WIPAC Monthly - December 2020

WIPAC MONTHLYThe Monthly Update from Water Industry Process Automation & Control
www.wipac.org.uk Issue 12/2020- December 2020

In this Issue
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. However due to the ongoing costs of WIPAC Monthly a donation website
has been set up to allow readers to contribute to the running of WIPAC & WIPAC Monthly, For those wishing to donate then
please visit https://www.patreon.com/Wipac all donations will be used solely for the benefit and development of WIPAC.
All enquires about WIPAC Monthly, including those who want to publish news or articles within these pages, should be directed
to the publications editor, Oliver Grievson at olivergrievson@hotmail.com
From the editor............................................................................................................. 3
Industry news..............................................................................................................
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.
4 - 13
Instrumentation and Digital Transformation.................................................................
In this feature article we have a summary paper of the International Water Association's white paper on
instrumentation in Digital Transformation.
14-16
Energy saving potential of using real-time BOD monitoring..........................................
This month we have an article from Hannah Gunter of Proteus Instruments that examines the energy saving
potential of using the monitoring of BOD using tryptophan-like substance detection to save energy within an
activated sludge plant environment.
17 -20
Workshops, conferences & seminars............................................................................
The highlights of the conferences and workshops in the coming months. 21-22

From the Editor

How do you sum up in an editorial a year that has been so disastrous, so challenging and yes if I am to be true to my
national character...so very "different." This year has been tragic for everyone especially the water industry but this
year has had a lot of positive points most of which came from the adversity that we all have faced. To me one of the high-
lights of the year came from the rapid development of wastewater based epidemiology as a tool for tracking the progress
of Covid-19. Some have taken this up a lot more than others and have seen the benefits of the results. I, this year, have
been particularly been impressed by the work of Idrica and Global Omnium. I visited the WEX Global Conference in March
and saw the work that has been going on for the last 10 years on their Digital Twin of the water distribution system of Va-
lencia. There I met Pillar Conejos of Global Omnimum who I was particularly impressed with as it is very much her vision
and technical expertise in the water industry that helped to deliver something truly amazing. It was in Valencia that I first
met everyone at Idrica in person.
At that point the Coronavirus pandemic was only just starting in Europe and we were unaware of the impact that it was
going to have across the globe. Before visiting Valencia I was not convinced about the whole "Digital Twin" concept and
its uses and it took my visit to Valencia to realise the value of the approach. It also made me realise how the concepts that
we have talked about within the Water Industry Process Automation & Control for quite along time is very relevant to the
concept as it relies upon a knowledge of instrumentation uncertainty. The work on the Digital Twin was largely delivered by Idrica and it is the talents of the
company that was to come to the forefront in the Coronavirus outbreak with wastewater based epidemiology and a visualisation system that, due to its design,
made the communication of complex data very simple for non-technical people. To me this is a great example of Digital Transformation at work. It follows the
SWAN Layers but takes into account not only the technical requirements but takes into account the people and processes as well for a more holistic system.
What does this mean in reality though? The city of Valencia has one of the lowest infection rates in Spain and has allowed decisions to made to save a lot of
peoples lives. In wastewater based epidemiology this year we have seen a huge leap forward in Digital Transformation.
Outside of the Coronavirus pandemic visualisation has been key in other areas with projects delivered under the technological heading of BIM. I've been
around the industry long enough to see CAD superseding draughting teams, the development of 3D Autocad and its uses which have now taken a step further
into immersive displays of future projects allowing design teams and operations staff to interact with plants before they are actually built allowing changes to
be made before the huge expense of changing during (or after) construction. BIM or "construction Digital Twin," whatever you call it is a development that the
industry has started to benefit hugely from
So what else have we seen "jump" forward this year? As most people have been forced to work from home for good periods of the year we have seen new
ways of working using Digital Tools. Yes, all of the digital platforms such as Zoom were available but were basically used relatively infrequently and not to their
full potential. The analogy is very much with the modern mobile phone where most of use don't use this Digital tool to its full potential. With the Coronavirus
pandemic we were all forced to use these platforms in a variety of different ways from meetings, conference and even informal social events. The technology
has also moved onto to facilitate people's needs allowing complex interaction that people have been more used to achieving in person allowing them to do
things remotely.
