Wastewater Management, Improving the Drought

The Importance of Wastewater Management

Gwinnett County residents will be asked to keep water on their mind for the rest of the month. The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources announced a series of events that it will hold throughout the remainder of the month to highlight water issues and what its crews do on a daily basis. Those events will begin Thursday with a Homeowner H2O Workshop to celebrate the nationwide “Imagine a Day Without Water” movement. Source: Gwinnett Daily Post

The Impact

Water is not infinite….By 2030 the world will need 40% more water. Climate Change, Drought, Earthquakes, and Growth are just some of the issues that are causing water scarcity not just in developing countries, but right here in the US. Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the global population and is projected to rise. With new monitoring technologies such as water quality sensors, remote sensors, and satellite imagery, we can obtain a substantial amount of more data at a lower cost. “Currently, less than 30 percent of the nation’s surface water bodies are assessed by EPA, states or tribes, partly because of the high cost of traditional fixed-station water quality monitoring”. Source: www.epa.gov According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 1.6 million people die each year from diarrhoeal diseases that are attributed to lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

The Beginning

The collection of wastewater provides protection from diseases. It’s a multilevel system that uses a collection of sewers, pumping stations, and treatment plants. Wastewater is collected from your job, your home, and many industries and then is delivered to a plant for treatment. Years ago before the Clean Water Act (CWA; 33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq. (1972)) was originally introduced in 1948; called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, sewage was dumped into the waterway and diluted pure, fresh water. Due to factors like population growth, fracking, and global warming, advancement in wastewater management is vital for the continuance of distribution of clean water and ensure the safety of those that consume it.

Smart Water

Waste Water level management can be found at even the simplest treatment plants for things like pump control, chemical storage tanks, and process level controls or alarms. Ultrasonic level sensor applications are found in pump control in Wet Wells and Sumps, Chemical Storage Tank Inventory, Aeration Basin Level, Aerobic Digester Level, Chlorine Contact Tank Level, Sludge Tank Level and Bar Screen Differential Level. Because of its user-friendly ability, speed, and minimal maintenance, Ultrasonic Sensor applications are easily incorporated into Wastewater Management for Level control. It should be known that Ultrasonic Sensor application in Wastewater Management wasn’t so easily adopted. As early as the 1980’s, it’s said that Operators considered Ultrasonic Sensors to be an “exotic solution” to wastewater level application problems. Today, operators take for granted the preferable performance of an Ultrasonic implementation. Source: greyline.com

Radar Technology vs Ultrasonic Sensors

MB7589 SCXL-MaxSonar-WRMT

Buy Now It’s debated that Radar Technology is the best method for level management. While Radar technology isn’t new, with an introduction 20 years ago, it’s significantly more expensive with prices starting from $4,000 and can be extremely complex to mount since it must be a certain distance from other equipment. Since the advancement of Ultrasonic Sensors like the MB7589, Ultrasonic Sensors are leveling the playing field. This particular sensor has a self-cleaning transducer, 1mm resolution, and isn’t affected by condensation and/or icing. In this comparison, Radar technology would usually have the upper hand, however with multiple Ultrasonic sensor choices for your water level and wastewater management needs, some consider Radar Tech a little overkill. The MB7589 can be web-enabled and are compatible with interfaces like Arduino and Raspberry Pi. This allows Tank Cloud Monitoring for even more data and better efficiency and a more cost-effective price point. Continuous level measurements and limit level detection are needed in water and wastewater treatment plants. Mainly from, as you can imagine, a safety perspective. Wet wells, rainwater basins, and wastewater chemicals are now known to be ideal conditions for Ultrasonic Sensors in Wastewater Management. Ultrasonic Sensors are also sufficient for open-channel flow measurement. They can be used with a Flooding Protection Tube; the Ultrasonic Sensor can measure if the sensor itself is also flooded and underwater. This can assist in flood management and damage prevention.

The Danger of the Drought

In January, Governor Brown issued an emergency drought proclamation asking residents to reduce water consumption by 20%. In addition, technical assistance and outreach were provided to increase groundwater monitoring and collection of data. The California Legislature included an approved budget of $687 million to go towards a drought relief package. The major issue California faces is providing technical and water resources management solutions to deal with the drought. The person in charge of that task is DWR’s (Dewberry Water Resource) deputy, manager of Drought and Interstate Resources. Groundwater management, improving water supply planning for small water systems and the ability of the agency to improve its seasonal weather and climate forecasting is part of the DWR’s responsibility. The solution provides a “yuck” factor that society isn’t ready to get over. John Moynier Vice President of DWR says “We have the technology to treat this valuable resource to pure water standards, but you have to get over the public resistance,” he says. “We can no longer flush the toilet and hope it goes into the ocean, while at the same time saying, ‘I wish I had more water.’”

Source:

National Society of Professional Engineers

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/09/04/24-7-wallst-states-running-out-water/71706884/

Countries like Singapore are already implementing this “Newwater”. It recycles sewage water and packages it ready for consumption. Today 30% is Newwater. Bottles are given away, most of it being used for industrial purposes. "One positive aspect of this drought is that it's going to force us to think more responsibly about water and innovation," said Steven Finn, managing director of ResponsEcology, a sustainability consulting firm. Recycled water requires less energy and is cheaper for everyone.

Clean water is vital, for many diseases and illnesses stem from the lack of it. Introducing certain technologies have made it easier for wastewater treatment. Providing safe drinking water is the ultimate goal. Our ultrasonic sensors are in several water-supply management systems. Our F-Option, IP68 rated upgrades, prove to be waterproof. Making a perfect choice for applications needed to protect the sensor from certain chemicals and water. Be sure to follow MaxBotix by joining our newsletter so we can keep you up to speed on our products.

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