System and method for providing water conservation

Abstract

A water conservation system includes a control unit comprising a memory and a processor. Valves are connected to the control unit. Water outlet points, pumps, a control unit, and an untreated water source are connected to the valves. Sensors are connected to the control unit and located in zones designated for receiving water. The control unit is configured to receive an operating status of the plurality of valves; receive data generated by the plurality of sensors; process the received data from the sensors and the operating status to determine an operation to be performed by the control unit. The operation includes one or more of fire control, excess untreated water removal, or irrigation. Untreated water is routed to an appropriate zone depending on the operation determined.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A water conservation system comprising:
 a control unit comprising a memory and a processor coupled to the memory;   a plurality of valves connected to the control unit;   a plurality of water outlet points connected to the valves;   at least one untreated water source connected to the valves;   one or more water pumps connected to control unit and connected to the valves; and   a plurality of sensors connected to the control unit and located in zones designated for receiving water, wherein the control unit is configured to:
 receive an operating status of the plurality of valves; 
 receive data generated by the plurality of sensors; 
 process the received data from the sensors and the operating status to determine an operation to be performed by the control unit, wherein the operation includes one or more of fire control, excess untreated water removal, or irrigation; 
 upon determining that the operation is fire control:
 determine a fire zone based on the data received from the sensors; and 
 route water from the untreated water source to one or more of the water outlet points located at the fire zone by activating a first combination of valves and water pumps; 
 
 upon determining that the operation is untreated water removal:
 route excess water from the untreated water source to one or more of the water outlet points located at an excess water removal zone by activating a second combination of valves and water pumps; and 
 
 upon determining that the operation is irrigation:
 route water from the untreated water source to one or more of the water outlets points located at an irrigation zone for a programmed time period by activating a third combination of valves and water pumps for the programmed time or until a water level in the untreated water source is below a limit. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The water conservation system of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further programmed to route water from a treated water source to the one or more of the water outlet points located at the irrigation zone by activating a fourth combination of valves and water pumps upon determining that the water level in the untreated water source is below the limit. 
     
     
         3 . The water conservation system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of timers connected to the control unit configured to provide data related to irrigation schedules for the irrigation operation. 
     
     
         4 . The water conservation system of  claim 3 , wherein the irrigation schedule comprises time periods through which a set of the water outlet points from the plurality of water outlet points are to be activated. 
     
     
         5 . The water conservation system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors include valve sensors connected to the valves and the control unit is configured to activate and deactivate the plurality of valves using the valve sensors. 
     
     
         6 . The water conservation system of  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured activate and deactivate the water pumps using pump control sensors. 
     
     
         7 . The water conservation system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors include temperature sensors located proximate the fire zone and/or the irrigation zone and temperature data from the temperature sensors is used by the control unit to determine whether the operation is either the fire control operation or the irrigation operation. 
     
     
         8 . The water conservation system of  claim 1 , wherein the first combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the fire zone and water pumps connected to the untreated water source and to a treated water source, and wherein the second combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the excess untreated water removal zone and water pumps connected to the untreated water source, and wherein the third combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the irrigation zone and water pumps connected to the untreated water source, and wherein the fourth combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the irrigation zone and water pumps connected to the treated water source. 
     
     
         9 . A method for water conservation, comprising:
 receiving by a control unit connected to a plurality of valves, wherein some of the valves are located proximate a plurality of monitored zones, a plurality of water pumps connected to the valves, and a plurality of sensors located proximate the zones, an operating status of the plurality of valves;   receiving data generated by the plurality of sensors;   processing the received data from the sensors and the operating status to determine an operation to be performed by the control unit, wherein the operation includes one or more of fire control, excess untreated water removal, or irrigation;   upon determining that the operation is fire control:
 determining a fire zone from among the plurality of monitored zones, based on the data received from the sensors; and 
 routing water from the untreated water source to one or more water outlet points located at the fire zone by activating a first combination of valves and water pumps; 
   upon determining that the operation is untreated water removal:
 routing excess water from the untreated water source to one or more water outlet points located at an excess water removal zone by activating a second combination of valves and water pumps; and 
   upon determining that the operation is irrigation:   routing water from the untreated water source to one or more water outlets points located at an irrigation zone in the plurality of monitored zones for a programmed time period by activating a third combination of valves and water pumps for the programmed time or until a water level in the untreated water source is below a limit.   
     
     
         10 . The method of water conservation of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more grey water tanks are equipped with water level sensors to determine the amount of grey water present in the one or more grey water tanks. 
     
     
         11 . The method of water conservation of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of timers comprise data related to irrigation schedules for standard irrigation operation. 
     
     
         12 . The method of water conservation of  claim 11 , wherein the irrigation schedule comprises time periods through which a set of water outlet points from the plurality of water outlet points are to be activated. 
     
     
         13 . The method of water conservation of  claim 9 , wherein the control unit activates and deactivates the plurality of valves based on feedback from solenoid valve sensors. 
     
     
         14 . The method of water conservation of  claim 9 , wherein the control unit activates and deactivates the water pumps based on feedback from pump control sensors. 
     
     
         15 . The method of water conservation of  claim 9 , wherein temperature sensors located at the plurality of monitored zones continuously send temperature data to the control unit. 
     
     
         16 . The method of water conservation of  claim 9 , wherein the first combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the fire zone and water pumps connected to the untreated water source and to a treated water source, and wherein the second combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the excess untreated water removal zone and water pumps connected to the untreated water source, and wherein the third combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the irrigation zone and water pumps connected to the untreated water source, and wherein the fourth combination of valves and water pumps include valves connecting the water outlets located at the irrigation zone and water pumps connected to the treated water source.