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WIPAC MONTHLY The Montlhy Update from Water Industry Process Automation & Control

www.wipac.org.uk Issue 3/2015

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In this Issue

Editorial.............................................................................................................................. 3

Industry News..................................................................................................................... 4 - 9

Highlights of the news of the month from the global water industry centred around the successes of a few of the

companies in the global market

Opinion: How should we be managing are data & information.......................................... 10-11

In a follow on to last month’s opinion piece on the different data and information in the Water Industry i give my opinion

on how the Water industry should be managing the different sources of data and who should be owning them.

Feature Article: Advances in Wastewater Flow Measurement............................................... 12-13

In this article by Andy Godley of the WRc developements in Wastewater Flow measurement, especially around non-

contact area velocity measurement are examined along with the benfits and potential challenges we still have to face

The use of Trypophan like Fluorescence as an indicator for organic pollution.................... 14-15

The use of Tryptophan as an indicator for BOD has been around in the Water Industry for the past five to ten years.

There have been problems with the technique especially surrounding Chlorphyll interference. In this report by Rob

Stevens & Kieran Khamis there is the poential for a sensor that will measure organic pollution

Data Analytics.................................................................................................................. 16-17

An article by Mark Smith and Ian Dawes of the WRC on advanced analytics in the Water Industry and their potential to

be used across the business to improve performance & efficiency

Workshop Report: WEX Global 2015................................................................................ 18-19

The Water & Energy Exchange Global is a conference that occurs every February and is one of the highlights of the

conference calendar. This year was no exception and all the intersting events are reported in the summary of this

event

Workshops, Conferences & Seminars................................................................................... 20-21

The higlights of the conferences and workshops in the coming months

WIPAC Monthly is a publication of the Water Industry Process Automation & Control Group. It is produced by the group

manager and WIPAC Monthly Editor, Oliver Grievson. This is a free publication for the benefit of the Water Industry and please

feel free to distribute to any who you may feel benefit.

All enquries about WIPAC Monthly, including those who want to publish news or articles within these pages, should be directed

to the publications editor, Oliver Grievson

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From the Editor

As Water Industry Process Automation & Control (WIPAC)approaches not only its fourth birthday in about six weeks time but also it 5,000 member it is time to take a bit of a stocktake. The group has come a very long way in a relatively

short time and there is alot more that it can do with a stronger group that can address the issues that you as the group members want to hear about and discuss. Within the next couple of weeks i intend to put a short survey out to the group through the usual weekly update. As i have always said the group is for the industry, to learn about the best things that we do in the industry and where we get things wrong in the industry. A case of sharing the learning. To be honest I have got to the point where i need the input of the group as a whole to take the concept further. There are a few reasons for this that i want to cover in these few words in my monthly editorial.

Firstly, as i have said many times in the past but i see Instrumentation as fundamental to the future of the industry and in order to do this in the currently climate we as an industry have to put a “business case” together. Rightly or wrongly is a moot point, it just is the current climate in the industry and is the path that we are being forced down. In order for this to happen there is a need for supplier and Water Company to collaborate and neither to waste the others time and take liberties as sometimes happens.

The second point is one that is much more worrying for the Water Industry and that is the decline of the technical disciplines. It is not everywhere but in the UK and in the Water Companies it is starting to show and it is a considerable threat to the technical delivery of what is needed by the Water Companies in order to operate properly and efficiently. I have seen various discussions recently including one from somebody technical who i have alot of respect for. His comments are particularly telling and is designed to at least start the debate of the skills shortage within the Water Industry.

“A couple of suggestions. As i see it that ther are two main areas of concern. Resilience and the ability to be the Intelligent Client.

Firstly , and rightly here is the need to ensure public and enivronmental service and safety. The companies will lose/have lost the resillience required to manage crises as and when they may occur so this is a key duty of care. The next big challgen and we could be flat on our backs having lost internal expertise, knowledge and experience.

The second is on business efficiency. Consultants fo not always know best, especially when it comes to bread and butter or core matters. Often the best expertise is within the industry though the lack of senior management expertise gives them blinf faith in the hope that buying in consultants as and when we need them will solve everything. This philosophy needs to be changed, we need in-house capability. Also, the water companeies need to be the intelligent client to ensure business efficiency otherwise the technical delivery doesn’t necessarily reflect what is required to operate properly and efficently. Countless examples can be cited where the loss of technical capability has resulted in extremely poor technical decisions being made and inappropriate assets/systems are installed leading to gross inefficiency........”

The message goes on but the main flavour of this is that in some cases the technical ability in the (UK) Water Industry is being lost. There are of course exceptions to this and there are Water Companies who have learnt this lesson in the past and have brought the technical skill set back in-house. But why is all of this so important and so vital to the future of the Water Industry and in my mind instrumentation and automation a crucial point to all of this.

Firstly comes the installation of instrumentation. Inappropriate instruments installed in the wrong way is a particular “bug bear” of mine insofar as it is not only a waste of a perfectly good instrument that can work if it installed properly it sets up the “cycle of resistance to the effective use of instrumentation” which is alot more damaging than installing only one instrument wrongly. Secondly, if an instrument is installed badly and is recording badly but believed it is providing false data. This undermines the future of data and infromation within the Water Industry that we rely upon to effectively run the industry properly.

So what do we do.....firstly openly collaborate. WIPAC is there for that and everytime there is a good debate about flow meters or somebody giving a case study of where things have gone right or wrong it helps the industry as a whole. Secondly use the skills of the suppliers out there. They are nice people who actually want to help get the best out on an instrument as they don’t just want to sell you one instrument they want to sell you one hundred or more. Thirdly internally within the water companies themselves we need to increase the technical knowldge of people within. How many Water Companies currently have Technical Directors at a Senior Management level and if they are in post are not expected to undertake business development roles that take them away from the technical.

There are some true technical talents within the industry, most of them are reaching retirement age and their skills and knoweldge are shortly going to be lost. The Instuite of Chemical Engineers recently quoted that the UK needs a further 55,000 engineers by 2022 and this will cost and estimated £27 billion/year. This is of course not just for the Water Industry but industry as a whole. Saying this it is the Water Industry that will suffer the most as compared to some of the other potential employment opportunties it is the Water Industry that pays the least.

To quote Arthur Miller from Death of a Salesman - “Attention must be paid” and the Water Companies must increase their technical base.

Have a good month,

Oliver

Sensing in Water 2015 (SiW 2015) will be the 3rd biennial conference held by the Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG), building on the success of its predecessors. In 2013 over 170 delegates attended over the 2 days of the conference, including water companies, regulators, researchers and manufacturers.

The main theme for SiW 2015 is how using sensors and instrumentation can help to deliver water company outcomes in AMP6 and over the next 25 years and help them deliver service be it to the customers, supply, the environment or internally within the company.

SWIG is seeking abstracts from end users, regulators, researchers and manufacturers of water sensors & related technology on the following themes:

• Serving the customers - communications and communicating with the customer.• Serving supply - potable water treatment and distribution.• Serving the environment – monitoring and control of wastewater collection and treatment. • Serving the company – managing assets, people and processes.

For consideration in the programme for SiW 2015, please send an abstract (100 words max) to rosa.richards@swig.org.uk stating which theme your presentation would fit into.

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Industry News

Sensus picked to install 8,000 smart water meters in FranceSmart meter player Sensus says it has been chosen to install 8,000 smart water meters by a group of 84 French municipalities with a combined population of 41,500 people. The company will deploy its iPERL endpoints over the next four years in Syndicat des Eaux de Basse-Vigneulles et Faulquemont (SEBVF), and says the rollout will increase meter readings from 400 to about 2,000 per day, providing consumers and utilities with greater visibility on usage and network condi-tions. SEBVF is keen to introduce cutting-edge technology to overcome problems it faces in reading hard-to-reach meters, and also wants to reduce the time needed to take meter readings. Regulators require a meter exchange every 15 years and want consumers to be better informed of potential overconsumption, and SEBVF is taking advantage of the opportunity to install new technology while it complies with regulatory requirements.SEBVF believes the iPERL solution is capable of measuring very low flows and will provide better leakage detection and an increased meter reading speed, thanks to the use of wireless technology.

Sensus claims the use of the technology will lead to major times savings for SEBVF as well as increased daily meter readings and leakage-detection functionality.

“With the old technology, any wall or obstacle hampered meter readings; however, with iPERL readings are no longer a problem, even for very low flows,” said Pierre Blanchard, the president of SEBVF. “Now when we would optimize our drive-by route, we’ll be able to read up to 3,000 endpoints per day with iPERL.”

Sensus says the signing of the deal will pave the way for the development of smart water networks in France.

Call for Papers - Sensing in Water 2015

ABB took the role of the lead sponsor at the seventh Global Water Leakage Summit, which washeld at the Thistle Marble Arch, London on the 17th-18th March.

