Clean Water. Safe Pressure.
Zero Violations.
The AWWA estimates that U.S. water utilities lose 6 billion gallons of treated water daily , a 16% non-revenue water rate that costs the industry $7.6 billion annually. Meanwhile, the EPA's revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR) mandates service line inventories by October 2027 and full lead pipe replacement within 10 years. Aging distribution mains average 50+ years old, with 240,000 breaks per year nationwide. Argus unifies water quality monitoring, pressure management, leak detection, and compliance into one operational data fusion platform that cuts non-revenue water by 30-40% and automates every regulatory filing.
From treatment plant to customer tap, Argus provides the intelligence that keeps water safe, systems efficient, and your compliance team ahead of every deadline , SDWA, LCRR, CCR, and state primacy reporting included.
Every Parameter. Every Sample Point. Continuous Compliance.
Water quality violations carry consequences that no utility manager wants to face: Tier 1 public notification within 24 hours for acute contaminant exceedances, potential consent decrees, loss of public trust, and , in worst cases , the kind of public health crisis that destroyed Flint, Michigan's reputation and triggered $600 million in settlements. Argus monitors treatment plant effluent, distribution system sample points, and customer tap readings continuously against all EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels, treatment technique requirements, and secondary standards. When a parameter trends toward its MCL, your operations team knows hours before a violation occurs , not days after.
pH Level
Measure of water acidity or alkalinity. EPA secondary standard range: 6.5-8.5. Critically important for corrosion control , pH below 7.0 accelerates lead and copper leaching from service lines and premise plumbing, the exact mechanism that caused the Flint crisis.
Free Chlorine
Residual disinfectant level in the distribution system. Must maintain minimum 0.2 mg/L free chlorine (or 0.5 mg/L chloramine) at all points in the system per the Surface Water Treatment Rule. Dead-end mains and low-flow areas are chronic problem spots , Argus flags decaying residuals before they breach the minimum.
Turbidity
Cloudiness of water caused by suspended particles. EPA MCL: 1.0 NTU (never to exceed), treatment technique: 0.3 NTU in 95% of daily samples for conventional/direct filtration systems. Turbidity is the canary in the coal mine , spikes indicate filter breakthrough, main breaks, or source water contamination events. Argus triggers alerts at 0.5 NTU, giving operators time to respond before the 1.0 NTU MCL is breached.
Lead
Lead action level: 15 ppb at the 90th percentile of customer tap samples. The revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR) adds a trigger level at 10 ppb requiring corrosion control treatment optimisation. No safe level of lead exposure exists , especially for children. Argus tracks every tap sample, calculates rolling 90th percentile values, and flags trends toward the trigger and action levels months in advance.
Nitrate
Nitrate (as nitrogen) MCL: 10 mg/L. Acute health risk , causes methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome) in infants. Sources include agricultural runoff, septic system leachate, and fertiliser contamination. Seasonal variation is common in systems with surface water sources or shallow wells. Argus tracks seasonal patterns and triggers early warnings when nitrate levels trend upward during spring runoff periods.
Pressure Where You Need It. Leak Detection Where You Do Not.
Distribution system pressure is the invisible driver of water loss and infrastructure damage. Every 10 PSI of excess pressure increases leak flow rates by approximately 7% and accelerates pipe deterioration. Conversely, pressure below 20 PSI creates health hazards through potential backflow and cross-connection contamination. Argus monitors pressure zones in real time, integrates with PRV and booster pump SCADA, and deploys district-metered area (DMA) water balance analysis to detect leaks that acoustic methods miss , including the low-flow leaks on plastic pipe that cost utilities millions in non-revenue water annually.
Pressure Zone 1 - Low Elevation
Pressure Zone 2 - Mid Elevation
Pressure Zone 3 - High Elevation
Leak Detection Status
Pump Station Status
Every Hydrant. Every Inspection. Every Flow Test.
Fire hydrants are the most visible utility asset in every community , and the one most likely to be blamed when a house burns down because flow was inadequate. ISO fire suppression ratings directly affect commercial insurance premiums in your service territory. NFPA 291 recommends annual inspections and flow testing on a 5-year cycle. Most utilities manage hydrant programmes in spreadsheets, losing track of overdue inspections until a fire department complaint arrives. Argus tracks every hydrant through its complete lifecycle , installation, inspection, flow test, maintenance, and replacement , with automated scheduling that ensures zero hydrants fall through the cracks.
Annual Inspection Cycle
Condition Ratings
Fully operational, all caps and nozzles functional, NFPA colour-coded per flow test results, clear 3-foot access
Minor cosmetic issues (paint, reflector), fully functional, flow test within expected range for main size
Maintenance needed , stiff operating nut, minor weeping, or reduced flow capacity below 500 GPM. Repair scheduled.
Significant deficiencies , broken nozzle cap, inoperable valve, or flow below 250 GPM. Repair prioritised. Fire department notified.
Non-functional , frozen barrel, broken stem, or no flow. Bagged and tagged per local fire department protocol. Replacement ordered.
When the EPA Asks, Your Data Is Already Prepared.