There have been casualties of the Coronavirus pandemic and the events industry has been at the heart of this, although some of it has moved to online. Here
is hoping that 2021 (at least the latter half) will allow us all to meet in person and help to continue the great work on the Digital Transformation of the Water
Industry that has started in earnest this year.
Have a good month and of course stay safe,
Oliver

2021 to see WIPAC and SWAN Forum webinars on instrumentation
and pollutions
The start of 2021 will see two interesting webinars for members of the WIPAC group to enjoy. The first, which will be WIPAC Webinar No.7 is on instrumentation in
Digital Transformation. It will be hosted and presented by WIPAC Executive Director, Oliver Grievson, and will be based upon the International Water Association's
white paper that was written as part of their Digital Water Programme. This webinar will largely talk about two concepts including the resistance to the effective
use of instrumentation and the instrumentation life-cycle.
This historic white paper proposes the concept of the instrumentation life-cycle, something that has
been written about many times within this group and proposes a thought concept of moving from
instrumentation purpose, to specification and installation and finally through to operation. One of the
important part of the process is the fifth stage to identify the review and replacement of an instrument
to understand its uses and performance.
The instrumentation life-cycle ensures that all instrumentation that is used, whether as part of Digital
Transformation or not, is only installed with a purposes in mind and thus instrumentation is installed
with a value which effectively reverses the resistance to the effective use of instrumentation.
WIPAC Webinar No.7 - Instrumentation in Digital Transformation will take place on 14th January 2021.
Spaces for this webinar are limited to 200 with 126 places already allocated. For those who want to
register for this webinar please follow the link to https://bit.ly/WIPACWebNo7.
The second Webinar scheduled so far is a joint Webinar between WIPAC and the SWAN Forum and will be based upon
how we can use instrumentation and data to help in overcoming pollutions from the wastewater system. It has been
highlighted for a couple of years that aquatic pollution is getting worse with increased numbers of pollution events. This
webinar will first highlight the strategy of the problem with a pre-recorded presentation by Rt Hon Phillip Dunne MP
followed by a discussion between the major stakeholders including Nick Mills who leads pollution at Southern Water.
This will be followed by a second session looking at how we currently monitor performance of the wastewater system
and what the industry can do.
The last session will look at some of the solutions that currently exist in the wastewater industry to help the water
companies to deliver improved environmental performance in this area.
The joint webinar will take place on Thursday 18th February 2021 between 2- 5:30pm and is being co-organised by the SWAN Forum and WIPAC. The event is also
supported by Z-Tech Control Systems.
Registration for this webinar is open now with over 130 people currently registered to attend. For those of you who want to come and join the debate then you can
register by clicking here.
Instrumentation Life-Cycle
Page 4
Industry News

International Water Association releases "Instrumentation in
Digital Transformation" white paper
The International Water Association has released the next in a series of white papers from the Digital
Water Programme. The latest release is a White Paper, written by Oliver Grievson - the executive director
of Water Industry Process Automation & Control and Z-Tech Control Systems, as is centred around the
role of instrumentation in Digital Transformation.
The paper proposes two concepts that will be very familiar to WIPAC readers insofar as it talks about the
Instrumentation Life-Cycle and the resistance to the effective use of instrumentation. The paper is freely
available to everyone and is downloadable at the following link by clicking here.
The paper is one of a series of white papers written by members of the International Water Association's
Digital Water Programme and features papers on:
• Digital Water paper
• Artificial intelligence solutions in the water sector
• The Importance of knowing what we do not know
• Improving public health through smart sanitation and Digital Water
• The role of Instrumentation in Digital Transformation
There are future papers on Digital Twins and data to come that will be released in the first few months
of 2021. All of the white papers can be accessed on the Digital Water Programme white paper web page
by clicking here.
