Guest Column | June 27, 2024

Why Reducing Inflow And Infiltration Is Crucial For Wastewater Health

By Emily Newton

flooded vaulted sewer tunnel-GettyImages-1306722048

Inflow and infiltration (I&I) is an overlooked aspect of wastewater management. It is time the industry gives it the attention it deserves. Inadequate oversight leads to strain on more businesses than treatment plants.

Urban planners, public health facilities, and utility providers struggle when experts neglect I&I awareness. Solve sector-wide concerns by discovering cost-reduction and productivity-enhancing benefits of I&I optimization.

Overcoming Pain Points

Citizens know the challenges inflow and infiltration cause but may not know it by name. I&I poses health and safety risks as viruses and pollutants become harder to treat. The public may need to learn where the hazards are coming from, especially if their utility providers have high reputations. The contaminated water may also secretly tear up their property's piping, leading to service issues or financial burdens in the long term.

Alternatively, wastewater professionals are all too familiar with I&I issues. The influx in volume puts undue pressure on treatment workers. It costs more money and uses more energy and resources to handle the workload. Novel contaminants may also require additional training companies may need to draft as new pollutants arise in high concentrations. This could delegate resources to unexpected places, leaving plants short-staffed and contractors scarce and unable to comply with regulations.1

Preventing Hydraulic Overloading

Overflows are one of the most common concerns of inflow and infiltration. Failure to control incoming water surcharges sanitary sewers, causing breaks, cracks, or worse. System integrity diminishes and may cause emergencies in a central pipe.

Teams must execute regular inspections and maintenance to prevent overloads. This will tell operators what measures they need to take to redirect or disperse excess water. Are dams ineffective? Is the area running on a combined system where separated pipes would perform better? Remote control panels exist for off-site operations, alleviating tasks from staff.

Optimizing Treatment Plant Performance

Water health is constantly changing as citizens, corporations, and the planet introduce new influences. Everything from consumer trends to raw material accessibility alters what seeps into waterways through I&I. Plants must adjust operations persistently to keep up with such shifts.

For example, eliminating microplastics is finally becoming a hot topic in certain U.S. states, whereas forever chemicals are taking charge in others. Strategic reduction of I&I allows companies to notice what issues are most concerning to divide their resources.

Wastewater leaders are responsible for implementing a workplace culture dedicated to continuous improvement. The industry must accept feedback from workers and welcome notification of incoming challenges. These insights lead to action.

Economic Benefits Through System Optimization

I&I makes treating water more expensive, and the introduction and concentration of new pollutants mean conventional methods may not be as effective. Wastewater health depends on optimized systems controlling input.

Otherwise, it becomes burdened, skyrocketing energy prices by up to $400 million annually because of excess.2 Plants will have to work overtime to manage the volume, hemorrhaging money in places such as mechanical wear and tear, salaries, and targeted treatment methods.

Comprehensive asset management is the strategy for overcoming economic distress related to excessive I&I. Implement technology or delegate more of the workforce to identify areas with high inflow and infiltration, installing mitigation systems until every region is targeted. This will save resources and ease headaches at the plant gradually until process discovery can happen again.

Preserving Infrastructure Integrity

I&I causes infrastructure to wear down, and this degradation may also make water quality worse. Wastewater workers and related contractors should keep their eyes on the sewers. Doing so makes it easier to respond to imminent threats, like a deteriorating pipe that is about to crack. The worst-case scenario could cause an infiltration-induced collapse involving more infrastructure fixes than a simpler pipe replacement.

Data monitoring and analysis conserve pipes and wastewater infrastructure. Brands must leverage smart systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, and remote operating systems to measure flow rates, the presence of certain contaminants, and more. South Bend, Indiana, was a hotspot for up to two billion gallons of I&I pollution, and installing a smart sewer reduced I&I by 70%.3 It could also notice when mitigation tactics were not performing as expected, alerting operators when it is time to instigate repairs or try a new strategy.

Safeguarding Water Resources

Over 733 million people live in nations where water stress is at critical levels.4 Poor monitoring is the reason three billion people do not know the quality of the water they rely on for drinking and hygiene. Allowing I&I to persist makes water scarcity more direct. Keeping water as pure as possible allows more of it to go where it is most necessary. Countless corporate and individual contributions maintain water purity, but wastewater workers may participate by observing I&I.

