Smart Wastewater Networks can help the water industry to make better, more informed decisions about how to operate the wastewater network, but what exactly is a Smart Wastewater Network?
While most of the focus in water has been focussed on the potable water network side of the business order to reduce non-revenue water, the value of acting more “intelligently†in the wastewater system has come to the fore over the past couple of years.
The wastewater network is a complex system, which is why some of the water and sewerage companies (WASCs) and their consultants have taken various approaches, according to reports from various recent conferences and workshops in the area of Smart Wastewater Networks.
Due to the fact that the wastewater system is so complex, the main problem is understanding exactly what the problem is and where it comes from. The problems could include:
- Alarm handling and response
- Asset reliability & the cost of running the network
- Blockages & sewer misuse
- Centralised sewer network model capable of fast simulation
- Communication and telemetry systems to tie it all together
- Flooding of both internal & external properties
- Pollution incident detection and management
- Sewer capacity and storm overflows
- Sewer Level Monitors
- Weather radar and modern rain gauges
- Any combination of or all of the above
Once this has been established, there remains the problem of devising a strategy for its resolution.
The Event Duration Monitoring programme, which stems from a Ministerial Direction that promised the monitoring of the “majority†of storm overflows by 2020, will see thousands of monitors installed that are prioritised so that the highest impact areas are completed first to monitor when, where and for how long spills from the wastewater network are happening.
- A Smart Wastewater Network consists of:
- Centralised sewer network model capable of fast simulation
- Communication and telemetry systems to tie it all together
- Sewer Level Monitors
- Weather radar and modern rain gauges
The Smart Wastewater Network uses a combination of various modelling techniques and rainfall radar as part of the solution to mitigate the risk of flooding. The Smart Wastewater Network provides the water company with advanced warning of future occurrences, allowing it to make decisions on methods of operation of the pumping station – a critical part of the overall wastewater treatment system.
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