Water utilities operate under the most prescriptive federal regulatory framework of any utility sector. The EPA regulates 90+ contaminants under the SDWA, with monitoring schedules that range from continuous (turbidity, chlorine residual) to triennial (many SOCs and IOCs). The revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR) imposes the most significant new compliance obligations in 30 years. State primacy agencies add their own requirements , California's CDPH regulates additional contaminants not covered by federal rules. Argus automates compliance tracking, report generation, and audit preparation so your compliance officer spends time on water quality, not paperwork.
EPA Safe Drinking Water Act
Maximum Contaminant Levels for 90+ regulated contaminants, Surface Water Treatment Rule turbidity requirements, Disinfection Byproducts Rule (Stage 1 and Stage 2 D/DBPR), Ground Water Rule, Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR), Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), and Tier 1/2/3 public notification requirements with timeframes of 24 hours, 30 days, and 12 months respectively.
Continuous MCL monitoring with automated violation detection. Compliance calendar tracking all monitoring schedules , monthly bacteriological, quarterly disinfection byproducts, annual IOCs, triennial SOCs. Automated Tier 1 public notification triggers within 2 hours of acute violation detection. CCR data compilation from monitoring results. Reports formatted for your specific state primacy agency template , TCEQ, OEPA, CDPH, or any of the 57 primacy agencies.
Lead and Copper Rule (Revised - LCRR)
Compliance deadline: October 16, 2027 for initial service line inventory. Trigger level at 10 ppb, action level at 15 ppb (90th percentile). Complete service line inventory with material verification. Mandatory full lead service line replacement (no more partial replacements). Customer notification within 24 hours of results exceeding action level. Annual public access to service line inventory data.
Complete service line inventory management with material verification workflow , field inspection results, historical records review, and predictive modelling for unknowns. Tap sample tracking with automated 90th percentile calculation against both the 10 ppb trigger level and 15 ppb action level. Replacement programme scheduling with customer notification automation. Public-facing inventory map generation for the annual public access requirement. Milestone tracking against the October 2027 deadline.
AWWA Standards & Benchmarking
AWWA utility benchmarking programme covers operational efficiency, financial performance, water quality, customer service, and infrastructure condition. AWWA standards C651 (disinfection of mains), C652 (tanks), and C653 (wells) define critical operational procedures.
Operational metrics tracked against AWWA benchmarks for treatment chemical usage per MG, energy consumption per MG pumped, distribution system flushing effectiveness, and customer complaint rates. Pipe condition assessment data structured per AWWA's PACP (Pipeline Assessment Certification Programme) methodology. Benchmarking reports position your utility against peer utilities of similar size and source water type.
AWWA Water Audit (M36)
AWWA Manual M36 Free Water Audit methodology , the industry standard for quantifying and categorising water loss into real losses (physical leaks), apparent losses (metre inaccuracy, unauthorised consumption), and unbilled authorised consumption. IWA/AWWA Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) benchmarking. Required annually by several state regulatory agencies.
Automated AWWA M36 water audit calculations using production meter data, customer billing data, and system attributes. Real-time non-revenue water dashboard with ILI calculation. Component analysis separating real losses, apparent losses, and unbilled authorised consumption. Economic Level of Leakage (ELL) modelling to optimise leak detection investment. Reports formatted for state regulatory agencies that mandate annual water loss reporting.
State Primacy Agency Reporting
Monthly Operating Reports (MORs), annual compliance summaries, sanitary survey preparation (every 3 years for community systems, every 5 for non-transient non-community systems), and capacity development documentation required by your state primacy agency.
Automated MOR generation populated from SCADA and laboratory data. Sanitary survey preparation packages with pre-populated responses for the 8 sanitary survey elements: source, treatment, distribution, finished water storage, pumps/controls, monitoring/reporting/data verification, management/operations, and operator compliance. Electronic submission support for states with online reporting portals.
Safe Water Requires Intelligence That Never Takes a Day Off.
The ASCE rates U.S. drinking water infrastructure at a C-minus, estimating $434 billion in investment needs over the next 20 years. Lead service lines affect an estimated 9.2 million connections nationwide. Climate change is degrading source water quality with more frequent algal blooms, wildfire-driven turbidity spikes, and saltwater intrusion. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $55 billion for water infrastructure , but every dollar comes with accountability requirements. Your compliance team cannot afford to manage this complexity with spreadsheets and manual processes.
Argus reshapes water utility operations from sample-based snapshots to continuous monitoring, from reactive main break response to predictive pipe condition management, and from manual compliance paperwork to automated regulatory reporting , so your team focuses on delivering safe water, not assembling binders.
The water that communities depend on deserves protection that monitors every parameter, every pressure zone, every hydrant , 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Talk to a Water Utility SpecialistDeployed on-premise or in sovereign cloud. Integrates with existing SCADA (Hach WIMS, Wonderware, iFIX), LIMS, GIS (Esri Water Utilities), CMMS (Cityworks, Lucity, Maximo), and CIS/billing systems. We serve municipal water departments, water districts, water authorities, and private water companies of all sizes.