Water utility representatives registered a 10 percent year-over-year growth in the planned or completed deployment of smart water systems, according to Sensus. The survey was conducted at the second annual survey of attendees at the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) ACE11 conference in Washington, D.C.

Sensus conducted the survey among municipalities, public water utilities, cooperatives, investor-owned utilities and distributors. Nearly 200 industry professionals completed the survey while visiting the Sensus booth.

According to the survey, over 70 percent of respondents were in some phase of smart water system deployment, compared to 60 percent in 2010. Respondents also shared insights on smart water system selection criteria, including top technology considerations.

According to more than 80 percent of surveyed respondents, life expectancy of smart meters and communication networks are the most important system selection criteria for a smart utility system, along with maintaining accuracy from low to high flow levels and over the lifetime of the meter.

Around 76 percent of respondents said additional important system selection factors included ease of installation and maintenance, while manufacturer reputation (73.8 percent) and utility peer recommendation (60.9 percent) are other criteria.

The other top technology considerations included products constructed with lead-free materials (75.8 percent) and strength of materials (76.3 percent).

“Water utilities are increasingly adopting intelligent water management technologies to support long-term conservation efforts and improve operational efficiency,” said Mike Tracy, executive vice president, Sensus North America, in a statement.

“Sensus is leading the industry with intelligent water management solutions that are proven to support utilities with varying customer base sizes, terrain and climate conditions,” Tracy added.

Recently, GTM Research forecast that the HAN and Home Energy Management market is likely to grow 90 percent, with the revenue increasing from $400 million in 2011 to over $750 million in 2015.