As a leading supplier of technology for water and wastewater treatment and distribution applications, ABB has been involved with the event since its inception. Started in 2008, the Global Water Leakage Summit provides a forum for leakage practitioners from around the world to demonstrate and exchange best practice around tackling leakage in water distribution networks.

“Continued increases in the world’s population are putting ever greater pressure on the availability of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes,” says Tim Door, UK and Ireland General Sales Manager for ABB’s Measurement and Analytics business. “Water distribution networks worldwide need to be prepared for every eventuality, from adverse weather through to unforeseen growth in demand. The best way to do this is to make sure they are using water as effectively as possible.

By showcasing the latest thinking in the control and measurement of water leakage, the Summit was a great tool for exchanging ideas on how to provide an abundant supply of high quality, treated water whilst remaining profitable.”

Tim Door will be chairing panel discussions on day two of the event, which will cover topics including smart networks, integrated network management and advanced metering. Dr Ray Keech, Development Manager – Flow Products for ABB Measurement and Analytics, waspresent on day two, presenting on ABB’s development of the world’s first DNP3 WITS (Water Industry Telemetry Standard) flowmeter.

As well as sponsoring the event, ABB will also be exhibiting its latest flow measurement technology that can be used to accurately pinpoint water leakage. Products on show at ABB’s stands included the WaterMaster and AquaMaster 3 flowmeter with WITS. The WaterMaster is ABB’s MCERTified, world class flow-meter for water and wastewater applications. With a wide flow range and unsurpassed accuracy, WaterMaster improves control and quality for applications in water treatment works and now features Profibus communications. A key feature is its revolutionary octagonal internal bore design that reduces sensitivity to flow profile disturbances. This results in outstanding performance in less than ideal installation conditions, allowing the flowmeters to meet the most stringent internal accuracy standards. Its buriable sensor eliminates the need for expensive meter chambers thereby providing a long, productive and maintenance-free asset life.

ABB take the lead at Global Water Leakage Summit

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Sacramento Priorities: Water Meters Now, Water Mains LaterOn tight city budgets, funding infrastructure upgrades often means choosing to address some priorities now while leaving other important goals on the back burner.

Sacramento is dealing with this issue as it attempts to furnish the entire city with new water meters.

In February, the Department of Utilities won approval from the City Council to draw from $250 million that was originally earmarked for water mains and other upgrades. The funds will instead be spent on installing water meters, according to Capital Public Radio.

Bill Busath with the Department of Utilities explained how the decision will look on paper.

“Initially the cost is less because of the backyard mains that we will not be replacing, that we will be leaving in the backyard. But, as those mains are replaced, those savings will be made up and we’ll probably even have a little bit of extra expenses in the long term,” he said, per the report.

Under this plan, water main upgrades and water meter installations will occur in different phases.

About “12,400 backyard meters will have to be replaced and re-installed when the water mains are eventually removed. Busath says over a 40-year period, the City might spend $20 million extra by the time it has replaced the last backyard main,” the report said.

The city has until 2025 to “meet a legislative mandate that all 136,000 of its residences have water meters,” according to Capital Public Radio.

Around 100,000 water meter are expected to be installed during the two-decade-long project, KQED reported. The city began nearly ten years ago.

When it comes to leak detection, is it possible for utilities to move more of the burden onto ratepayers?

California American Water is experimenting with technology that might make this possible, potentially even saving customers money.

The technology would “enable participating Monterey Peninsula customers to monitor their daily water usage and identify unusually high water use that may indicate a leak,” according to Environmental Leader.

Water and power conservation are key reasons the utility is testing this technology.

“The objective of the project is to garner enough information to evaluate feasibility and cost of operation, as well as to evaluate which features customers find most useful,” the report said.

The approach involves installing transmitters on meters. The data carried by the transmitters goes to the local electric utility’s existing AMI network.

Customers can then access the data through a website. They can set up alerts so they will get a text or an email if there is excess use on their account, ac-cording to an external affairs manager at the utility. The new technology includes the website as well as the data management software. The Arizona-based company Fathom produces the data management software.

As water bills climb faster than almost every other utility, Fathom bills its software as a sound response for water companies.

“The entire industry agrees that water prices are going up. Either due to water scarcity, power costs, treatment costs, infrastructure replacement, regulato-ry mandates, price is going up. Everyone also agrees that when water bills go up, everyone notices, [including] utilities, city councils, regulators, residents, businesses,” the company said.

According to Fathom, stakeholders all demand one thing in response to price increases: more data.

They want “data to understand the price increase, then data to manage the price increase. Utilities need more data to operate their utilities, manage leak-loss and ensure they are billing all their revenue,” the company said.

The pilot project by California American Water started in February and will run for about a year. As a first step, the utility is recruiting around 200 business and residential customers in two neighborhoods to volunteer for the experiment.

“Others will be selected from a number of areas on the peninsula to ensure that there is a mix of residential and commercial customers testing the tech-nology,” Environmental Leader reported.

Rob MacLean, president of California American Water, explained the effort in a statement.

“Nobody likes the shock of a high water bill due to a toilet or irrigation leak that they don’t know about until the bill arrives,” he said. “And by the time the leak is discovered, thousands of gallons of water can be wasted as well as all the energy required to pump that water. By providing customers a detailed picture of their daily water usage, we hope to reveal opportunities for water savings.”

Leak Detection: Should It Be Your Customers’ Job?

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What The Water Sector Could Learn From The Electric SideWe know that smart water meters are a critical component to better understanding our water use, but smart meters are only one part of the equation. What we really need is a smart water system.

A more intelligent system could not only help water providers and people better understand their use and how to adjust their behavior accordingly, but it could also make the entire treatment and delivery of water more efficient. Plus, system-wide data could make daily water use and associated cost accessible – not an end-of-the-month billing surprise – enabling residents to make more informed decisions and utilities to waste less water.

Energy and water are connected, but they may need different solutions

The energy sector has learned a lot about the smart grid, and put a great deal of its research into practice. And, compared to the water sector, the electricity sector is pretty far along with its smart meter roll-out and understanding of all the information points across the system. For instance, in Texas, more than 3.5 million smart water meters have been installed, compared with approximately 17 million electric smart meters. But, while much of the smart electric grid find-ings are valuable in relation to the water sector, there are clear differences.

Primarily, there seems to be a lack of urgency when it comes to saving energy at the residential level. But, that may not prove to be the case with water. Hearing about an “energy crunch” for electricity is not the same thing as seeing and feeling the effects of drought. Water, by its nature, is a more emotional issue for people than electricity is. We can survive without electricity, but not without water. So, will giving people more control over their use of this precious resource drive them to be more proactive conservationists? That is one thing Pecan Street, Inc. aims to find out.

Learning by doing

Located in Austin, Pecan Street, Inc. manages the nation’s largest energy research network. It’s unique in that it is one of the only so-called “smart grid” organ-izations that includes water. This test bed represents an incredible opportunity to examine different smart water technologies and behaviors.

In addition to the electric piece, which monitors energy use down to the electric socket for more than 1,200 homes in Texas, California, and Colorado (and en-ergy generation for residents with solar panels), Pecan Street created the University Municipal Water Consortium, consisting of member universities and cities around Texas, to test different water technologies and behavioral tools.

In January, the Consortium held its first conference to gather members, talk about the research so far, share stories from the trenches, and communicate the direction of future research. As Pecan Street’s partner, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) participated in this insightful conversation.

What came as a surprise was how much water residents use outside of the home. One experiment they will work on together is to test whether residents will react to immediate notifications about the water use of their sprinklers – either small, persistent measurements that may signal a leak or large, frequent measurements.

The emotional connection

People have emotional connections to their homes and yards, but they also have an emotional connection to water, and linking those two can result in powerful behavioral change. Many cities in the Consortium noted outdoor water use as the place with the most room for improvement, because sprinkler systems are often programmed to run at night and are then forgotten about. A more responsive metering structure could give the appropriate signals to easily control the sprinkler system based on the current weather.

Cities are tapping into this connection as well. San Antonio Water System (SAWS), one of the nation’s leaders in water conservation, has teamed up with the San Antonio Botanical Garden to offer trainings and information in converting landscaping to more drought-tolerant gardens. Additionally, the Austin Home-builders Association is working with homebuilders on the front-end to ensure that landscapes are designed with water use in mind, in lieu of the expensive, water-intensive yards of the past.

There are many facets to understanding water use and its connection to homes and businesses. But, a smart water system is the first step. The good news is that with smarter water use, we also reduce our energy use because of their inextricable link. EDF is glad to see Pecan Street jumping in with both feet to better understand what technologies and research can motivate us to understand our water use and be proactive in protecting its future.

