Member Spotlight
Nima Najafi, Program Manager, Water System Modelling & Data Analytics – Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver is a diverse organisation that plans for and delivers regional utility services, including water, sewers and wastewater treatment, and solid waste management. It also regulates air quality, plans for urban growth, manages a regional parks system, and provides affordable housing. As a regional federation, the organisation serves 21 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation.
The Water Services Department of Metro Vancouver is the bulk supplier and distributor of drinking water for the region, and its member jurisdictions operate their local distribution systems. It manages three protected water supply areas that contain the source water and cover approximately 60,000 hectares. Metro Vancouver’s system consists of two major water treatment plants, more than 520 km of large-diameter transmission mains ranging from 35 cm to 3 m (about 14 to 120 inches), 27 in-system storage reservoirs, 19 pump stations, and eight rechlorination stations. The system supplies an average daily demand of 1.0 BL/d, with summertime peaks often exceeding 1.5 BL/d.
We are thrilled to have Metro Vancouver as the “Lead Utility Partner” for the upcoming SWAN 14th Annual Conference. How does Metro Vancouver relate to the Conference theme: “Bridging Water Realities: Embracing Collaborative Innovation”?
It is remarkable that this year, we are celebrating 100 years of regional collaboration to deliver high-quality drinking water to the Metro Vancouver region. With our protected water supply areas, world-class treatment facilities, and resilient distribution system, we deliver over a billion litres of some of the best drinking water in the world every day. Collaboration is fundamental to Metro Vancouver. Our regional model lets our members and ratepayers benefit from economies of scale, regional expertise, and innovation in delivering core utility services.
Can you elaborate on Metro Vancouver’s “Sustainability Innovation Fund” and its role in supporting smart water pilots and projects?
Metro Vancouver’s Sustainability Innovation Fund has been in place since 2004 when the Board approved creation of a fund dedicated to funding projects based on the principles of sustainability. Projects must contribute to the region’s sustainability by reducing emissions, protecting the environment and/or, advancing regional resilience. The fund supports projects that demonstrate an innovative approach that is considered less proven or beyond the level of risk tolerated through the budget process, and a continuous improvement approach that would not be feasible through the regular budget process due to funding or risk tolerance constraints.
Smart Water projects and improvements, in many cases, meet the Sustainability Innovation Fund requirements, as mentioned above, and Metro Vancouver’s Water Services department has funded multiple Smart Water projects through this program. We are seeing an increased focus from our Board on the importance of being a resilient organisation as a means of managing and mitigating corporate risk. We’re excited to see how our digital water initiatives will fit within this new framework.
Metro Vancouver is currently undergoing a digital transformation of water system planning and analysis. How do you anticipate this digital transformation will improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Metro Vancouver’s water management practices?
In a nutshell, we are developing multiple analysis and decision-making tools and models for water system planning and operation decision support. We will also implement a data analysis platform in conjunction with the regional water transmission system model, which will integrate and utilise historical and live data for predictive analysis, developing performance metrics, and data visualisation dashboards. This forms the foundation of the Corporation’s future water transmission system dynamic digital twin. Leveraging the power of data and analytics in water management will lead to:
- Increased capital efficiency and optimisation of capital projects’ size and timing ensuring sustained long-term affordability of the regional water system
- Improved conservation and management of water resources and efficiency gains in operations and construction
- Improved water planning and analytical capabilities for faster, accurate and data-driven decisions, daily and in the long-term
- Increased resiliency in response to changes in climate, demographics, demands, and regulatory requirements
Can you share more about your involvement with SWAN? What do you view as the opportunities for SWAN to assist Canadian and global utilities in their digital transformation?
I have been member of different SWAN work groups such as Digital Twin, Data-as-a-Service, and Energy Efficiency, and have leveraged speaking opportunities in Americas Alliance discussion panels such as Sustainability and DaaS to share our journey and experience. I think SWAN is well positioned to fill the knowledge, research, and collaboration gap in the Digital Water industry by developing and presenting technical guidelines and valuable white papers (e.g. Digital Twin Readiness Guide, Communication Protocols). Covering critical topics such as data ownership, cyber security, OT/IT convergence, and providing guidelines for fast-emerging topics such as AI in digital water is of tremendous value to global utilities.
How can young professionals best position themselves to contribute meaningfully to digital transformation projects within the water utility sector?
In brief, by skating where the puck is going. Digital water is not adequately resourced and structured in the water utility sector and has remarkable opportunities for growth. Young professionals are already in an advantageous position to excel in the digital water industry due to their full-life exposure to technology, and they can best position themselves in this sector by investing in their skills development, specifically the ones that are in demand in the water utility sector. Also, digital transformation leaders are constantly looking for keen champions to lead different aspects of their projects in collaboration with different teams. Involvement in early stages of such projects takes young professionals a long way, not only in their careers but in creating value for their organisation.
