A businessman has introduced a hi-tech monitoring system to accurately tell how much liquid is left in a tank.

And Ondra Simons said his web-based ‘etank’ device could also be used to cut down on water use and waste due to tank leaks.

Mr Simons, a veteran electrical engineer, added: “There is no cohesive system of monitoring and managing the supply of water by the water trucking industry.

“Monitoring is done via a visual inspection by the customer or noted when water runs out.”

Mr Simons’ new venture, etank, uses a high-frequency sound wave to constantly monitor the level of water in tanks and subscribers can check their daily use on the firm’s website and even order water online.

He said: “Owners and property managers of homes, apartment complexes or condominiums, with the installation of our sensors and communications device, now have the necessary tools to keep informed of current water usage and future needs.

“For homeowners, knowing how much water is in the tank, their daily average usage and how many days of water until the tank will be empty, based on current usage, is information that can assist in the exercise of water conservation.”

Mr Simons, who also runs a home and office integrated electronics business, ‘intellihome’, added the etank site was linked to to water suppliers, who could use the system to improve delivery efficiency, while customers would know exactly how much water was actually delivered.

He said he came up with the idea several years ago — but advances in wireless technology had done away with the need for complex electrical wires supplying power to in-tank devices and information routing to computers.

Mr Simons added: “The components and technology has evolved to the point it’s a lot easier and a lot simpler. But it took a long time to build it because I had to get the hardware right.

“My aim was five years, no repairs and people should be able to get a least five years out of the system.”

Mr Simons said that a previous home he had lived in had a crack in the tank he was not aware of — until the monitoring system alerted him to the loss of hundreds of gallons of water.

He added: “It said I had used 600 gallons of water when it should have been around 120 gallons. That 600 gallons was going straight into the ground. These are things the etank system can help people notice.”

Mr Simons was speaking as Government issued a warning on water conservation due to a period of low rainfall.

Among other measures, Government urged users not to order more water than they needed to control the flow of piped water into tanks to avoid overfilling.

Mr Simons said the etank helped to balance the use of water collected by rainfall and from piped networks so people did not have to pay for piped water they did not need.

He added: “With tanks being maintained at a high level, tanks tend to overflow during a large downpour, wasting both water and money.

“With etank, you can just look and see you have five or six days supply left based on typical usage because there may be no rain forecast for the next week. And it helps with water conservation as well.”

Etank systems can be installed in as little as three hours at a cost of $295.

More information at www.etank.bm.