RS Hydro named exclusive United Kingdom Teledyne Isco Sampler and Flow Meter Distributor

Teledyne Isco is pleased to announce the extension of RS Hydro as our exclusive distributor for the United Kingdom. In previous years, EMS in Sheffield, UK represented the Teledyne Isco product line of automatic samplers, open channel flow meters and accessories for the North of England, Scotland and Anglian regions. Teledyne Isco and RS Hydro will continue the tradition of providing the very best in products, service and support. RS Hydro Ltd. based in Bromsgrove, provides exceptional technology based consultancy and support services for the petrochemical, water and wastewater, food and environmental industries. They have extensive experience in selling Environmental products, including Teledyne Isco products. Teledyne Isco offers a wide variety of portable and stationary wastewater samplers, in addition to an extensive line of flow meters for water, wastewater and stormwater flow measurement as well as FL5.1 flow analysis software

Southern Water metering sees 16.5 per cent reduction in water use

City Of Santa Ana, CA Deploys Sedaru

Southern Water has reported significant reductions in water consumption as its large- scale metering programme nears completion.

With nearly 500,000 meters installed, customers are using, on average, 60 litres per household per day less water, says the company. This represents a 16.5 per cent reduction – more than the national average of ten per cent.

Once the metering programme ends, this will equate to a regional saving of 30 million litres of water every day across Kent, Sussex and Hampshire. Customers have also benefited in terms of their bills, with 62 per cent of customer seeing a bill reduction, and an average saving of £162 per year.

The findings are revealed in a study published this month by Dr Carmine Ornaghi and Dr Mirco Tonin who are economists at the University of Southampton and are both Associate Professors. They conclude that the five-year metering programme, which began in 2010, has had a significant effect on water consumption.

Dr Mirco Tonin, said: “In our study we find a strong decrease in consumption due to the Universal Metering Programme. What is remarkable is that households start changing their behaviour as soon as the meter is installed, despite the fact that for three months they have no financial incentives to do so, as there has not yet been any switch of contract.”

Southern Water runs a comprehensive information campaign alongside its metering programme to give customers full details of how they can reduce their water consumption and apply for various tariffs and financial schemes.

In addition, the company offers free water audits, carried out by water saving experts known as Green Doctors, for customers in financial hardship. Since 2010, the Green Doctors have visited more than 48,000 households and distributed 156,000 water-saving products. This has resulted in a predicted average saving of 20 litres of water per household a day.

Green Doctors are also able to arrange for customers in hardship to receive advice from IncomeMAX – an independent organisation which advises customers what benefits they are entitled to. Since 2010, IncomeMAX has helped customers secure more than £3 million in benefits.

Southern Water’s Chief Customer Officer, Susan Stockwell, said: “We’re delighted with the results of this independent research which has studied water usage across a huge sample of 250,000 customers. It confirms that the majority of customers are acting on the advice offered by our water efficiency programme, changing their behaviour and reducing their bills. Energy bills are also affected because heating water makes up around 30 per cent of the average household’s energy bill.

“I’d like to thank customers for working with us to save the region millions of litres of water every day which will help to ensure continuity of supply in the densely populated South East.”

IDModeling, Inc., a leading global provider of smart water network software and services, is deploying its flagship smart water enterprise software, Sedaru, for the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency (City). The industry’s real-time solution to connect organizational data, systems, and users across the water enterprise, Sedaru creates and distributes hydraulic, asset and operational management content so utilities can anticipate water operations, understand the impacts and solve problems for energy, quality, water resource, and asset management initiatives.

At rollout, the City benefits from an operational water system model within Sedaru’s real-time, turnkey smart water operating platform. The City will interact with Sedaru’s predictive analytics to apply critical decision support data to prioritize main replacement, coordinate outage response, pinpoint capacity deficiencies, and identify optimal flushing locations.

These predictive analytics will support the City’s agile water master planning process, and day-to-day operational strategies, with real-time data from hydraulics, SCADA, and maintenance, thereby saving the City money and resources, and creating more impactful outcomes with each project and operational decision. The City will be able to measure overall effectiveness in relation to its customers, as automated key performance indicators (KPIs) in Sedaru, ultimately allowing for both immediate operational and longer-term asset management benefits.

“We are excited about deploying Sedaru, and look forward to utilizing it to perform water model simulations, and monitor and analyze field operations in real-time. These tools will allow our whole agency to better respond to ever-changing field conditions through improved coordination and a better overall understanding of how our water system behaves,” said Rudy Rosas, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer at the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency.

“The entire Sedaru team is energized to see the team at the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency implement and reap the benefits of Sedaru,” said Kevin Koshko, Sedaru Product Director. “The City will be able to apply Sedaru’s analytics to their asset and operational data, immediately effecting positive change and savings.”

Sedaru is the leading smart water enterprise software and provider of predictive analytics content for the smart water industry. Sedaru propels the internet of things to prepare water/wastewater utilities for their mission critical tasks and to take control of what happens next. Sedaru saves failing infrastructure, reduces water loss and energy costs, enables compliance, and powers informed decisions across the utility enterprise.

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Innovyze SCADAWatch And infraMAP Connect To Power Field Staff With SCADA Data And Network Modeling AnalyticsExpanding the boundaries of smart water network innovation, Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for smart wet infrastructure, recently announced seamless data exchange between the company’s SCADAWatch and infraMAP (iWater, Irvine, CA). This new reciprocal data interoperability leverages the strengths of both technologies to bring real-time SCADA and operational network data to field staff during routine maintenance activities. The move opens a new frontier in decision analytics for water utilities.

Field personnel can now view, share, analyze all key water information and operational performance in motion (e.g., pump on-off status, tank filling or draining, valve status and settings) on a real-time business dashboard — all while keeping track of what type of maintenance has been performed. In addition, they can quickly view up-to-date network model results (e.g., pressures, flows, velocities, tank levels, water quality) directly in infraMAP. This mission-critical integration allows field personnel to know at any time what the pressures and flows are throughout their water distribution systems and gauge the impact of any asset adjustment (e.g., closing a valve or a pump). The resulting network hydraulic and water performance can be directly updated to ArcGIS Online (Esri, Redlands, CA) and viewed by field staff on their laptops, tablets or smart phones.

“Today, the water utility industry faces unique challenges,” said Don Rhodes, President of iWater. “The need for real-time SCADA data and network modeling and decision analytics, coupled with comprehensive facility mapping and management, has never been more pressing. By using SCADAWatch and infraMAP in concert, water utility field personnel can now more effectively keep track of information as well as what type of maintenance has been performed, reliably evaluate the condition and performance of their assets, determine the most cost-effective way to maintain them well into the future, and continue to best serve their customers.”

A leading asset mapping tool, infraMAP software is a GPS-guided mobile GIS solution that allows seamless data collection and updates to a Utilities Asset Management Program. It is geared toward field crews and does not require GIS experience. Key features include work orders, redlining, one-click reporting, isolation traces, asset inspection forms and history records.

SCADAWatch equips water utilities with the first-ever scalable framework for proactively viewing, sharing and analyzing all key water information, operational performance indicator (KPI) measures and hydraulic and water quality data in motion on a real-time business dashboard. By directly connecting to SCADA and meter data, it turns traditional offline analyses into real-time, actionable intelligence for better, faster decision making and insightful recommendations at key operational touch points. It enables water utilities to save time, monitor everything from uptime to analytics, focus on what matters, react faster to important events and identify opportunities to drive operational efficiencies as they happen.

“Reciprocal data capabilities between SCADAWatch and infraMAP provide significant benefits to water utilities worldwide,” said Paul F. Boulos, President, COO and Chief Technical Officer of Innovyze. “Used together, these powerful synergistic solutions offer compelling new ways for field personnel to maximize productivity, improve system performance and sustainability, reduce operational down times and maintenance costs, minimize inefficiencies, and enable better and faster decision making. We are excited about our partnership with iWater and look forward to enhancing our service to our mutual clients.”

IDB And IWA Set Up AquaRatingAquaRating sets water and sanitation utilities on path towards management and performance improvement

Jointly developed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Water Association (IWA), AquaRating fills a gap in the market by estab-lishing the international standard for assessing water and sanitation services provision. AquaRating offers a comprehensive, impartial and credible evaluation of the utilities’ performance and best management practices.

AquaRating assesses water and sanitation services providers according to three dimensions: performance indicators, best practices and information quality. The rating system gives a detailed evaluation of 112 elements across eight key areas and validates information through an independent auditing process, enhancing accountability and transparency. As a standard, AquaRating sets the baseline for utilities to monitor their performance and plan for improvements.

IDB has licensed AquaRating to the IWA to set up the first rating agency for water and sanitation services providers. The rating system has already been piloted in thirteen utilities in nine countries in Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. A worldwide market introduction is planned for 2015.

