Influx of stormwater and infiltration of groundwater into wastewater techniques is a continuing operational problem for managers. Now, Håbo municipality in Sweden is tackling the problem head-on with an revolutionary digital strategy, says Adam Wooden, chief product officer at water analytics firm Infotiles.
Water utility managers in Håbo, a small municipality north-west of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, started conversations with InfoTiles in 2023, once they suspected infiltration of wastewater and influx of groundwater into wastewater networks (I&I) was including huge volumes requiring transport and therapy.
Managers needed to analyze I&I additional and wanted tangible proof to exhibit the necessity for funding however have been going through budgetary and operational constraints. Utilizing management system knowledge along with climate knowledge and evaluation of wastewater networks utilizing in situ sensors, the collaboration sought to find out when and the place I&I used to be occurring and determine on the suitable response.
Gathering proof
Influx is stormwater that flows into wastewater pipes by way of faults akin to holes, cracks, joint failures, and damaged connections. Infiltration happens when groundwater enters the wastewater community by way of faults in pipes, compounding the movement.
Magne Eide, chief working officer at Infotiles, mentioned, “InfoTiles set out to show Håbo municipality what the cost of not maintaining its wastewater network to prevent I&I would be, versus investing money now. Water managers wanted to understand what the maintenance opportunities were, so they could create a wider business case to be put forward for funding during the 2025 budget process.”
Servicing a inhabitants of round 18,700, Håbo’s water utility treats about 4 million m3 of wastewater per yr. InfoTiles found that 18% of that water is incurred by way of I&I, resulting in SEK13 million (roughly €1.3 million) of additional working prices yearly equal to virtually SEK700 per inhabitant (roughly €61).
Vitality use is a major a part of the extra therapy and transportation prices concerned in processing I&I, which suggests decreasing vitality consumption represents a possible saving on operational expenditure once I&I is remedied. Additional vitality consumption additionally represents a better carbon footprint, so precisely figuring out and stopping I&I can assist utilities meet carbon commitments, together with internet zero targets.
Compounded movement
For a lot of utilities and municipalities, I&I can account for a mean of 20-50% of the annual movement in sewers, however throughout snow soften and moist autumns, this determine is far larger.
It’s extensively acknowledged that almost all I&I is attributable to ageing infrastructure that requires upkeep or alternative, however some can be attributable to inaccurate connections akin to constructing drainage and rooftops related to the improper pipes. When this water penetrates the wastewater community, it may well overload the system, which is a selected threat during times of heavy rain or storm occasions.
Within the worst instances, it may well result in the discharge of untreated wastewater into the setting and air pollution of rivers and seas. It additionally will increase the danger of cross-contamination of ingesting water, the place polluted water from the setting enters by way of faults in clear water pipes.
Will increase within the frequency and depth of rainfall because of a altering local weather is exacerbating the issue, making wastewater networks ever extra weak to failure and placing the setting at larger threat. If left untreated, pipeline integrity will solely deteriorate over time, growing the quantity of ingress water to be handled.
For Håbo municipality, the general purpose of the collaboration with InfoTiles is to realize a greater understanding of the causes of influx and infiltration into sewerage networks and to know the choices for remediation and impression discount. The municipality hopes it should assist policymakers achieve a deeper understanding of decision-making round I&I and present how collaboration and digital options can be utilized as a catalyst for optimistic change.
Correct pin-pointing
Influx and infiltration compounds wastewater working prices as extra water should be pumped, handled and discharged.
The InfoTiles platform makes use of SCADA management system knowledge along with knowledge from the Swedish Meteorological Institute to analyse historic rainfall and the dry and moist climate behaviour of wastewater networks. For instance, how and when water hits the community and the way it impacts pump heights.
Sensor gadgets positioned at important factors within the community can acquire knowledge akin to precipitation, problematic thresholds of rain quantity, or seasonally diverse sensitivities. That feeds right into a central dashboard and these detailed measurements can then be analysed by water managers.
Through the use of info from pump stations in real-time, the mannequin calculates the whole and extreme quantity transported, permitting managers to see not solely weather-related tendencies but additionally the ensuing prices each by way of therapy and energy expenditure.
As soon as drawback areas have been recognized, the search space may be narrowed down utilizing compact internet-of-things (IoT) gadgets inside the similar platform. Some pump stations have a number of inputs or lengthy upstream pipeline networks. By selectively measuring totally different branches, it’s attainable to establish precisely the place the water inflows and infiltrates or exclude areas that aren’t problematic.
Optimistic proof
Håbo operates 38 pumping stations, in a community the place a number of smaller pumping stations feed bigger stations earlier than the wastewater is finally transported to therapy.
InfoTiles and Håbo municipality decided that the pumps closest to the therapy stations have been receiving the most important internet quantity of water, that means that the most important inflow was occurring within the elements of the community immediately referring to the most important pumps.
With this info, managers from Håbo went trying to find injury within the recognized areas and have been capable of rapidly verify the findings of the evaluation. Vital breaches of the pipe have been discovered upon visible inspection. In a single location, drained floor water from close by farmlands was penetrating wastewater pipes at excessive stress, inflicting massive and steady volumes of I&I.
Sara Frid, water and wastewater strategist, Håbo Municipality, mentioned, “The brand new perception into ingress water, akin to volumes, doubtless sources, and the ensuing prices actually sparked an curiosity amongst our operators to go on the hunt for it.
“Within the first couple of weeks, we had found damages to our wastewater pipelines that we could repair to reduce volumes and save treatment costs.”
Now, water managers can’t solely use knowledge to establish the areas with the very best want of upkeep and repairs but additionally see the outcomes of their work in decreased volumes of influx and infiltration.
Regularly decreasing the whole volumes of I&I stays a excessive focus for Håbo municipality.
With the InfoTiles answer, they’ve been capable of show that investments in wastewater upkeep are usually not solely a difficulty of environmental threat and price, however in reality, the discount in volumes will finally result in decreased therapy prices in the long run.
