LORAWAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK FOR NEAR REAL-TIME WATER CONSUMPTION DATA COLLECTION: ARCHITECTURE AND DIMENSIONING FOR THE PIGEON DISTRICT, NGALIEMA, KINSHASA

Rapid urbanization and the growing pressure on water resources make accurate consumption measurement a prerequisite for effective distribution management. In rapidly expanding areas of Kinshasa such as Pigeon, two challenges coexist: meters are either absent or non-functional for many connections, and meter reading still relies on manual visits, leading to estimated or flat-rate billing. This study proposes and dimensions a LoRaWAN wireless network architecture for near real-time water consumption data collection in the Pigeon district (Ngaliema, Kinshasa). The methodology is based on a five-layer reference architecture (perception, radio access, backhaul, platform, and application) with cross-cutting security, and an analytical dimensioning model. A pilot cluster of 50 smart meters is analyzed through link budget, time-on-air, duty cycle, and collision probability calculations. The results show that a pilot of 50 meters in a 0.5 km² area is served by a single gateway with a packet delivery ratio (PDR) ranging from 90% to 99%. Extrapolation to the entire district (~7,000 connections) reveals that capacity, rather than coverage, dictates the number of gateways required: at least 3 to 8 gateways are needed for 50-byte messages every 15 minutes, and 1 to 2 for hourly reporting. The integration of technical and educational monitoring, along with the proposed scalable and cost-effective framework, provides a practical tool for deploying smart water metering infrastructures in densely populated urban environments, contributing to sustainable urban water management.