Water treatment plant (WTP) and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operators are increasingly supporting better decision-making by leveraging digitalization capabilities available through instrumentation and plant management systems. Successful adoption of digitalization starts with identifying the right balance of tools (i.e., web-networked instrumentation) and systems (i.e., analytical data management software). Maximizing the value, however, is as much about exercising a mind-set of efficiency as it is about tracking raw numbers.
Today’s data driven utilities are paving the way for smart water systems through their use of location intelligence. Location influences all aspects of managing water — from protecting a sustainable supply to delivering safe drinking water. At Esri’s upcoming User Conference, which brings together more than 18,000 geographic information system (GIS) professionals from across the globe, utility companies will gather together to share successes and best practices regarding the myriad ways instituting spatial analytics technology has benefited their operations.
As industries expand, they typically need to increase the capacity of their wastewater treatment facilities. Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, such as lower nitrogen limits, may also signal the need to boost treatment capacity. Installing additional tanks and larger equipment not only adds capital costs but increases operating costs as well.
Every water distribution utility has a strategy for infrastructure asset management and repair — from simply reacting to breaks, to scheduling main replacements based on system-specific history, to prioritizing infrastructure repairs based on mathematical calculations of risks and consequences.
From the largest metropolitan water treatment plant (WTP) or wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operations to the smallest rural systems, the goals are essentially the same — achieve regulatory compliance and the most efficient results at the lowest practical cost. The most feasible (i.e., affordable) control solutions vary by process, plant size, and budgetary limitations. Here are several high-level guidelines to achieving a common strategy that works across virtually all applications: good data, properly analyzed, yields good results.
In an industry faced with around-the-clock operations and penalties for noncompliance with regulatory standards, it can be easy to lose track of periodic maintenance requirements whose impacts might not be noticeable until it’s too late. Ignoring the influence that measurement and analytic equipment maintenance can have on water treatment plants (WTPs) or wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be costly. Fortunately, equipment suppliers who bundle after-sale services tailored to WTP and WWTP needs offer new opportunities for instrumentation users to stay ahead of the curve in terms of timely response to changing performance.
There are many types of water meters being used across the U.S. to measure water consumption. And even though the panacea for a water utility would be to equip each residence with the same meter — standardizing metering technique, data capture and maintenance — the reality is that a utility needs to be able to read and service the variety of meters that make up its metering portfolio.
As water distribution infrastructure ages, the potential for leaks grows and the need for condition-driven asset management increases proportionally. As with so many other aspects of water operations, planning ahead is key. Good system diagnosis using noninvasive procedures provides an accurate and cost-effective assessment of distribution system integrity, just as noninvasive monitoring of heartbeat, pulse, and blood pressure plays an important role in human health.
AWWA’s 2018-19 president, David Rager, talks about personal priorities for his tenure and the long-range challenges the industry and his organization must strive to overcome.
Pipeline maintenance and non-revenue water reduction get a boost from far-out resources.
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