Xylem launches monitoring service that delivers data-driven
insights for pumps stations and water assets
Xylem, a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the most complex water issues, has launched Avensor, a cloud-based monitoring system
that allows operators to remotely monitor pump stations and other assets from their smartphones, tablets or PCs. This new service makes it easy to connect assets
and monitor them in real time, and enables smart decision making based on real-time data and analysis. The service includes 24/7 expert monitoring by Xylem to
ensure availability of the application.
“With Avensor, Xylem has used its domain and water technology expertise to help customers improve the operations of their pumping systems, throughout the life-
cycle of the assets,” said Nils Irestedt, Product Manager at Xylem. “Avensor does this by providing recommendations and delivering data-driven insights about your
assets. Xylem Service and our service partner networks are also linked to Avensor, so additional remote and onsite support are available when needed.”
Avensor provides operators of utilities, commercial buildings and residential homes with automatic alerts for the early detection of issues in order to reduce the
risk of downtime. Receiving remote data and actionable insights also helps reduce on-site visits and operational expenditures. The Avensor monitoring solution
can be paired with a wide range of pumps, mixers and sensors, including Xylem’s Flygt Concertor® intelligent pumping system. Plug & play with Xylem products
and compatible with most equipment used in pump stations, Avensor offers ultimate flexibility including API for integration with customer systems. In addition,
Avensor is an affordable alternative to advanced SCADA systems, where integrating new devices can be complex and costly. Avensor can easily connect your assets
leveraging existing systems while protecting your data. Xylem has years of experience deploying remote monitoring systems used by more than 1,500 customers
with 15,000 pump stations connected globally.
“Xylem is one of the few companies that can offer end-to-end system responsibility for monitoring and operating pump stations and water-related assets,” said
Vikram Nanwani, Vice President, Product Management and Engineering at Xylem. “Xylem pumps already reduce operational costs for our customers, and thereby
their environmental footprint. With Avensor, our customers can save even more by making informed decisions based on real-time data.”
Avensor is a digital product that is accessed by users via web and mobile apps, and is updated with new releases, improved features and fixes regularly. Following its
success in northern Europe, where connected pump stations are in high demand, Avensor has added new language releases in French, German, Italian, Portuguese,
Spanish and ten other European languages. One of Sweden’s most populous municipalities, Uppsala Municipality, is currently using the Avensor technology to
gain extensive insight into its storm water pumping stations. Similar to many other municipalities, Uppsala has several pumps stations with different pumps and
equipment in varying ages and systems, some of which are in remote locations with poor connections. This means that before Avensor, those stations had to be
visited regularly just to check on their status.
With Avensor, Uppsala Municipality is able to monitor the stations remotely in real-time, get alarms at any malfunction, and has access to more data and details
about the assets. They can now plan necessary visits and prepare their service and maintenance resources based on real data. Uppsala Municipality was impressed
by the instant effect Avensor had on flood and pump stoppage detection, at a much lower cost, and they have will soon have all storm water pumping stations
connected to the Avensor platform.
“We connected our pump stations to Avensor, which is very cost effective and has the flexibility to connect even old equipment of mixed origins, regardless of the
size and location of the pump station,” said Johannes Eriksson, Project Lead at Uppsala Municipality. “We are very pleased with our new system. We are now in full
control and minimizing the risk of flooding.”
Page 5

College funding to support environmental revolution for
waterways
The City of Glasgow College has been awarded £23,500 to support the ongoing development of a mobile device that will read and analyse water quality.
In collaboration with Altitude Thinking Ltd, founded by electrical engineering graduate, Dale Colley, the project aims to deliver a new prototype - Aquabot 2.0.
This drone can be remotely operated on the surface of rivers, canals or lochs to monitor water quality.
The grant of £23,500 was awarded by the Innovation Centre for Sensor and Imaging Systems (CENSIS) who are also contributing their expertise on engineering
wirelessly operating IoT devices.
As Dale explains, the device will provide a better understanding of what is happening within our rivers and canals. “It has clear and positive benefits for the
environment,” he said.
