Real-Time Stormwater Monitoring – Watching The Watershed

After receiving the text indicating a real-time spike in ammonium and conductivity, field technicians dropped what they were doing to track the potential illicit discharge. Something unusual was going on near one of the stormwater monitoring stations in the Reedy Watershed. The team quickly mobilized and drove to the station. Using a portable water quality sonde from Xylem's YSI brand, the team began taking readings around the station, and then continued to take readings as they hiked upstream in search of changes in the water chemistry. First they found a small pipe dumping water in the river; they traced the pipe back to a small tributary. Finally, they pinpointed the source to a small drainage ditch where a sanitary sewer manhole was blocked and overflowing. Just as they arrived on the scene, a citizen was calling in to report the sewer problem.

The real-time alerts from the continuous monitoring station had given the team fast insight into a suspicious discharge and they reacted quickly to address it.