“The launch of AquaRating establishes a new global standard for water and sanitation services provision”, Ger Bergkamp, IWA Executive Director said. “It will make a significant contribution to improving utility performance, vital to delivering more effective and efficient services, and allowing them to respond to ev-er-increasing water pressures.” “AquaRating gives water and sanitation services providers a roadmap to anticipate future challenges”, Sergio Campos, Water and Sanitation Division Chief at the IDB, added. “The rating system allows for better planning and decision making processes for the utilities’ management to achieve sustainable and efficient outcomes. AquaRating helps water and sanitation services providers become more resilient. Empowering water and sanitation utilities is a crucial step towards ensuring water and sanitation for all.”

AquaRating evaluates the performance of water and sanitation services providers across eight key areas:

• Access to Service• Quality of Service• Operating Efficiency• Planning & Investment Execution Efficiency• Business Management Efficiency• Financial Sustainability• Environmental Sustainability• Corporate Governance.

AquaRating has been successfully tested in thirteen utilities from nine countries:

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The Sensors for Water Interest Group is holding a workshop next month with a specific focus on the growing use and potential application of Big Data in the UK water sector.

Processing, analysing and understanding an ever increasing amount of data generated from both business and operational processes is now a key issue for the water industry both in the UK and overseas.

‘ Big Data’, ‘Small Information’ and ‘Internet of Things’ are increasingly seen as enabling technologies with the potential to transform how water and wastewater services are delivered and how water resources are best managed in the face of urban growth and the impacts of climate change.

The challenge is to understand what the concepts look like in practical terms and what are the risks associated with their implementation.

The aim of the upcoming SWIG workshop is to ask two questions ;

• What’s the use of Data?• How secure is it?

Chaired by Oliver Grievson from Anglian Water, discussions at the one day workshop, which will be led by a number of guest speakers from the water companies, supply chain and industry experts, will look at where data can be used within the water industry and what the risks are as whole. The event is being kindly sponsored by Siemens.

Sensors Group workshop to examine role of Big Data in UK water sector

The Institution of Engineering and Technology has announced details of its forthcoming keynote conference for the water sector Water:Process Control & Automation.

The two day conference, which takes place at Stratford-upon-Avon in May, builds on the IET’s highly successful 9th Water Conference.

This year’s event - the only water industry conference delivered by engineers, for engineers – will focus on engineering in control and automation in the wa-ter industry.

The conference provides a unique platform where speakers, sponsors and delegates from across the UK’s water community can discuss key issues which will be widely faced by water engineers throught the AMP6 2015-20 investment programme - focussing on:

• PR14 determinations and the AMP 6 Real Time Systems Programmes• WITS DNP 3 latest products and developments• How to ensure the required asset performance data is being collected• The latest developments in Situational Awareness presentation systems• Case studies on the latest replacement regional telemetry systems• The use of network optimisation models in real time• The use of real time data to improve customer service

Delegates will have a unique opportunity to hear how the water industry’s engineers are moving forward to keep up with a new phase of technologies which will see increasing uptake by the water sector in AMP6 and beyond.

Programme highlights include:

• Northumbrian Water, Northern Ireland Water and Grontmij explain the practical implementations of WITS DNP3• United Utilities present a blueprint for AMP6 real time systems• Anglian Water discusses lessons learnt from their telemetry implementation programme• CPNI advise on cyber security for real time systems

The conference takes place on 12th and 13th May

IET conference to focus on key control and automation engineering challenges in AMP6

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Opinion:

How should we be managing our data & information?

In last month’s opinion piece I outlined what areas of data the Water Industry collects and in what categories they fall into. In this month’s opinion piece i will look at who should, to use a modern water industry term, “own” the data, “own” the information and look into how things should be managed within the Water Industry and how this should be visualised and used.

At the current time in the Water Industry we have teams of people running excel spreadsheets of varying complexities depending upon the skills of the person who is running the spreadsheet. For the more computer savvy person there is the odd piece of database programming but again alot of this is done in people’s spare time to help them to do their day jobs. All of this tends to be unoffical data management kept within teams and what happens is the person in that team moves on or is lost from the business that management spreadsheet is lost or becomes unusable. On top of all of this are the “official” company databases some of them are hugely useful and are well designed, some are not and are basically unuseable. Next comes the modern adaptation for data collection, the application and then the official company programmes like SAP and other “intelligence reports” such as business reporting systems that companies add to and add to and add to so that the system is overburdened with multiple reports being reported on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

All of this ends up with “information” that is produced that although it reduces the amount of data there is so much “information” in different places saying different thing.s There are also so much information in so many disparate databases that people within the Water Companies may or may not have access to. What happens is the wood disappears back amongst the trees. The systems become overcomplicated and nobody is really aware of what is going on with only partial information. The problem with partial information is that the full picture is lost and the ability to make an “Informed decision” becomes based on very shaky grounds.

What all of this leads to in Water Companies is a two tiered system. The first tier is corporate systems which incorporate programs such as SAP, Business Re-ports, as well as telemetry systems and information systems that are designed by data scientists and programmers. These are usually expensive systems that are designed by teams of people much in the same way as a capital scheme on a treatment works or network system. The lower tier are the spreadsheets of differing levels that aren’t turned into corporate systems because the business need or desire isn’t understood or can’t be justified. In some organisations where you have talented individuals then you can also have something in between that is designed by particularly talented individuals (this is rare at best).

So how should be we be managing our data & information and who should “own it?”

The answer to this is very much in line with what type of data & information we are talking about. To mirror last month’s opinion piece we have three different types of data & information groups

• Operational Data & Information

• Asset Data & Information

• Customer Data & Information

To look at the first category - Operational Data - This to me is one the most crucial elements in the Water Industry and is one that we often get wrong. If you are a somewhat regular reader of WIPAC Monthly you will know that i often talk about this subject and the opportunities and barriers that the industry has to realsing informed decision making in the Water Industry and through this efficient operation. So what do we need to do to actually achieve good useful operational data? There are number of steps

Work out what data and what information is actually needed from the operational sites or network that will actually get used.

What do i mean by this? This is basically a stakeholder engagement exercise asking everyone in the organisation to say....”what i need from a Wastewater Treat-ment works is......” An acceptable answer is not “everything” but a concise set of numbers on how the particular asset or group of assets is running. It will differ from stakeholder to stakeholder but common similarities will appear.

Once the information needs are gathered this informs what data is required to be monitored and in turn what instrumentation needs to be installed. This needs to form the fundamental part of an organisations asset design and build standards and the level of funding approved on whatever investment programme that is needed.

Design and install the identified instrumentation needs correctly and in line with the manufacturers requirements.

When assets are being designed instrumentation and control systems are often left to the last and are almost installed as an after thought. Suppliers are con-tacted at the last moment when everything else is in place. This often leads to a retrofit culture of installing instruments and they are placed in inappropriate places within the process, near pumps, valves, pipe bends, i.e. installed in a fashion where it will work every now and then at best. What this leads to is in-strumentation that is inaccurate at best and at worst simply doesn’t work. Where instruments are designed into the process the electrical engineer who has been tasked with the process (sorry to all electrical engineers but it is usually them) doesn’t contact the supplier and show them the drawings and say....have i got this right or not. The result is exactly the same the instruments are often installed badly and/or oftentimes in places that are by all intensive purposes unoperable or unmaintainable

So what should be thought of when designing and installing instruments

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• Have i picked the right instrument -does it measure what i want and is it the appropriate technology. • What is the use of the instrument is it for monitoring only or am i going to control with the data as well• How is it going to be installed, is it the right conditions for the instrument itself. Have i got any physical features that are likely to affect the instrument

performance?• How is the operator/maintenance technician going to operate/maintain the instrument• How is the person in the future, when the instrument comes to the end of its asset life, going to replace it• What data is going to be gathered from the instrument and has this been properly integrated into the (a) telemetry system and/or (b) local/regional

information system.• How is that data going to be gathered together as information and how is it going to be displayed.

There is alot of questions to ask when an instrument is used to (a) control and (b) used to gather data and at the end of the day operational data clearly exists in the immediate/operational world. Ownership of the instruments and hence the data has to be by operational staff in the field. In order for the value of this data to be realised then it has to firstly benefit the operational members of staff so that they will look after a valuable asset.

Asset Data & Information is the next category of data. The first fundamental step here is again to realise its value. It should feed out of any installlation scheme and it should inform a number of things. It is there to look after the asset, to run operational and maintenance plans on an installed asset and to realise when that asset needs replacement. As with Operational Data there is a series of steps to go through.

Asset Capture - If instrumentation is installed absolutely last thing then the capture of the instrumentation is often on the list of annoying things that have to done in order for a scheme to be signed off by the client. It is often a case of something like below (if you are lucky)

Ammonia Monitor - ASP LaneModel Number

It tells you a bit but not alot.....if you are to run an asset management system off the back of that information then good luck. Standardised information with standardised methods of operation & maintenance helps alot.

