2.3 Monitoring the Network and Outputs from the System
Within the wastewater network, the challenge is that they are three types of network,
the more traditional gravity network that everyone considers the sewer to look like,
the pumped network and those that are a mix between the two. Of course, the
different types of network behave in different ways and require different types of
instrumentation to monitor them, although the wastewater network is probably the
largest area of the water industry infrastructure which is largely unmonitored.
The pumped network, in some ways, is very similar to its potable water cousin
consisting of pumping stations and rising mains. The risks of this network are mainly
centred around the risk of pipe bursts, due to blockages or pipe condition and
overflowing of pumping stations caused by them being overwhelmed with flow,
by power failures and by pump failures or simple blockage.
Like the potable water network, there are a few areas where a smart water industry
can have large potential impacts around:
• Wastewater pumping station control
• Wastewater system control
• Wastewater network burst detection
Wastewater pumping stations have typically had simplified pumping station
control, with either floats or level control to ensure that pumping stations pump
when they need to pump in isolation from any other aspect of the wastewater
network. They will normally have an overflow monitoring device that monitors
flow through the emergency overflow to the environment, which is there in case of
pump blockage or pump failure. As the size of the pumping station increases so does
the complexity, but the principle remains the same.
As technology has developed, and the monitors and control systems can do more,
then the intelligence of the sewage pumping station has increased. In addition to
simple level sensing, other aspects of sensing have been incorporated including:
• Current monitoring for pump performance
• Flow monitoring for discharge rates
• Pressure monitoring for burst detection
• Implied flow meters from variable speed drives and virtual drop tests to imply
inflow
• Control systems to reverse pumps that can attempt to free pump blockages
automatically
Further developments in the terminal pumping stations can put control in place to
ensure that the pumping stations coordinate with each other to smooth the flow
entering the WTW, to ensure more efficient operation of the entire wastewater
operational system.
Current monitoring strategies, as well as the use of Variable Speed Pump Drives
used to imply flow from the power required to operate the pump, show the performance of the pump and can indicate when the pump is starting to wear. The
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121
Within the wastewater network, the challenge is that they are three types of network,
the more traditional gravity network that everyone considers the sewer to look like,
the pumped network and those that are a mix between the two. Of course, the
different types of network behave in different ways and require different types of
instrumentation to monitor them, although the wastewater network is probably the
largest area of the water industry infrastructure which is largely unmonitored.
The pumped network, in some ways, is very similar to its potable water cousin
consisting of pumping stations and rising mains. The risks of this network are mainly
centred around the risk of pipe bursts, due to blockages or pipe condition and
overflowing of pumping stations caused by them being overwhelmed with flow,
by power failures and by pump failures or simple blockage.
Like the potable water network, there are a few areas where a smart water industry
can have large potential impacts around:
• Wastewater pumping station control
• Wastewater system control
• Wastewater network burst detection
Wastewater pumping stations have typically had simplified pumping station
control, with either floats or level control to ensure that pumping stations pump
when they need to pump in isolation from any other aspect of the wastewater
network. They will normally have an overflow monitoring device that monitors
flow through the emergency overflow to the environment, which is there in case of
pump blockage or pump failure. As the size of the pumping station increases so does
the complexity, but the principle remains the same.
As technology has developed, and the monitors and control systems can do more,
then the intelligence of the sewage pumping station has increased. In addition to
simple level sensing, other aspects of sensing have been incorporated including:
• Current monitoring for pump performance
• Flow monitoring for discharge rates
• Pressure monitoring for burst detection
• Implied flow meters from variable speed drives and virtual drop tests to imply
inflow
• Control systems to reverse pumps that can attempt to free pump blockages
automatically
Further developments in the terminal pumping stations can put control in place to
ensure that the pumping stations coordinate with each other to smooth the flow
entering the WTW, to ensure more efficient operation of the entire wastewater
operational system.
Current monitoring strategies, as well as the use of Variable Speed Pump Drives
used to imply flow from the power required to operate the pump, show the performance of the pump and can indicate when the pump is starting to wear. The
Monitoring and Controlling a Smarter Wastewater Treatment System: A UK. . .
121