Water is the foundation of Saskatchewan’s agricultural strength.
Careful water management supports healthy crops and resilient ecosystems. It is crucial to monitor the infrastructure that sustains rural communities.
In a province where agriculture is a cornerstone of the economy, even small efficiencies can deliver lasting benefits.
By valuing every drop, SaskTel and X-TELIA are helping ensure a stable, reliable food supply for the province and for Canadians who depend on this region to feed the nation.
Helping Hands Across the Provinces
X-TELIA began in the Montreal area with a bigger vision in mind.
“From day one, we knew water shortages would become a global issue.”, says X-TELIA’s CEO and co-founder Eric Bourbeau.
Partnering with SaskTel has helped bring their real time water monitoring technology to communities across Canada.
According to Randy Palazzo from SaskTel:
“X-TELIA offered a strong hardware solution, a user-friendly dashboard, and a cost-effective model that delivers a positive return on investment. It was a natural fit.”
SaskTel, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Saskatchewan, focuses on solutions that benefit local communities. It was in a good position to facilitate smart water monitoring, even in rural and isolated areas, because a province-wide LoRaWAN network had already been established.
How It Works
X-TELIA’s remote water meter readers are quite simple.
Traditional meters are often read just once or twice a year, leaving long gaps where leaks or unusual usage go unnoticed. X-TELIA installs a small, battery-powered device on each meter. Every hour, it reads usage data and sends it to the cloud. If something unusual happens, operators are alerted immediately.
Instead of finding a leak months later, communities and their residents can fix it right away. That shift from delayed to real time information can save significant amounts of water over time.
The impact extends beyond operational advantages for smaller communities with fewer employees. By automating data collection, billing accuracy is increased and less time is spent on manual meter readings.
Leak detection reduces water waste. Residents who can see their usage often adjust their habits. Fewer drive by meter readings, a common practice, also means reduced vehicle emissions.
In the end, everyone wins.
Real World Impact
Some of the earliest deployments of the meter readers were in Indigenous communities, which are often remote and don’t have access to the same tools as larger cities.
“Providing them with the same level of proactive visibility is incredibly meaningful. The solution is cost-effective, easy to deploy, and scalable.”
For Bourbeau, helping these communities has made their work even more worthwhile.
According to Randy Palazzo, the deployment of the meters in one Saskatchewan community helped identify the true source of their water loss.
“Data showed that newer replacement infrastructure, not the oldest pipes, was causing leaks.”
The information gathered from the readers allowed the community to adjust their meter upgrade strategy based on evidence, rather than assumption.
Looking Ahead
With the partnership between SaskTel and X-TELIA bearing fruit, the teams hope these implementations will have more far reaching impact.
Randy Palazzo hopes automated meter readers will become the norm.
“Looking ahead, we hope to connect as many communities as possible, both inside and outside the province. Beyond meters, we see opportunities to apply data across broader water infrastructure.”
Bourbeau emphasizes the fact that a Quebec born technology has managed to provide solutions outside the province’s borders.
“Our partnership with SaskTel has been very exciting. The team has been proactive in identifying cities and communities that lack access to actionable data and need more effective water management tools. They have been very successful in bringing our solution to the rest of Canada.”
In the end, the vision goes beyond the meters.
The bigger vision is how using real data can help improve overall water management, while protecting water resources and strengthening communities.
AquaAction as a Catalyst
When X-TELIA decided it’s focus would be on freshwater monitoring, they needed help understanding what they were getting into.
AquaAction was just the place for that.
“AquaAction has been a tremendous support system. The team is deeply connected with business communities and municipalities across North America. They actively champion companies like ours.”
Participating in the AquaEntrepeneur program helped Bourbeau and his team accelerate their transition while connecting with the right people to expand their reach.
“The coaching, contacts, and support were invaluable. I would recommend the program to any company in the water sector looking to accelerate its growth.”
Thanks to the connections made during their time in the AquaEntrepeneur program, X-TELIA was able to land projects far beyond what they had imagined, taking them all the way to the Prairies and opening the door to further expansion.