First Utility District of Knox County adds Pressure Monitoring, Builds Operational Confidence and Efficiency

High growth, complex hydraulics, and rising customer expectations have shaped First Utility District's operational priorities for more than a decade. Under the leadership of General Manager Bruce Giles, the district has focused on disciplined financial management, workforce engagement and practical use of technology to improve efficiency and resilience. A long-standing partnership with Badger Meter has played a central role in that journey.

A Foundation of Trust and Metering Performance

When Giles joined FUD 15 years ago, the utility already had an established relationship with Badger Meter. That continuity mattered.

"I inherited a really good system," Giles said. "Badger Meter has helped us with water loss, bad debt and other operational issues that have been taken care of and smoothed out."

Today, all domestic water meters and large wholesale meters across the system are Badger Meter devices, and automatic meter reading (AMR) technology has enabled FUD to operate with exceptional efficiency. In fact, for several years, a single meter reader has been able to read approximately 38,000 meters, freeing staff to focus on higher-value tasks.

That operational efficiency has translated directly into measurable outcomes. FUD's non-revenue water (NRW) loss rates are consistently below 11%.

"Our cutoff for service for nonpayment is almost nonexistent on 45,000 accounts," Giles noted, adding that the technology allowed employees to spend less time on administrative burdens and more time on customer service and system performance.

A major water main failure caused FUD Knox staff to look into pressure monitoring tools.

Addressing the 'Last Unknown' in System Performance

Despite strong metering data and mature asset management practices, FUD identified pressure transients as a remaining blind spot in its system. Like many utilities, it relied on SCADA-based pressure data that lacked the resolution needed to detect short-duration surge events.

That gap became impossible to ignore following a major water main failure just before Christmas. "My phone never rings at four in the morning unless it is really bad," Giles recalled. The break involved a 20-inch transmission main and ultimately required a $2 million emergency repair. While operators were able to prevent a system pressure loss which would have required a boil water notice, the event underscored the need for better predictive tools.

In response, FUD began working with Badger Meter to deploy high-resolution pressure monitoring using PIPEMINDER-ONE pressure sensors, along with Telog^® hydrant pressure recorders for portable monitoring. The goal was not to replace existing systems but to supplement them with more granular data to provide insight into asset health and performance.The benefits extended beyond drinking water infrastructure. Monitoring wastewater force mains helped the utility evaluate pump performance, identify check valve issues, and detect conditions that could accelerate pipe degradation. FUD also worked with hydraulic experts at Badger Meter to interpret the data and validate modeling assumptions.

PIPEMINDER devices installed in meter and pressure vaults extend monitoring coverage across FUD’s system, while Telog hydrant pressure recorders and impulse monitors fill data gaps between SCADA stations.

Turning High-Resolution Data into Action

Strategically placed at key transmission lines, pump stations, and wastewater lift stations, PIPEMINDER sensors collected pressure data at 128 samples per second. This revealed pressure events that had been invisible in traditional operational data reported by the District’s SCADA system.

In one instance, SCADA data suggested a relatively minor 16 psi fluctuation. High-resolution monitoring, however, captured a short-duration surge exceeding 300 PSI, triggered by a flow reversal between pressure zones. Armed with that insight, FUD was able to make targeted operational changes to prevent recurrence.

The Telog device’s GIS compatibility allows utility operators to click on a map location and see the pressure graph for that device.

The benefits extended beyond drinking water infrastructure. Monitoring wastewater force mains helped the utility evaluate pump performance, identify check valve issues, and detect conditions that could accelerate pipe degradation. FUD also worked with hydraulic experts at Badger Meter to interpret the data and validate modeling assumptions.

Protecting Assets and Managing Risk

An unexpected but valuable outcome of the pressure monitoring program is its ability to verify system conditions relevant for customer damage claims. In one high-profile case involving a commercial building riser failure, FUD was able to demonstrate conclusively that no pressure surge had occurred on the utility's system during the incident.

"They were sure [the building water damage] was the utility's fault," Giles explained, but FUD was able to provide the data to confirm it wasn't a utility-side failure.

More broadly, FUD has seen a measurable reduction in the severity of pressure fluctuations over time, helping to extend asset life and prioritize capital investments. In some cases, high-resolution data justified the installation of surge protection. In others, it allowed the utility to defer or downsize projects, such as reducing force main diameters in new pump station designs.

A break in a distribution line caused two of the District’s water tanks to empty almost immediately. Repairs for this line break required half of the district to be out of water for hours and cost the utility $200,000 in 2016, “a number that is hard to imagine now,” Giles says.

Distribution line breaks and repairs can result in interruption of service for constituents and high repair costs for utility districts.

“If we are able to calm our system—and I believe we have—enough to avoid one [major] pipe failure, we have paid for the devices many times over,” Giles said.

What's Next for FUD

Looking ahead, First Utility District plans to expand pressure monitoring further across its wastewater system, particularly in areas with aging or corrosion-prone infrastructure. The utility is also evaluating additional online monitoring technologies to improve treatment plant efficiency and support long-term capacity planning.

Throughout these efforts, FUD's philosophy remains consistent: technology must lead to action. "Technology is great," Giles said, "but only if you take the data and the information and you actually apply it."

By pairing metering and monitoring technologies with a disciplined, people-centered approach to operations, First Utility District has a system that is not only efficient but resilient and ready for the future.