitoring solutions based on the company’s Smart Box Internet of Things (IoT) technology and backed by Amazon Web Services.

The Auckland region, like much of the country, is subject to frequent seismic shocks which can severly impact critical infrastructure. On average, the Auckland region experiences at least one perceptible earthquake tremor every three to five years.

The selection of Viotel for the project came after its successful completion of Watercare’s own agile procurement process, adopted by the council-owned company to “improve procurement outcomes, slash procurement time, remove unnecessary work, and promote transparency”.

“The Viotel team worked with Watercare stakeholders in the procurement workshop, developing a solution canvas that demonstrated our friendly collaborative culture, leading technical capability and a cost-effective IoT solution,” Viotel said in a statement.

The contract is for an initial term of three years with an option for a two-year extension.

Watercare is New Zealand’s largest company in the water and wastewater industry, providing potable water and wastewater services to 1.7 million people in the Auckland region.