“The Aquabot is based on a range of sensor technologies. Initial field trials I did with Scottish Canals, monitoring surface water quality, were successful. Using a
multi-parameter sensor that can be readily adapted on demand, this device could measure everything from oxygen levels, pH levels, and turbidity, to chemical
or biological compounds in the water.
“It offers a fantastic opportunity to radically alter how environmental conditions are monitored in Scotland.”
The Aquabot also presents a huge market opportunity. From 2014 to 2019 the UK’s collection, treatment and supply sector for water quality monitoring was
worth £7.3 billion per annum with an annual growth of 2.1%. While businesses that discharge water into the environment are required by law to have a SEPA
discharge licence.
Linus Reichenbach, Project Manager for STEM and Innovation at City of Glasgow College, said:
“Dale’s long term ambition for the Aquabot is to include a suite of future capabilities such as sub surface monitoring of inland water, artificial intelligence to
detect and remove plastic pollution, and autonomous decision making based on pollution detection. Once on the marketplace, we could eventually see a
significant number of these working their way up and down the waterways and sending data back.”
The first Aquabot prototype was designed by Dale with technical and professional support from the college’s Innovation & STEM team and funding through the
Scottish Funding Council’s Interface Innovation Voucher scheme.
“After this proof of concept project, we are now ready to develop Aquabot 2.0 which can serve as a full demonstrator model for the company and, potentially,
first commercial uses,” said Linus.
Its enhancements from the original concept include:
• Larger and sturdier body suitable for rougher water and with fully autonomous autopilot
• Improved sensor set to allow further upgrades and replacements, and a wide range of parameters to enable more detailed and situation
specific monitoring
• Improved communication and IoT connectivity, transferring sensor data directly to a cloud based platform for clients to access
• Improved data visualisation and reporting functions.
Linus added: “This is the college’s first research project to be funded by a Scottish Innovation Centre. And it is one that provides a great opportunity to contribute
to the development of technology that will ultimately lead to a cleaner and safer environment - while continuing to support a former student.”
It is expected that, while development will continue, Aquabot 2.0 will be ready for first commercial activity shortly after the end of the project in the summer
of 2021.
Page 6

Innovyze Brings Real-Time Water Operations and Analytics to the
Cloud
Innovyze, the global leader in water infrastructure data analytics, announced a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, Info360.com, which enables water
and wastewater utilities to monitor, analyze, and optimize their operations using the power and convenience of the cloud. The new platform is being released
with Info360 Insight, the first of multiple solutions to be developed for real-time water life-cycle management.
Info360.com offers a pathway for utilities to power digital twin and transformation initiatives by unifying and converting raw data from SCADA and IoT systems
and turning it into an actionable dashboard to detect and manage critical network events, incidents, and KPIs. The new SaaS platform provides a foundation for
innovative new tools that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help operators and engineers optimize their water and wastewater systems. It also allows customers
to focus on their core areas of expertise and achieve their goals without the added burden of complex IT support and investment.
“At Innovyze, the customer is at the centre of everything we do, and innovation is the key to unlocking their business potential. The release of Info360.com
and Info360 Insight builds on our global leadership in water infrastructure data analytics, expanding our suite of tools into real-time operations and incident
management to offer our customers more power, more convenience, and more value from their investments,” said Colby Manwaring, Chief Executive Officer at
Innovyze.
Info360 Insight is a workflow solution that addresses real-time operational performance and incident management in water operations. Equipped with active
incident management and impact analysis, Info360 Insight provides constant pressure monitoring and data for optimized control so utilities can prevent
operational issues and improve service reliability. With Info360 Insight, utilities can confidently address non-revenue water, energy management, and mission-
critical operations.
Users of Info360.com, Info360 Insight, and other connected solutions will benefit from the high-performance computing (HPC) power of the cloud which can
scale infinitely for high-demand applications like modeling, simulation, and analytics.
“The release of Info360.com and Info360 Insight is an important step in unifying our solutions, and marks a significant uplift in our technological capabilities by
accessing the many benefits of the cloud,” said Innovyze Chief Technology Officer, Rick Gruenhagen. “We look forward to working with our customers to shape
the future of our Innovyze cloud solutions and deliver the industry’s most robust, flexible, and scalable solutions to market,” he added.
