Water technology company Xylem has acquired EmNet, a company that provides smart solutions for municipalities to manage urban water cycle and wastewater and stormwater systems.

EmNet is a South Bend, Indiana-based company and its acquisition is expected to add to Xylem’s portfolio of advanced infrastructure analytics solutions and capabilities. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

EmNet’s core technology includes expertise in real time decision support systems (RT-DSS), which was developed as a multidisciplinary approach to solve watershed and collection system challenges.

Its open architecture platform, known as BLU-X is claimed to bring the advantages of big data analytics in real time to water and wastewater systems management.

The company was launched in 2004, as a collaborative partnership between the City of South Bend, Indiana, and the University of Notre Dame. The firm had received its initial funding from the State of Indiana.

The city was also EmNet’s first client for many years as the company developed its RT-DSS platform, tools and applications.

Xylem president and CEO Patrick Decker said: “This is an important addition to our smart infrastructure portfolio because it significantly increases our ability to help customers manage their wastewater network and stormwater systems, areas of growing concern.

“Cities and utilities around the world are trying to effectively manage the challenges of aging infrastructure with limited resources. EmNet is leveraging technology to provide more effective solutions that actually improve their customers’ overall economics.”

Presently, EmNet is working across several cities in the US with projects throughout the Great Lakes and Great Plains regions as well as coastal cities with tide-impacted collection systems such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Luis Montestruque said: “From the beginning, EmNet’s vision has been to solve the most pressing wastewater challenges as cost effectively as possible.

“Joining Xylem empowers our team to greatly accelerate our progress and expand our mission to a global scale.”