Sharing the best strategies with other industry professionals is vital for standardizing high-quality action. Involving and educating the community will also safeguard water resources, further preventing I&I.

Professionals must share new findings with other businesses instead of withholding, and experts must engage with commercial and residential clients to find ways to improve their water habits to fight I&I threats. Installing backup sump pumps is an easy way to reduce a building’s risk of adversely causing I&I. They can last 10 to 20 years with proper maintenance, providing inhabitants with greater peace of mind that their water quality is higher while preserving water health at large.5 A collaborative approach is required, and it will increase water awareness, too.

Regulatory Compliance And Risk Mitigation

Treatment plants and cities will adhere to compliance frameworks by reducing I&I. Legal repercussions and reputation destruction are inevitable when businesses ignore environmental and public health rules set by regulatory bodies. Remaining attentive to the sector's leading recommendations keeps wastewater health at its best.

This requires cross-sector collaboration, where engineers, microbiologists, plumbing contractors, and everyone in between explore solutions for solving I&I's most prominent threats with combined knowledge. Without perspective from each field, solutions may not be holistic in preventing I&I in the future.

Energy Efficiency And Carbon Footprint Reduction

Sustainable wastewater practices tie into I&I reduction because of how much they save. Perfecting treatment operations lowers energy use, resource extraction, and carbon footprints. Air-stripping takes nitrogen out of wastewater, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10 times.6 Becoming a biomass energy generator could open new verticals for an enterprise while clearing the water of I&I contaminants.

Corporations cannot effectively institute environmental, social, or governance objectives to uphold corporate social responsibility without controlling I&I. Innovative technologies are critical for maintaining carbon-friendly operations without inviting pollution.

Flow monitoring sensors, geomapping, artificial intelligence with machine learning, and computer vision are several. These combine with data to measure key performance indicators (KPIs), which are helpful for staying on track with environmental objectives. Firms may also install water-controlling landscaping, such as permeable pavements. They will see what environmental concerns are traceable back to I&I, reducing its impact over time.

Resilience Against Climate-Induced Stressors

I&I exacerbate during natural disasters. If a city's sewage infrastructure was more resilient against climate stressors, it would reduce heavy rainfall’s impact.

The sector must assume climate-related damage will happen. A proactive approach will reduce I&I and salvage a community's sewage infrastructure. Undergoing risk assessments inform businesses on how to prioritize mitigation while considering the planet's impact, cost-benefit analyses, and worker safety.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, knew I&I was an issue for its 660 miles of sanitary sewage. A recent program included door-to-door inspections, evaluating sump pumps, sewer connections, and maintenance holes across its surface area. The objective was to identify the most guilty areas for inviting I&I, with improvements at no cost to citizens.7

Actioning On Inflow And Infiltration Optimization

Inflow and infiltration is an industry and public concern. The water's health and treatment's effectiveness relies on the sector incorporating next-generation strategies to combat I&I. Doing so will alleviate public health concerns while making water more accessible. It will encourage a new era of communication and insight into the larger world of wastewater worldwide as experts uncover novel solutions.

Reducing I&I is more than an answer to improving wastewater. It boosts the health of the planet and its people.

References:

  1. https://efcnetwork.org/operating-at-a-deficit-solutions-to-a-water-and-wastewater-operator-shortage
  2. https://www.goldenvalleymn.gov/358/Inflow-Infiltration
  3. https://www.wwdmag.com/collection-systems/article/33015954/5-approaches-to-address-inflow-and-infiltration-challenges
  4. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/Goal-06/?_gl=1*u0okw3*_ga*MjAzMzI2MzAwNy4xNzE5MDc0MDY0*_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z*MTcxOTA3ND
    A2My4xLjAuMTcxOTA3NDA 2NC4wLjAuMA
  5. https://zoellerpumps.com/2023/06/13/installing-water-powered-backup-sump-pumps/
  6. https://revolutionized.com/pollution-control/
  7. https://www.cedar-rapids.org/local_government/departments_g_-_v/public_works/inflow_and_infiltration.php 

Emily Newton is an industrial journalist. She regularly covers stories for the utilities and energy sectors. Emily is also editor in chief of Revolutionized (revolutionized.com).