Major effort announced to improve River Wharfe environment
The River Wharfe is set to be the focus of a major new partnership focused on the health of the river in a bid to improve the river environment for both
wildlife and people.
The partnership will bring together the members of the existing Dales to Vales Rivers Network catchment partnership including Yorkshire Water, the
Environment Agency, National Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, with new partners including Bradford Council, the CLA and
others and will help to coordinate all the work that will be required across the catchment to improve the health of the river.
The announcement of the new partnership comes as the River Wharfe at Ilkley became the first river to be granted bathing water status by the Government.
The partnership will work to help manage the bathing water, but crucially it will also look more widely at the overall health of the river to ensure that
improvements are made for the natural environment as well across the catchment.
Work already in development which will help to support the aims of the partnership includes:
• Engagement with the local community to help understand how local people view the river and what they would like to see in future.
• An investigation to help understand the different factors impacting water quality in the river including sewer networks, land management
and other impacts, in order to help shape the future action plan for improving water quality.
• Work by Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and Bradford Council to remove surface water infiltration into the sewer network
from the moorland around Ilkley and Ilkley Tarn, which combined with other planned work by Yorkshire Water, could reduce spills from
storm overflows into the river by around 20%.
• A ‘smart networks’ pilot for the sewer system in Ilkley, which would see Yorkshire Water installing advanced monitoring technology in
the sewer network to measure flows and water quality to help manage the network.
Ben Roche, director of wastewater at Yorkshire Water, said: “The health of our rivers is an issue that has really captured the attention of the public recently.
This, combined with the impacts of climate change mean we need to look at what we want our rivers to be like in future. Bathing water status puts the focus
on the public health aspects of river quality, but we also need to look at the bigger picture to ensure the wider environmental health of the river is addressed.
We hope this partnership on the Wharfe will play an important part in helping to improve the health of the river for both people and wildlife.”
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “We’re delighted that the River Wharfe has been
granted the UK’s first bathing water status. This partnership will look at a wide range of issues relating to the River Wharfe and we look forward to continuing
to work with partners on improving the environmental benefits of the river for everyone.”
Martin Christmas, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in North Yorkshire, said: “This announcement is an important milestone for the
Yorkshire region and its river users, and a nationally significant one as it is the first designated river bathing water in the country. We know that initial progress
won’t happen overnight, but the partnership element of the programme is crucial, with many organisations working closely together. We will be monitoring
the river and collaborating with our bathing water partners on this landmark project.”
Page 7

Clearing the Fog on Digital Transformation
There are many manual tasks in plants which require personnel and contractors to come to a site, which prevents working from home or other remote locations.
This is a limiting factor in a pandemic lockdown with social distancing. Data collection is a good example. Indeed, manual data collection has been a challenge
since before the pandemic. The pandemic heightened the challenge.
The truth is that although we have lots of plant data, equipment data is missing because it is collected manually and infrequently. To achieve digital transformation,
data collection must first be automated. Likewise, to employ predictive analytics, you first need the data. Therefore, advanced wireless sensors are key to
digitally transforming work during the pandemic and post-pandemic. A wireless sensor network is a key technology, which typically means using WirelessHART™
inside plants.
There are two branches of AI analytics: one is machine learning (ML), which is data science and requires lots of historical data to be analysed offline to uncover
correlations and cause-and-effect relationships that are in turn used to build a model, which is then used in online mode to detect, predict, and prescribe. ML is
ideal for complex problems where the correlations and cause-and-effect relations are not yet known.
The other branch of AI is ready-made engineered analytics, with pre-programmed apps or templates for well understood problems, such as condition and
performance monitoring of equipment like pumps and compressors where first principles and failure mode and effects analysis are already known. Engineered
analytics are ideal as known solutions to known problems. Pre-engineered analytics apps improve equipment efficiency, thus reducing electricity and fuel gas
consumption, losses of steam and water, and flaring and venting, thereby reducing emissions and consumption and improving sustainability.
