A meter to check water usage

We live in times of chronic water shortages and frequent debates on water conservation are the need of the hour. Chennai-based startup WeGoT Utility Solutions is looking at water management as the first step towards tackling the looming water crisis and are building solutions.

WeGoT was founded in 2015 by four engineers - Vijay Krishna, Mohamed Mohideen, Abilash Haridass and Sundeep Donthamshetty.

Growing up in Chennai, a city that witnesses major shortages every year, the founders used IoT to create VenAqua, a sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) device and a software platform that can be connected to water inlet pipes. Both the hardware (water meter) and the software, are designed in-house.

The firm recently raised $2 million in seed funding, in a round led by a number of investors including GoFrugal, Shyam Shekar from iThought, and Brigade Enterprises, among others.

According to Abilash Haridass, one of the founders, "Traditional water meters are from mechanical companies and are turbine-based solutions and cannot detect air passing through pipes and drop leakages. Our technology prevents this and checks instances of water theft and inlet water quality. It is very effective."

What does it do?

VenAqua claims to reduce the demand for water by more than 50% with low cost, high precision sensors that track the flow, pressure, and the quality of water. Haridass says, "The granular data from these sensors are then applied to various water-related applications in a property. As part of the process, people become conscious and take care to regulate the use of water."

He adds, "Our system tracks the quality of water when it enters the property and ensures that there is no pilferage. Using our algorithm, and based on water usage patterns, only the necessary amount of water is stored in overhead tanks, thus increasing the efficiency of all the pumps and other plumbing equipment, It tracks the usage of every apartment, and bills residents according to their individual usage. "

An app also notifies residents about leakages in the system, broken pipes and leaking taps. The system also detects leakages, broken pipes, abnormal consumption in real-time, and notifies the user via the app. Customers get notifications about any abnormal usage and can even shut the leaks from their phones.

How does it help?

Abhilash points out, "We offer a simple and convenient platform to manage water usage in any facility. This results in a significant reduction in water consumption; Cost savings on the electricity required to pump and treat water due to reduced demand; Lower maintenance costs by more than 30%; Improved efficiency and management of assets like pumps, treatment plants and so on.

Main focus areas

At present, the company is present in more than 35,000 apartment complexes in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. says, "We are targeting apartment complexes and commercial complexes. We are yet to venture in the space of the individual houses. Our immediate focus is to work towards implementing VenAqua in more than a thousand buildings. We are also looking at increasing our team strength and expand to other cities.