Operation & Maintenance Requirements - Simple and effective requirements that are provided by the manufactuer as to when and what needs doing

Replacement date - Is it a case of run to destruction or is it a case of an instrument having a finite lifespan when it is installed. For me and in my day job i have made the decision that, because i need a guaranteed reliability, that i will replace the instruments that i strategically look after every 10 years. It is a risk that some will fail before the 10 years is up and it is an inefficiency that the instrument could last 15 years. What this will of course do is boost the levels of “spare” instruments that the business owns that can be used in less critical applications or when an emergency arises and a meter is needed in a hurry.

So the owners of this data & information would quite clearly fall into an asset management role. For me for instruments an instrumentation manager or for control & automation another type of asset manager (if it isn’t one and the same thing).

The last category is of course Customer Data and this is not just the pounds and the pence (substitute appropriate currency as required) but as we move forward it is the data and information that we collect from both individual and groups of customers in terms of their consumption and how they impact on the distribution and collection systems. Additionally though there are several different things with customers

• awareness of a customers needs, • are they a vulnerable customer, • do they need special attention from the Water Company.• is there a case that the customer has consumption patterns that are away from the norm as with the case of smart metering this could be triggered as a

potential anomoly that triggers assistance from the water company

In terms of ownership it is a customer service or a customer care team that can assist the customer, the end client to suit their needs.

Some elements of the data & information are managed very well within the water industry and are a high level of maturity. Other elements of the data & infor-mation management system within the industry are managed incredibly poorly and it is this that affects the way that the industry as a whole operates. Whether it is efficient or not as the case maybe. What is clear though is one of the next areas that the Water Companies (certainly in the UK) are going to compete on is how they manage their data and information to drive up the operational performance of their individual company as a whole. One of the next “battlegrounds” will be over indirectly “instrumentation, control & automation” but also over the data, information& intelligence that the systems that have been installed give the individual water companies.

This is a very very large challenge and a cultural shift will need to be taken.

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Oliver Grievson is the group manager of the Water Industry Process Automation and Control LinkedIn discussion group . He has many years experience firstly in the laboratory and for the past 12 years in the operational and process management of both potable and wastewater treatment works. He developed a passion for the control of water and wastewater treatment works whilst working for Yorkshire Water in the United Kingdom and decided to share this passion by setting up the WIPAC LinkedIn discussion group.

He is a Fellow of CIWEM & the IES as well as being a Chartered Environmentalist, Scientist and Water & Environmental Manager. He is a member of the MCERTS Steering Group for the monitoring of flow, a member of the ICA Special Interest Group on ICA as well as sitting on the Wastewater Management Commtitees of the Foundation for Water Research and the Chartered Instiute of Water & Environmental Management.

Feature Article:

Advances in Wastewater Flow Measurement

Reliable and accurate measurement of treated and untreated wastewater flows is becoming increasingly important for environmental protection, efficient control of processes and to mitigate risks of pollution incidents.

This is in a water industry where costs are being further squeezed in the latest price determination and other priorities, for example prevention of sewer flooding, are also clamouring forinvestment.

So when alternative technologies become available that offer good measurement potential and benefits for reducing installation costs and maintenance, they need to be seriously considered. Last year, both the SWIG workshop on Advances in Flow Measurement and the WWEM event in Telford saw recent developments in non-contact flow measurement on display in the form of the radar-based Raveneye from Flowline, the Laserflow from Teledyne Isco and the microwave wastewater meter from Dynamic Flow Technologies, the latter currently aimed at sewer and drainage flows rather than wastewater treatment flows.

Non-contact velocity sensors for open channel flow measurement are not new; Flo-dar has been around for several years and has found some niche applications but it has not been widely taken up. Maybe, however, the new instruments will help open up this market and change that. Non-contact sensors seem to be a desirable way to go when measuring wastewater streams as the risk of sensor fouling is minimised. This potentially improves measurement reliability and reduces sensor maintenance. Without the need for civils work to construct flumes or weirs, installation times and costs should also be favourable when compared to conventional gauging structures.

But (isn’t there always a but?) the industry and its regulators need to have confidence in the operation and performance of such equipment. The achievement of MCERTS certification by the Laserflow is an important step in this. WRc’s test engineers carried out much of the testing on the Laserflow to support its certification. This proved quite challenging as facilities had to be developed, modified and adapted to enable them to conduct the robust testing of the key aspects on the new technology that MCERTS requires. However, WRc’s engineers are used to testing unconventional equipment and our test facilities can be adapted tocope with many types of device so testing was completed satisfactorily.

No flow measurement solution is a panacea that will work in every situation – this has been learned the hard way through the various new flow technologies which have been ‘oversold’ over the years, making users cautious of adopting new approaches. Though MCERTS product certification includes a field test, further site trials, such as those being supported by Oliver Grievson at Anglian Water, will be invaluable in demonstrating the performance and operating envelope of these devices under different operational and hydraulic conditions. Sharing of this experience through events run by the Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG) and social media channels will also help generate confidence and avoid inappropriate installations.

LaserFlow Unit in place (photo credit Oliver Grievson, Anglian Water)

RavenEye Non-contact area velocity meter (photo credit: Mark Davis Flow Line Systems

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However, as these devices do find applications and move from trials, where there is usually another installed device to enable performance to be evaluated, to stand-alone applications, the next challenge will be how to validate performance in situ.

The MCERTS Flow Scheme requires Inspectors to validate the instrumentation during the inspection process. On-site validation of wetted velocity area devices such as the Nivus Pipe Sensor and POA wedge sensor has already been raised with the MCERTS steering committee. These are increasingly being installed in pipe sections not running full and channels where flume construction is not feasible or economic.

Conventional gauging structures can be measured and compared against long-established British and International standards, and the level sensors checked with reference plates or survey techniques, but validation of velocity area instruments, both wetted and non-contact, is more difficult.

The devices make two measurements: liquid level from an integrated or separate sensor to give the water depth, and hence the wetted area; and liquid velocity. The overall volumetric flow is obtained by multiplying the calculated area by the mean velocity through the section. From this, the four principal areas of uncertainty are immediately apparent: the uncertainty of the two measurements themselves (stream velocity and water level); the conversion of the measured velocity into the mean velocity; and the conversion of the measured depth to the cross-sectional area. Inspectors will need to be able to either validate the whole flow, for example from tank or wet well level changes if available, or check stream velocities and levels independently. The practicality and feasibility of different methods will vary from site to site and this area requires further consideration by the inspectors and wider flow community. WRc is currently running a discussion thread on its Innovation platform to gather opinion on this.(Seewww.wrcplc.co.uk/portfolio)

The two measurements of velocity and level made by the velocity area instruments are also the reason why non-contact devices do not entirely eliminate the need for maintenance as it will still be necessary to clean the flow channel. Silting and biofouling onwalls could change the relationshipsbetween the water level and the wetted area and also between the measured and the average velocity, leading to errors in the flow measurement.

The availability of alternative flow measurement solutions, particularly the kind of non-contact methods discussed here, should be welcomed as a useful and valuable step forward. Not only will they find application on treatment works flows, but they also open new possibilities for smarter wastewater networks where flows can be measured and actively managed. Improved flow management will facilitate balancing loads into works and allow more efficient operation, identifying the onset of blockages, reducing the risk of sewer flooding and reducing CSO spills, thus helping better protect the environment.

WRC is an Independent Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Growth. We operate across different sectors including Water, Environment, Gas and Resource Management. Our clients include regulators, water and gas utility companies, governmental organisations, NGO’s, trade organisations, industrial manufacturers and waste management companies.

Building on a legacy in the international water and environment sector stretching back over 90 years, combined with the knowledge of approximately 120 staff based in Swindon, we bring a shared purpose of discovering and delivering new and exciting solutions that enable our clients to meet the challenges of the future.

WRc recognises the benefits of collaboration as a driver of innovation. By exploiting our knowledge and legacy, combined with exciting and appropriate technology and continuously developing our professional networks, we are establishing a reputation of being client-centred professionals, who work with our clients to develop and implement valued solutions. Our strategic priorities are achieving revenue growth, improving profitability and delivering exceptional service. Achievement of these allows us to continue to supply our clients with the innovative solutions they require.

At WRc, we strive to be established innovation leaders and every innovation is underpinned by technical expertise. Our people are our greatest resource and the most important building block for commercial success. Hence, everything we do is founded on attracting exceptional people and implementing a programme of continuous leadership, professional and commercial development.

Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG) was originally set up in 1993 along with other special Interest Groups, with funding from the DTI Advanced Sensor Technology Transfer Programme. SWIG became a limited company in 1996.

SWIG promotes the dissemination of information on sensor developments and fosters collaboration through targeted workshops. SWIG offers a cost effective way of maintaining an up to date knowledge of, and dissemination of, information on individual new technologies and/or sensor applications. SWIG workshops also consider the effect of existing and forecast regulations and legislation on the design and use of environmental and process measurements.