Plants are also actively looking to meet their Corporate Social Responsibility goals. Digital solutions for occupational safety and health include emergency safety
showers and eyewash monitoring, mustering headcounts, man-down rescue locating, geofencing, fatigue management, and toxic gas detection like H2S and CO.
And by automating many manual tasks we keep people out of harm’s way. Other measures to make the plant a safer place to work include hydrocarbon leak/
spill detection, independent tank overfill prevention, and manual valve position monitoring.
Refining and petrochemical complexes are vast and have huge numbers of assets, including hundreds of pumps and heat exchangers and thousands of steam
traps and valves. Today most of these are inspected manually. Adding sensors and analytic capabilities to them can make work easier. Another challenge for
refining is the great variability in feedstock, particularly high-total acid number corrosive crude and tight-oil from shale, which foul more. Adding sensors and
analytic capabilities to piping and heat exchangers help refiners to decide if they are ready to take on opportunity crudes.
Energy efficiency use cases are a good way to start because the results are fast so you can show quick wins and get funding for other use cases. Use cases include
steam trap failure and relief valve passing detection, equipment efficiency monitoring, and measuring energy flow on all branches throughout the plant to
detect and pinpoint overconsumption.
Contextualization of data is key to filtering information to the right person and grouping related data together. For instance, data from multiple systems associated
with a particular pump is grouped together so it is easy to find. Notifications are routed to those that need that information and do not disturb those that don’t.
The most interesting fact is that there isn’t too much data; the real problem is that plants have the wrong data for what they want to achieve. Data scientists
invariably tell you they need more data because you can’t reliably predict equipment problems using only process data. To predict equipment problems, you
need equipment data. The solution is to add sensors.
Digital transformation of the plant is different from that of the office. Industry 4.0 is plant automation. It is sensors, industrial networking, chemical processes,
and the process equipment domain. I&C engineers work with automation vendors to transform the plant. Start with a workshop to uncover plant challenges so
you are solving real problems. There are ready-made solutions for most use cases; use these off-the-shelf solutions rather than paying a consultant-integrator
to reinvent the wheel.
Environmental Audit Committee calls for evidence on Water
Quality in Rivers
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is launching an inquiry into water quality in rivers. The EAC has previously inquired into nitrate pollution so this inquiry
intends to focus on the water industry and urban diffuse pollution. Water quality has implications across the whole ecological system, from plant life to fish stocks
to the health of the population, yet surface, coastal and ground waters in England suffer from significant pollution problems .
Water pollution remains a major problem in achieving targets established under the EU Water Framework Directive (requiring all European surface water to reach
“good ecological status” by 2015 with a maximum deadline of 2027), which will be carried over in some form to targets under the forthcoming Environment
Act. In 2019, Government reporting showed that only 16% of English rivers met good ecological status and no river met good chemical status under the Water
Framework Directive. Untreated sewage is discharged directly into rivers across England and Wales from nearly 18,000 sewer overflows. Sewage is estimated to
account for 55% of the rivers that are failing to reach good ecological status (4). This can lead to pollutants such as organic material that depletes the dissolved
oxygen in the water, and other pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrates, ammonia, pathogens, and man-made toxic chemicals entering the water environment.
Urban runoff is a significant contributor to the overall pollution load suffered by watercourses. Pollution from highways can contain high levels of pollutants
including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are persistent and carcinogenic. Unlike sewage works’ discharges, highways outfalls are not permitted and not
monitored (5). This type of pollution can be prevented with the use of nature based solutions and sustainable drainage systems, which also contribute to the
urban realm and increase biodiversity. Water companies have committed to invest £4.6 billion between 2020 and 2025 towards environmental improvements.
Despite the significant investments already made, Defra acknowledges progress has flat lined in recent years. Environment Agency chair Emma Howard Boyd
stated that the performance of water companies against environmental standards had deteriorated in 2018 and was not improving in 2019. At current rates of
progress it will take over 200 years to reach the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan target of 75% of waters to be close to their natural state .
