Municipal sewer remote monitoring

The Pain

Sewers are critical heavy duty infrastructure components requiring costly maintenance.
Many municipalities suffer from ageing pipelines that pose higher chances of failure.
Sewer leaks or overflows may also lead to environmental damages
and health hazards,resulting in extremely high fixing and reimbursement costs. 
Moreover citizen frustration from sewage overflow is often targeted towards the municipality. 
Overflow can occur as a result of pipe blockage, rain drainage, overstressed pipelines and more.
Most of the overflows are unpredictable and difficult to pinpoint when using the traditional means of monitoring
(usually an angry phone call reporting an overflow..)    

 

The US Senate members have already identified this problem:

Senators Introduce Bill To Alert Communities Of Sewage Overflows        
May 13, 2009

Washington, DC — Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) recently 
introduced legislation to protect communities from illness by requiring monitoring, notification and reporting of sewer overflows...

The legislation — the Sewage Overflow Right-To-Know Act of 2009 — would reduce the annual number of human illnesses
from contact with untreated sewage by informing communities of sewer overflows discharging waste into their local waterways
within 24 hours.
The measure would provide notification of sewer overflows by requiring sewage treatment operators to:

·          Monitor their systems for sewage overflows by using a management program or technology that will alert them of sewer overflows in a       timely manner;
·          Notify the public, public health officials and other affected downstream entities, including drinking water suppliers, of any sewer overflows that endanger human health;
·          Report to the state or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) all sewer overflows as soon as possible and follow-up with a written report   explaining the duration and volume of the overflow and steps taken to mitigate the overflow; and
·          Make monitoring and notification eligible for funding via the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
…Currently, there is no consistent monitoring, reporting and public notification requirement for sewer overflows. 

  SOURCE: Office of Senator Lautenberg

Our Solution

SolidAT offers a manhole sewage level and open channel flow meter
with independent or integrated cellular communications capabilities.
Wireless link is essential for avoiding massive installation efforts.
The meter is based on non-contact ultrasonic technology,
being the only practical cost effective technology for the tough task of measuring sewage. 

The benefits to the municipality:

·          24/7 control and monitoring. Direct on-line access to the sewage flow underground.

·          Prediction of overflow. This allows the officials to act before and not after the damage is inflicted.

·          Prediction of irregular activity (overstressed pipes, blockage, etc.). This allows preventive maintenance which is always much cheaper
than dealing with unexpected disasters.

·          Detect the exact location of the problem – save time and money.

·          Overall cost reduction on maintenance, manpower, energy resources and damage control.   

·          Increase civilian (customer) satisfaction.

 

Additional benefits

  Accurate knowledge of the quantity of sewer running through the system. By this the municipality can:
o         Plan future needs
o         Charge purification plants according to accurate rather

             than calculated data.
·          Monitor and charge effluent coming out of manufacturing plants,

            hospitals etc.
·          Monitoring of pumping stations,water reservoirs, pumps etc.   

The Solution in details

System Architecture                                  

The control center software

Can range form simple user interface to advanced GIS software pending on price and customer needs.

The software allows the following:

·          User friendly presentation of the data (Graphs, maps, aerial photos etc.)

·          Instant messaging – SMS alerts to predefined officials in predefined situations (overflow, water reached a warning level, periodic notification etc.)

                           Basic interface
   
                                                                   Advanced interface

The Ultrasonic Sensor

Ultrasonic level measurement is practically the only way to measure waste water level or flow.
Contact technologies (such as float) do not function over time as waste water
solids stick and tamper with their operation.
On the other hand Radar technology is too expensive and is an 'overkill' for waste water applications.

For the wastewater applications SolidAT offers it's high end and robust product line – The SmartScan 50.
The product is a two part system where the sensor is installed in the pit and the controller + GSM modem above ground.

·          Overcomes foam up to 5 cm

·          High accuracy

·          Can calculate open channel flow

·          The Sensor is IP67

•   Explosion proof (FM and ATEX)option for environmental with Methane presence
  
  SmartScan 50 sensor in a sewer pit
  
  
  Smart50 controller + GSM Modem in a control box
  

Our Our next generation 2-wire product- The Gauger could be installed in pit as a whole.
The unit is a one part system with an integrated sensor,
it is IP67 and includes an internal GSM modem.
This new solution can significantly reduce installation costs.
The product is in late stage of development that could be finalized as part of a substantial project.