In the UK there are approximately 31,000 ‘Combined Sewer Overflows’ (CSOs). Their purpose is to discharge untreated sewage and wastewater when the sewerage system is overloaded. CSOs act as emergency discharge valves in our sewerage system, discharging untreated sewage and wastewater when the system comes close to bursting, during periods of intense rainfall. Without Combined Sewer Overflows, potential consequences include sewage backing up in houses and gardens, so they are a vital part of sewerage infrastructure. CSOs from waste- and surface-water are designed to alleviate pressure on the network by discharging excess flow at a controlled point, to prevent flooding upstream. These discharge points can release untreated effluent into the environment, with the potential to cause pollution and environmental damage. This risk is why so many wastewater companies choose to provide permanent telemetry to monitor these assets.
Regulations and their enforcement are becoming evermore stringent. Discharges from the water industry, other industrial sectors and private discharges, as well as intermittent discharges such as those from CSOs or emergency overflows, are becoming extremely expensive in terms of failed compliance fines, and also increasingly very public.
Unpredictability of weather patterns and tighter environmental standards are combining to expose the limitations of this type of ‘wet weather’ solution.
Metasphere’s monitoring systems, using the Point Colour range, can take inputs from multiple sensors usually in the form of ultrasonic, radar and submersible pressure for this application measuring level and flow. These sensors are monitored on a predefined interval, relevant to both the site and the sensors being deployed.
Point Colour remote telemetry units (RTUs) can be configured to dynamically increase the measurement rate and dial in if one of the user-definable alarm levels is breached.
Data can be sent back to either:
• Metasphere’s data visualisation service, Palette, where users can view the received data or make use of both the email and SMS alarm functionality. The latter is particularly useful for receiving alarms out of hours.
Or:
• Client’s FTP or DNP3 servers, where subsequent alarms can be generated by the user, or data can be used to perform control functions.
THE METASPHERE PRODUCT RANGE
