Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | ocTober 2014 | 41 Digging deeper Monitoring water quality in real time T here is a lot of buzz around real-time monitoring and proactive pollution mitigation in the industry at present, and that is because this method actually delivers far more meaningful information than data logging autopsies, which were previously the standard approach. The good news from our perspective – and that of the companies we work with, like Anglian Water – is that it's now widely agreed that these traditional methods don't actually improve water quality, and the move to mitigation is gaining pace. The journey we have been on with Anglian Water, first using BDTs (Bulk Dielectric Transduc- ers) and then FDTs (Flow Detection Transducers) to monitor their network has helped them to tar- get their investment and look more closely at in- termittent discharges from CSOs. That approach, as part of their investment strategy, has enabled them to make decisions with an improved level of accuracy. In the near future, I think it's inevitable that the concept of 'mitigation' will enter in the specific requirements set by Ofwat. It has been demonstrated for some time that monitoring and reporting may tick boxes but on its own doesn't proactively reduce pollution. We hope others will follow the lead of compa- nies like Anglian Water and make use of the real- time data combined with mitigation technology and strategies to make a real difference to the environment. Fundamentally, improved water quality can only come through reducing the number of incidents, and better real-time monitoring and its ease of integration/interface with existing field controls is essential to do that. A good example of the benefits of real-time data is where we have sent high sewer level alarms to delay pumping at a number of loca- tions where the sewer capacity is restricted and in the past, without it, would have lead to sewer flooding. A second example is a two-year trial with another client where a controllable weir valve was fitted to a storm drain that was subject The bulk Dielectric Transducer (bDT) provides information on water levels which is vital to real-time monitoring As the introduction of the revised bathing Water Directive approaches like the incoming tide, radio Data Networks (rDN) managing director brian back explains how real-time information and technology to mitigate pollution can combine to maintain water quality. • Innovations ● Real time monitoring uses a system of BDTs (Bulk Dielectric Transducers) and FDTs (Flow Detection Transducers). ● The BDT is an ultra-low pow- er, smart dielectric that detects high water levels in sewers, drains and tanks by sensing changes in its surroundings from air to water or sewage. The FDT triggers when sewer level rises and weirs overflow through the spill chamber dur- ing a storm or dry spill. ● Real-time information from the BDT sensors are combined with the models in the calcula- tion engine provided by Me- niscus (www.meniscus.co.uk) to provide the dashboard, management reports and alerts that drive the external com- munication process. ●

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