Andy Godley is a Senior Consultant at the WRC and has been involved with flow and metering for over 20 years covering a wide range of applications including water, wastewater and biogas. Worked on open channel and closed pipe flows. At the moment a significant propoortion of Andy’s work is focused on household water metering (including smart or intelligent metering) and effluent flow monitoring to meet regulatory requirements under MCERTS. Work includes testing, evaluation, standards development, policy development and general consultancy. Andy has developed a training course on clean water metering from source to tap which is available through the WRC

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Instrumentation Developments:

The Use of Tryptophan-like Fluorescence as an

Indicator of Organic Pollution

Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix or EEM. Showing the strong peak T fluorescence centered around 280 nm excitation and 340 nm emission. Y-axis is excitation, x-axis is emission. Eureka Manta2 – can now incorporate fluorimeters tuned for tryptophan. Fluorescence has long been used to measure a range of water quality parameters, from chlorophyll and algae to hydrocarbons and optical brightening agents. Recent advances in LED technology have led to the development of portable, submersible fluorimeters that can look further than ever before into the ultra-violet region, with some very interesting results…

Background

Fluorimeters have been used for many years in the field of water quality monitoring and are the established and trusted technique for reliably measuring dissolved organic matter (DOM), chlorophyll and algal biomass. Fluorimeters work by emitting light at one wavelength and detecting light emitted by the target molecule at another wavelength. Only certain substances exhibit this property and at very specific pairs of wavelengths – this means that fluorescence can be a very selective and sensitive optical technique.

DOM in freshwaters consists predominately of decaying plant matter (humic or fulvic substances). In many cases plumes of DOM in a water body will also be accompanied by an active microbial community. It is this microbial community that consumes oxygen leading to high levels of bio-logical oxygen demand (BOD) and the subsequent crashes in oxygen levels that are detrimental to aquatic ecosystems. Proteins found in the cell walls of these microorganisms have been shown to fluoresce in the same region as the amino-acid, tryptophan. Thus,‘tryptophan-like’ fluorescence can be used as a measure of the microbial health of a water body and therefore as an indicator of BOD.

Common sources of polluting DOM such as silage liquor, cattle and pig slurries and human sewage all fluoresce when excited at the same short ultra violet wavelengths (~280nm). This means that fluorimeters ‘tuned’ to this wavelength could be a uniquely useful tool for a wide range of monitoring applications in both rural and urban catchments.

What’s new?

The original research that identified the different constituents of the fluorescence EEM was carried out in the laboratory using a sophisticated bench-top scanning fluorimeter. Once the specific excitation andemission wavelengths of the tryptophan-like peak (T) were identified then lower cost portable instruments could be developed that focused solely on that excitation/emission pair (i.e. 280nm/340nm).

Due to the short wavelengths required to provide the correct excitation, high power xenon flash lamps were used as the source in the early portable tryptophan-like fluorimeters. This meant that not only were they relatively large and expensive, but submersion was not possible instead the sample was introduced via a quartz cuvette. The recent breakthrough occurred when light emitting diodes (LED) were developed that could attain the short wavelengths required. This now means that compact, submersible fluorimeters tuned specifically for tryptophan-like fluorescence can be produced in the same format as established sensors for chlorophyll, algae or optical brightening agents (OBA).

A practical solution

For the first time, robust and submersible tryptophan-like fluorimeters can now be deployed as an integral part of the flexible Manta 2 multi-sonde platform from Eureka. This opens up a whole new range of applications for exploiting the power of this novel technique. As the Manta 2 sonde can incorporate up to 12 sensors it will enable traditional determinants of water quality, such as dissolved oxygen, pH and turbidity, to be measured continuously alongside tryptophan-like fluorescence. This will give a clearer picture of the impacts of polluting organic matter on the health of a water body, as well as a much better understanding of the relationships between DOM and more conventional parameters. The robustness, ease-of-use and comparative low cost of the submers-ible platforms take measurement of tryptophan-like fluorescence out of the hands of expert researchers and academics and into the hands of environmental practitioners with a limited level of technical expertise.

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The Manta2 platform is easily interfaced to RS Hydro’s Adcon wireless telemetry system – so that fluorescence data – alongside other parameters – can be collected remotely and in near real-time. The power and flexibility of the Adcon system and web based FlowView interface enables automatic water samplers and other devices to be triggered according to pre-determined levels of any parameter in the system.

The first tryptophan-like fluorimeter was recently fitted to a Eureka Manta2 sonde alongside sensors for temperature, optical dissolved oxygen, pH, oxidisation reduction potential (ORP), conductivity and depth.

Potential applications

The facility to embed multiple water quality sensors – including tryptophan-like fluorimeters into a single field deployable platform opens up a range of new applications as well as offering improved tools for some commonly monitored situations. For example, tryptophan-like fluorescence could be a much more direct measurement of discharging combined sewage overflows (CSO) than using a combination of dissolved oxygen, ammonium and conductivity or pH sensors.

The tryptophan sensor gives a distinct, positive signal during a CSO spill which is much better suited to triggering alarms than a combination of parameters that may not, in isolation, give a distinct response.

Tryptophan-like fluorescence is also likely to identify inputs of polluting organic matter earlier and more decisively than a suite of sensors designed to measure the effects of DOM. Depending on the type of organic matter, it can sometimes take a while for oxygen levels to drop and for elevated ammonium, nitrate or phosphate levels to develop. This lag-time translates into increased uncertainty over the location and timing of the pollution source. By directly measur-ing the fluorescent proteins in the cell walls of the microbial population, tryptophan-like fluorescence can also give an indication of the potential severity of subsequent effects of the pollution.

Early trials with the tryptophan sensor show that there is potential for it to be used in more industrial applications. Industries and processes that deal with meat, fish and dairy products often have waste streams that are very high in proteins. This waste is usually discharged into the sewerage system where treatment costs are apportioned according to infrequent sampling and analysis for either BOD or chemical oxygen demand (COD). These tests can be costly in themselves and are unable to provide the high temporal resolution needed to accurately monitor complex processes. The use of tryptophan-like fluorescence sensors for real-time monitoring of waste streams could not only enable better estimation of inputs to treatment plants, but also enable real-time optimisation of active treatment systems, thus reducing costs and penalties associated with under or over-treatment. There is some work to be done in order to optimise anti-fouling for these harsher conditions but fluorimeters are commonly fitted with brushes or wipers for long term deployments in surface water environments.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the miniaturisation of tryptophan-like fluorimeters is the ability to combine multiple sensors in the same platform and gain real-time, continuous data from complimentary sensors. The possibilities are too numerous to mention but already researchers and catchment management professionals are starting to think about how tryptophan-like fluorescence relates to dissolved oxygen levels and whether concurrent chlorophyll data will enable greater understanding of primary production processes. Simultaneous measurement of tryptophan levels and optical brightening agents (OBA) are highly fluorescent and are commonly used in household cleaning products and are considered a ubiquitous tracer of human sewage) should enable the origin of polluting DOM to be established. For example – if a pollution event causes high levels of tryptophan and OBA then a human source is implicated, if no OBA are present then it is more likely from an animal or agricultural source. This could be a very useful tool for catchment management and for investigating the cause of Bathing Waters Directive failures.

Early results

The first tryptophan enabled multiprobe has been deployed in a variety of situations over the past few months including ponds, rivers, small streams and industrial process streams. The data collected from these deployments has provided fascinating insights into the variability of tryptophan-like fluorescence during both storm events and base flow conditions. For example, during deployment in a small rural stream, a marked increase in tryptophan fluorescence was observed after a rainfall event following a dry period. Whilst concurrent readings of dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity displayed only minor perturbations, the tryptophan sensor has detected a significant increase in tryptophan fluorescence which was linked to a CSO upstream.

Future directions

Initial field trials are very promising with sensor readings being very repatible and only requiring a relatively infrequent calibration procedure. Although initial results suggest sensor stability lasting many months, further work is needed to assess longer term sensor stability (e.g. sensor drift and power consumption) and behavior of the Tryptophan-like fluorescence signal under differing water temperature and turbidity regimes. To this end a knowledge transfer partnership between RS Hydro and the University of Birmingham has been established with longer term field trials in both rural and urban catchments planned for the next two years to rigorously assess the sensor capabilities under a range of hydrological conditions. Furthermore, exploration of the relationship between the Tryptophan-like fluorescence signal and the 3-dimensional EEM will improve understanding of the processes driving signal variability. This work will further validate the combined sensor platform (i.e. tryptophan-like fluorimeter fitted to a Eureka Manta2 sonde) as a unique tool for monitoring and tracing polluting DOM sources.

Rob Stevens is the Managing Director of RS Hydro and has aimed at fulfilling the company’s vision of providing total solutions for the environmental and process markets. He has been responsible for winning most of RS Hydro’s pivotal projects including a near-real time environmental monitoring project in Guinea (West Africa), the UK’s largest single project for installing MCERT’d flow meters for CEMEX and the North Wyke Farm Research Platform Instrumentation Platform.

