Using higher-level analytics, the production optimization software calculates forecasts from real-time process values, enabling anticipation of different situations and versatile optimization of process control. Optimizing water pumping saves energy and balances capacity, and the software also makes it possible to detect leaks more effectively than before. Water balance consumption monitoring and optimization applications have been customized for several water utility customers through cooperation between FCG and Insta, most recently for Nivos Vesi.
Published on July 6 2021. Updated on April 28 2026.
The production optimization software used in water utilities enables water production and distribution to be controlled based on demand forecasts. The system can be used in many ways to anticipate different situations and optimize process control. Water balance consumption monitoring and optimization applications—referred to by Insta as Opti—have been implemented for several water utility customers through cooperation between FCG Finnish Consulting Group and Insta.
“This is a separate software solution that optimizes water sourcing and pumping for water distribution and is integrated into the automation system,” explains Jarmo Antikainen, Design Manager at FCG.
Energy savings and capacity balancing
Water distribution consumes a significant amount of energy, and its optimization using various algorithms and optimization variables has been studied since the 1970s. In water balance control, water utilities are operated as evenly as possible around the clock—during periods of low consumption, water is stored, and during peak consumption periods, the storage is allowed to empty. By forecasting consumption using monitoring and optimization applications, the aim is to achieve optimal setpoints for water pumping and reservoir water level.
“With the application, the water utility effectively takes control of the entire water distribution system. Optimizing water pumping aims for energy savings, but also capacity balancing. If water pumping can be balanced optimally, it is possible to save on plant sizing,” Antikainen says and continues:
“The application benefits utilities that have many water towers or groundwater intakes. In addition to their own intakes, customers may also have external water supply lines, and by optimizing the use of these different sources, it is possible to determine where water should be sourced at any given time so that it is as cost-effective as possible while still ensuring sufficient water availability across the network.”
Antikainen says they were involved in developing the first water balance–based control systems in Finland as early as the 1980s. Around the turn of the millennium, Suunnittelukeskus Oy, the predecessor of FCG, designed a major automation modernization for Porvoon Vesi, for which Insta—then Instrumentointi Oy—was selected as the automation contractor. At that time, the first joint Opti application was implemented. In later implementations, the software has also been referred to as the Main Program.Antikainen describes how automation systems and their data transfer solutions have evolved over the years, while the basic concept of Opti/Main Program has essentially remained the same. The application can be implemented in the customer’s system, for example, in connection with an automation modernization project. Applications delivered to different customers are similar in nature but individualized, as they are tailored based on project-specific definitions for different systems.
A new way to utilize automation
The Opti system implemented in Porvoo was updated last year as part of Porvoon Vesi’s extensive automation renewal. The most recent application of the water balance–based control system was implemented for Nivos Vesi in connection with an automation modernization project, where FCG was responsible for preliminary studies, design, and construction supervision, and Insta for the automation implementation.
“Nivos’s previous automation system was reaching the end of its service life and did not meet today’s cybersecurity requirements. The availability of spare parts had weakened, and the system’s reporting and other features were outdated,” explains Kimmo Rintamäki, CEO of Nivos Vesi.
“We wanted better control over water production and distribution management and more detailed information about consumption areas. Through Opti, or the Main Program, we receive data from different consumption areas and can therefore detect leaks more quickly,” explains Päivi Nyyssönen, Production Manager at Nivos Vesi, who led the modernization project.
In connection with Nivos’s automation modernization, the goal was to create a system for measuring and monitoring water distribution network consumption and leaks, thereby changing the way automation is utilized. Instead of focusing on alarm monitoring and equipment maintenance, the approach shifted to calculating regional water consumption, which enables faster detection of leaks. At the same time, reporting and overall management of water distribution systems and water sources were further developed.Following a competitive tendering process, Insta was selected as the supplier of the automation modernization and the associated control system.
“We required redundancy in critical areas such as programming and project management, and Insta was able to provide that. As a multi-industry company, we also have high requirements for information security. In addition, Insta has a desire to grow and develop, and since future challenges are significant for us as well, the overall offering was decisive,” Rintamäki explains the selection.
“The distribution of potable water and its pumping from water intakes are at the very core of our expertise. This is not only about security of supply and continuity, but also about water quality. We must ensure that our customers continuously have safe, pressurized drinking water available,” Rintamäki continues.
CEO of Nivos Vesi, Kimmo Rintamäki.
Tanker truck fillings and leaks visible in charts
At Nivos, the first summer with the new software is now underway—and a hot one at that.
“Opti has only been in use for a short time, so we have not yet experienced different seasons. In summer, when people arrive at their summer cottages, water consumption is on a completely different level. We are still learning the adjustments,” explains Robert Hole, Work Supervisor at Nivos Vesi, who served as a technical expert in the modernization project.
However, the benefits of the visual presentation have already been experienced, and the system’s manageability compared to “manual automation,” as Hole describes the previous system, is on a new level:
“Automation should be such that it is good not only for operators but also serves the needs of higher-level personnel. Opti is clear, but to become truly familiar with it, it needs to be used sufficiently.”
“The program’s graphical charts make it easier to understand how situations and developments evolve. The software has predicted well, although adjustments were made at the beginning and fine-tuning is still ongoing. This has been a learning process for all of us,” Nyyssönen says.
Opti has proven to be precise in detecting anomalies.
“The system is sensitive and detects even small changes in consumption areas. For example, if the fire department draws water in a smaller consumption area, or tanker trucks are filled for other purposes, this appears clearly as consumption peaks in the charts. By monitoring nighttime consumption, suspicions of leaks have arisen—and then it has been confirmed that there was indeed a leak,” Nyyssönen explains.
“Monitoring of water cooperatives in the Mäntsälä areas has also improved. We are on call around the clock, and if we notice something unusual in consumption area monitoring, we can inform the water cooperatives that there may be a leak in their area. Preparedness across the entire region has improved as a result,” Nyyssönen adds.
Images: Nivos