More details are available by clicking here
Page 8

Forecast 2021 form Bluefield Research
This is no doubt a challenging time for the municipal water sector. Since March 2020, the world has been faced with quarantines, high unemployment, and an
uncertain political climate. According to Bluefield’s revised forecasts, we expect a 21 percent decline in municipal capital expenditures (CAPEX) over the next
five years in the United States alone. The recent fallout has led to changes in consumer behaviours, company operations, and strategic planning overnight. As a
result, the water industry is compelled to pivot toward more resilient services, solutions, and sectors.
Of course, there is a lot that remains to be seen and 2021 will no doubt be unprecedented. In the U.S., we await the final outcome of Congressional elections,
global availability and distribution of vaccines, and signals for an economic recovery. Bluefield’s water experts continue to track key economic indicators and
company performance across the water sector. Here are a few of the top trends we are watching across municipal water.
Digital moves to the forefront of water strategies, creating shifts in the competitive landscape. Once again, Bluefield has highlighted the digital water market
as the fastest growing and highest opportunity space within the water sector, even in light of the pandemic. Total expenditures on digital water hardware,
software, and services will expand at a CAGR of 6.5 percent (from US$5.4 billion in 2019 to US$10.8 billion in 2030). There will be some top-line contraction in
the short term which will be driven primarily by declines in capital- and labor-intensive, hardware-centric segments. However, growth in remote workforce and
asset management solutions are expected to surge in the aftermath of this downturn.
Platform players, in particular, are well positioned. Platform players are the “big fish” of the water sector and the main players to watch as the industry continues
to grow and evolve. Not only are these larger, diversified companies likely to benefit from utility and municipal confidence in their more established financial
positions, they are also the ones to acquire the smaller players. But even this subsegment of the company landscape is changing with outsiders considering water
an opportunity. For this reason, Bluefield is keenly interested in the role of private equity, “Big Tech,” and critical infrastructure firms who are seeking ways to
enter, if not disrupt, traditional business models in water.
New business models are expanding the customer base for digital water solutions. From Software-as-a-Service to Data-as-a-Service, cloud computing and
managed service models are increasingly placing digital technologies into the hands of small to mid-sized utilities. Companies like Aquify, Trimble, KETOS, and
Kando, among others, have introduced innovative service offerings and pricing models that are better aligned with the budgets and technical capabilities of
smaller utility providers. Business interest in the more than 400 very large utilities in the U.S. is expected to further transition toward a larger area of need (and
opportunity) in smaller, tier 2 and 3 systems.
Engineering Consultancies (EPCs) prioritizing digital water. In response to the shifting landscape, EPCs are taking on new roles as digital water solutions
providers, offering implementation and integration services and, in some cases, selling in-house software directly to utility and industrial end users. Often
considered a gatekeeper to municipal utility opportunities, EPCs are leveraging their industry expertise and close customer relationships to move up and down
the value chain, from design, procurement and implementation to change management, cyber-security, and software development. At the forefront are firms
like Jacobs, AECOM, Black & Veatch, Arcadis, and Tetra Tech, who are carving out distinctive strategic positions.
Private equity evaluates water sector for growth. A combination of resiliency and need for investment is attracting investment interest from private equity
firms. Several reported and expected divestments, including Veolia North America, Synagro, and Innovyze, have created a buzz. These companies have solid
platform positions into which other acquisitions can be added going forward.
At the same time, the pandemic will likely usher in a buyer’s market in the digital water start-up space, as acute cash flow crunches and short-term declines in
venture funding put greater pressure on founders to find alternative sources of capital — and thus to sell their companies more cheaply than they otherwise
would.
Pressure on utilities’ bottom line will lead to a shift toward third-party services. The COVID-19-related economic downturn is already leaving municipalities
financially strapped due largely to declining tax revenues. As a result, reliance on third-party services and contract operations is expected to accelerate as utilities
place greater emphasis on operating costs, resiliency, and technology adoption. Smaller utilities will be most impacted by economic stress and will be more likely
to look to contract operators for cost savings, redundancy in operational staffing, and new technologies.