Kieran Khamis is a KTP Associate at RS Hydro and the University of Birmingham.

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Technically Speaking:

Data Analytics

Advanced analytics have the potential to transform the water sector, if they are used across the business and are backed by leadership and the right expertise.

Ofwat’s Periodic Review 2014 determinations have made one thing clear: water companies must become significantly more efficient, providing better service with less expenditure. Current working practices are mature and further improvements are unlikely to realise the efficiency savings required; a step change is needed.

In many industries there has been much talk about the benefits of Business Analytics and how competitive advantage can be gained by embracing rapid fact-based decision making. The growth of many of the most successful commercial organisations has been underpinned by Business Analytics with exemplar firms ranging from Google, Netflix and Amazon to Tesco and Wal-Mart. In the retail sector, offers can be targeted at customers individually based on tracked buying habits or stated likes and dislikes. Purchasing analytics can tell supermarkets how many extra burgers to order when the temperature is forecast to rise to 3oC on a weekend in summer. The success of predictive crime analytics has grabbed headlines and shown that advanced analytical principles are well established and can bring significant value in many different sectors. So could advanced analytics enable the efficiency gains required in AMP6 and is the water industry ready to embrace such techniques?

To investigate the potential benefits of advanced analytics to the water industry it is first necessary to understand the three different types of advanced analytics.

Descriptive: Analytical techniques are used to look at historical data to provide insights.

Predictive: Relationships from historic and / or current situational data is used to describe what could happen in the future.

Prescriptive: Analytics take predictive outputs and simulate and optimise intervention options to either directly make interventions or to tell operators exactly what to do in response to evolving situations.

There is a common misconception that advanced analytics relies on sophisticated and novel analytical techniques. The reality is that the analytical techniques are not necessarily novel but that they can be implemented in a business context. The application of the Capital Maintenance Common Framework in business planning means that water companies are familiar with a range of statistical techniques, as higlighted in the table below.

This range of statistical methods can readily be used for advanced analytics alongside additional methods. The advanced aspect relates not only to the statistical methods used but to the ability to integrate these techniques with corporate datasets and make the results available in sufficient time to make an on-going difference to the operation of the business.

In recent years the water industry as a whole has invested in corporate IT systems. This has resulted in the creation of large corporate datasets that include customer contacts, work order data, asset inventory, and telemetry data. The quality of these datasets may not be ideal but experience has shown that valuable insights can still be gained. The more data is used, the more its value is realised resulting in improved data quality.

This data was created to manage many different business functions ranging from responding to incidents, paying contractors, business planning and monitoring levels of customer satisfaction. However there are significant opportunities to use advanced analytics to gain business insights that can improve efficiency thus increasing the return in the existing investment in corporate IT systems.

For network operations, there is immediate scope for efficiency improvement by analysing asset status data and rainfall forecasts. Models can be developed to predict water demand or the likely location of sewer network escape events. These impacts are directly related to AMP6 regulatory performance commitments so any improvement to existing operational practices has a direct financial benefit.

In business planning, advanced analytical techniques can be used to monitor the economic effectiveness and efficiency of planned maintenance projects. The models used to develop the business plan can be reconciled with observed asset performance to undertake thorough post-project appraisal and close the gap between asset planning and project delivery.

In general the relationship between asset interventions and customer satisfaction is poorly understood in the water industry. Advanced analytical models can be developed to describe this complex relationship. These concepts can be extended to demographic analysis to fully understand the variation between individual operational areas. These models can be used to tactically manage the SIM score, but in the longer term the modelled relationships can also inform operational strategy from a serviceability perspective.

These are examples of areas where recent project experience has shown that advanced analytics can be of significant benefit. There will be many other wa-

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ter company functions where advanced analytics can be of benefit. In the water industry advanced analytics is in its infancy, but there is considerable maturity in other sectors. In his 2007 book (ISBN 1422103323), Thomas Davenport, a leading exponent of analytical approaches, described four characteristics of an organisation that enable successful analytics: a) the organisation needs to have senior management commitment to the approach; b) analytics need to be used across multiple different business functions; c) there needs to be an enterprise-level analytical platform to enable this; and d) the organisation needs to have sufficient expertise in both statistical/mathematical and business terms.

The successful implementation of advanced analytical projects in many different sectors means that there are several software vendors with available enterprise level software solutions. The discipline is at a state of maturity such that the technology re-search company Gartner have recently produced amagic quadrant report analysing the comparative capabilities of different advanced analytical platforms.

As stated earlier, water companies have recently developed large corporate datasets suitable for the development of advanced analytical solutions. Experience from other industries has noted several barriers to the effective deployment of advanced analytics.

There is a major difference between identifying a relationship and realising efficiency. The gap is frequently due to the difficulties in changing existing business processes to take advantage of advanced analytical techniques. Effecting the change can be a major under-taking requiring a carefully designed change programme. There is a short term risk that the change will not be fully embraced and a tendency to revert to the previous way of doing things. Senior level commitment is required to ensure change.

One evident danger in using advanced analytical techniques is in spurious correlation: since there is always a chance that any two data-sets may correlate without there being any genuine reason, managing a business on such correlations is clearly a dangerous thing to do. Another problem is where correlation arises as an ar-tifice of the data collection process. This has been seen in a project that modelled the relationship between customer contacts and the-network interventions. The design of the incident forms required the user to assign one customer contact to each network intervention. Naturally, the analysis revealed that every intervention was associated with one customer contact but the true relationship could have been have been stronger or weaker.

When any relationship is modelled the appropriateness of the statistical technique, the data collection process and the underlying engineering knowledge should all be reviewed to sense check the results and ensure that the results describe genuine processes.

The development and application of analytical models is an evolving process. The analytical methods, underlying data quality and interpretation of the output must be understood and reviewed continually by an expert team so that continual improvements can be made. Failure to fully understand the models means there is a real danger that the business is being run on inappropriate assumptions.

In summary, advanced analytics have the potential to realise significant efficiency savings both during AMP6 and in the longer term. Water companies have invested in the systems to provide data for advanced analytics. However in the water industry this type of technique is in its infancy and to realise value requires significant change to well established business processes. To make the step change requires ambition and senior level commitment.

Mark Smith is a chemical engineer by profession, a sanitary engineer by career and a managing director of WRc plc by circumstance. He has been around the UK water sector for the past 22 years and am veryproud to be part of an industry that produces and treats more than 17 billion litres of water per day with nobody dying from drinking it. However, he is also frustrated that the UK Water industry is regulated to the point where it strives to achieve mediocrity-, no more and no less than the regulator demands. He firmly believes that the water sector needs to move on from being just a public health-driven industry and embrace the challenges of the 21st Century

Ian Dawes is a Senior Busines Analyst at the WRC where he has worked for the past 11 years. He is a specialist in Geographical Information Systems

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Conference Report:

Water & Energy Exchange23rd - 25th February 2015

There is a conference each year that to me is the centre of the conference circuit. It is one of the few chances that i get to see suppliers and colleagues from Water Companies from the global water industry. A strong selection of presenters talking about the current industry trends and challlenges. For me in particular i go and see people to talk about the Global Smart Water Utility and the industry leaders in this area are guaranteed to go. This three day conference and exhibition is hard work but it is highly successful. It is a conference where i am guaranteed to meet people with the strong emphasis on one to one business meetings. I am of course talking about the Water & Energy Exchange Global Conference that happend in Istanbul. It is a conference i have been to for three years now and each year I put in more and more into it and get more and more from it.

This year was a change a venue and taxis were waiting at the Airport to whisk us away to the hotel and venue which was across the city on the other side Bosphorus it was lucky I had this journey as it was the last i was to see of Istanbul before making the return journey three days later. After get some rest overnight the conference started the next morning with a keynote presentation by Jim Southworth of Cole Engineering. This year’s conference was all about Water, Energy and the Zero Waste Society

Jim delivered his keynote and this was followed by a session from key people in both the global Water Industry as well as leading figures from the Turkish Government and the Turkish Industry. There were certain themes in this opening session and i hinted at a slight under-current of frustration that erred on the side of outright rebellion. Comments such as the need for interconnected action between Water & Energy with Water being at the core of sustainable development it literally is one of the most im-portant things for global development and lack of water can hinder things inexorably.

It was highlighted that solutions need to be found not only in terms of technology but also in terms of the financail point of view. One particular comment hit hone and that was literally

If only we were allowed to do so

There seemed to be a real desire to move forward in the room and the driving force was or is the committment to sustainability thinking working on a cradle to cradle way of thinking rather than the more traditional cradle to grave and woking in the terms of a circuar economy, taking a systems thinking approach to the way we work. The session finished with a thought inspiring comment

There is an aversion to perceive risk, a reluctance to change and a reluctance to act. Now is the time for change

In the following session we heard some of the local challenges arounf supplying water and sewerage services to Istandbul. The need for between 2 and 3 mil-lion m3 of water per day and at times the lack of clean water with also the challenges of drought. There are 14 million people in Istabul and a higher and higher demand for water. Non-revenue Water loss is 24% and there is an irregular rain pattern from year to year making supplies irregulr. Iski, the local water company are adressing this by putting partnerships in place with companies to establish how losses can be minimised to help get a regular supply of water to the city.

The conference sessions are of course not the only things that the WEX Global event is fa-mous for and throughout the first day there were a plethora of business meetings to go to so that technologies could be explored on a one to one basis. My first day saw me meeting with Sensus, Arcadis and Vitens. It was this last discussions that i had that really piqued my interest as the discussion jumped to the concept of Big Data and what other organisations are doing. As this is a subject that you all know that i am very interested in it was fascinating to discover where others in Europe and the world are going.

Vitens on the potable side of the water industry, were looking at what to do with data. They have their own direction and a fascinating one It was too centred around the concept of “Big Data,” my discussions from a process point of view was to talk about the concept of Small Information too. Actually the conclusion was that we needed to talk more about what was going on and In reality there was a place in the industry for both concepts. There is area that Big Data exists and there is also an area where the proper integration of data to create “Small Information” also exists.

In reality there was an uncertainty of direction of the industry and where we are all gonig. The thought was to set up a workshop, conference or other event to discuss it between the different practioners in the global industry to be honest and open as to where we are

Arrivals at WEX is like catching up with experience industry colleagues

Jim Southworth from Cole Engineering delivering his keynote

Lilia Thompson of British Water in one of her 1-2-1 meetings

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all gonig. It seems a sensible approach as the concept is so huge that there is a massive potential. Although by taking this collaborative approach we of course share the benefits but as a whole it will raise the level of the industry and help us all operate a little bit better.

The last session of Day 1 talked about the different technologies that are be-ing developed in Wastewater Treatment, Membrane Technology and Water Reuse.

Some of the presentations i had already seen from around the industry including the one given by Steve Chesters of Genysys on the cleaning of mem-branes but there was plenty more to see with Nigel Horan of Leeds University presenting and also Frank Rogalla of Aqualia talking about Anaerobic MBR.

The first day finished with a cocktail party which finished off the first day nicely and allowed me to retire to my room to catch up on the day’s work and any emails that had come in.

Day 2 of the Water & Energy Exchange and yet more innovations. The day started with early morning meetings with innovations in the Water Industry that some have been looking over for awhile. Not quite in my area as it was around biosolids but when you come to a conference such as this you look at all of the innovations that are presented to you. This particular innovation it turns out has been under investigation for a few years and having been through the mill of the water industry is being adopted.

Next up was my own presentation in a part of the conference when I was very much on my own. Regular readers of the Water Industry Process Automation & Control Group will recognise a number of themes that I discussed in my 15 minutes of presentation mainly surrounding the issues of data and how we use it. The long and the short of it being that if we define the information that we want and assign value to it then the data we collect and the instruments that we install will have value and be looked after. The vast majority of the data we collect is of course assigned with an unknown value and the data quality is ques-tioned. The question is why...if instruments are installed correctly and the data/information they collect is valued then as a result you get good meaningful value. This is of course all associated with the technology triangle of not only having the correct technology but having the people engagement as well as the correct systems in place.

Straight after me was a session sponsored by Arcadis on Non Revenue Water and included a roundtable of experts including Malcolm Farley, & Pini Sagi of the leak detection company Gutterman. The points splitting non-revenue water loss into actual and virtual water losses was interestingly made. Not being a po-table water person anymore it wasn’t something I thought of but of course meter error can be a big causal factor of “water loss” A fascinating case study was given which commercialised non-revenue water loss in Haifa, Israel was given with a rough value of 10.5K Euros per annum. The NRW in the area before a big programme of reduction was approximately 17% and with engineering solutions and a big investment missed the target by a very long way and only achieved a 1% reduction. Investigations ensued and the reasons for leakage defined coupled with the use of the correct technological solution and the correct software the desired reduction was achieved. The Q&A session from this roundtable highlighted a weakness in how we actually benchmark NRW a suggestion of the financial measure was made.

The last session before lunch that I went to was sponsored by Sensus and was about Choosing the Right Infrastructure. The highlight for me was a presentation by the Portuguese Water Company EPAL. They famously reduced NRW from 23% to 7% in three years using the development of their own WONE system which identified “hot” areas for leakage that enable targeted infrastructure improvements. Their big announcement of the day was their next innovation with Water Beep, a mobile phone application that lets the customer, at a modest monthly fee, track their water use so that they can be proactive about customer side leakage. It seems like EPAL have done it again and come up with useful useable software solutions.

The afternoon saw the Innovations Forum which saw five presenters stand in front of industry leaders such as Piers Clarke, Frank Rogalla & Fiona Griffiths and explain then benefits of the innovations that they have developed. Those presenting included Amcom with their Volute Sludge Process, Thames Water and White Boxing of digester performance using Artificial Neural Networks. The winner was to announced at the Global Awards Gala Dinner in the evening.

The gala dinner was of course a special occasion an was complete with Turkish dancing and a fantastic environment. The awards ceremony, the culmination of the conference. I was presenting the award for Process Technology and it was a category won by Degremont. The interesting category for me was a win by Santander City Council with their Smart City approach in the technology category, a win for Vitens in the operations category for their Humvee technology and the WEX Global Innovation Award 2015 going to AMCON and the Volute process. The funniest part of the evening was Piers Clarke lying on the stage in a giant blond wig with Fiona Griffiths throwing knives into a wood board that was lying over his stomach, there was time for some fun after all.

The third day was much more business focused and i took the opportunity to catch up on things before seeing the closing remarks by Jim Southworth. As the confernece had begun it also finished. Three days that were very tiring but very beneficial.

I can’t wait until next year in Lisbon!!!!

The gala dinner and awards cermony giving time to relax and lie on stage for some at least

Nigel Horan live on stage giving us a presentation on new technology

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Catchment Monitoring

Where: Rothamsted Research, DevonWhen: 18th March 2015

Description

The water framework directive (WFD) came into force in 2000. Since then, key milestones have been reached and in 2015 the first management cycle ends. This workshop will be exploring how the WFD has impacted on catchment monitoring, what processes have been adopted and what type of sensor technology has been developed and implemented to meet these requirements. The workshop will also cover research in the area of catch-ment monitoring and future requirements for sensor and sensor networks in these environments.

The Workshop will take place at the Rothamsted Research, Grassland and Arable Systems site, at North Wyke, Devon, which forms part of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The workshop will cover the programmes that Rothamsted have recently covered in the area of catchment monitoring, and attendees to the workshop can take advantage of a field tour in the afternoon to see the Rothamsted Farm Platform Project.

This workshop will be hosted by Justing Dunning of Chelsea Technologies Group & Vice Chairman of SWIG

What’s the use of data & how secure is it

Where: Manufcaturing Technoogy Centre, CoventyWhen: 29th April 2015

Description

When it comes to data quite simply there is a huge amount of it and the Water Industry is set to collect more. With the advent of the ever increasing amount of data the Water Industry is set to collect there is the problem of how all of it is going to processed and understood. ‘Big Data’ is a term that has risen into popularity as is the term ‘Small Information,’ as has the ‘ Internet of Things. The question to ask is what does this look like practically? and what are the risks associated with it

In a departure from the usual format the aim of this ‘Big Data & Data Security Workshop’ is to ask two questions – What’s the Use of Data…..and how secure is it?

The workshop will be in the form of an open discussions will be lead by a number of guest speakers from the Water Companies, Supply Chain and Industry experts in order to look at where data can be used within the Water Industry and what the risk are as whole.

This workshop will be led by Oliver Grievson, Director of the Sensors for Water Interest Group and John Marsh of Siemens who are kindly hosting the workshop

SWIG Events in 2015

Conferences, Events,Seminars & Studies

Conferences, Seminars & Events

Events Calendar in 2015

March

18th March - SWIG Workshop - Catchment MonitoringRothamsted, UK

25th March - Pinsent Masons WET WednesdayLondon, UK

April

29th April - SWIG Workshop - Data & Data SecurityCoventry, UK

29th- 30th April - SWAN Forum Annual ConferenceLondon, UK

May

19th May, 3rd National Wastewater Infrastructure & Networks ConferenceBirmingham, UK

June

7th - 11th June - ACE 2015Anaheim, California, USA

17th June, SWIG Leakage WorkshopABB, Daresbury, UK

29th June - 1st July, Sludgetech,University of Surrey, Guilford, UK

July

1st - 2nd July, NEL International Flow ConferenceCoventry, UK

September

23rd - 24th September, Sensing in Water 2015Nottingham, UK

26th - 30th September, WEFTECChicago, USA

October

12th - 13th October, 9th European Wastewater Management ConferenceManchester, UK

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