Companies turn to alternative solutions to address age-old infrastructure issues. With over 2.2 million miles of drinking water pipe and 1.8 million miles of
wastewater pipe, addressing aging water infrastructure continues to be one the most pressing issues facing the municipal water sector. The scale of investment
required necessitates prioritizing rehabilitation of these aging assets and is expected to usher in more advanced asset management, such as predictive analytics.
And in some cases, the opportunities for private investment, or investor-owned utilities, will increase because of these escalating costs.
One example, particularly in urban areas, are trenchless technologies. They offer municipalities shorter project timelines and significantly reduced surface
disruption which result in lower overall project costs. Bluefield forecasts trenchless technologies will exceed US$52.5 billion over the next decade. The lion’s
share (76 percent) of this spend will focus on rehabilitation of underground assets.
The pipe market will see a shift in material types. We will likely see a shift from traditional, legacy materials, like ductile iron and steel, to newer materials,
includingpre-stressedconcreteandvariousplastics—PVC,HDPE,andPE.Plasticpipesaccountfor75percentoftheforecastedmaterialusedinpiperehabilitation
and repair projects as plastic vendors benefit from their preference in trenchless applications.
COVID-19 provides a catalyst for change, including new technologies. Solutions and technologies are becoming more sophisticated and have more applications
in the water sector. One notable example is wastewater-based epidemiology. Limited understanding of the pandemic has brought wastewater treatment to the
public’s attention and these technologies are not limited to coronavirus. Similar applications could go beyond COVID-19 to address opioid use and other health-
related risks.
Page 9

How IoT can help us save water - Water management using IoT
can reduce leaks and ensure vital resources are not wasted
More than 50 per cent of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed regions by 2050, according to the United Nations. It’s therefore vital we reduce
the 126 million cubic metres of water lost annually due to leaks, poor metering and theft, and not just for the good of the planet.
The cost of lost water amounts to $39 billion (£29 billion) a year. Meanwhile, consumers want businesses to do more than pay lip service to environmental
issues. They expect to see real evidence of how companies are reducing their impact on the planet’s resources, including their approach to water management.
It’s an issue that’s particularly pertinent for water-intensive industries such as manufacturing and agriculture, which use large amounts of water to produce cars,
clothing, crops and other vital goods. But thankfully there’s a solution.
Smart water systems based on internet of things (IoT) sensors, big data and analytics can reduce the amount of water that’s wasted during agricultural and
manufacturing processes, improve the efficiency of water distribution systems and alert companies if toxins or other impurities are detected.
“Advances in IoT sensors, communications and cloud computing have dramatically lowered the cost of gathering, storing and analysing data, whether this is from
specific equipment, like pumps or valves, or entire processes like water treatment or irrigation,” explains Joseph Vesey, chief marketing officer at Xylem, which
creates smart technology solutions to meet water and energy needs.
“They allow us to go beyond basic monitoring to efficiently access new types of data, at a level
of granularity that wasn’t cost effective in the past, especially for small and medium-sized
organisations.”
In short, utilities, farmers and manufacturers of all sizes can use IoT technologies to improve
their water management processes. Sensors can monitor tank filling levels, for instance, as
well as control the quality of water used in manufacturing processes and detect leaks. Better
management of the water system means “energy is also reduced when leaks are eradicated, as
the energy to treat and pump leaked water is no longer required”, says Nigel Harley, IoT sales
specialist with the Internet of Things Centre of Excellence team at Software AG, which provides
platform integration and IoT for enterprises.
“In agriculture, the use of soil moisture sensors can increase yields by applying just the right
amount of water to satisfy plant needs and not saturating the root system,” says Laurie Reynolds,
managing director of AquamatiX, a software company that specialises IoT solutions for water
and wastewater infrastructure. “The amount of water to achieve ideal growing conditions can
be varied during the growing season.”
Due to the size of many water company networks and the fact that their pumps and treatment
equipment are often spread out over large areas, IoT offers an opportunity to gather data for
water management on a far larger scale than was previously possible.
“While it’s practically impossible to install enough sensors to measure water quality changes
everywhere in a network, IoT helps by presenting us with the bigger picture,” says Vesey. “It can
interconnect a smaller number of sensors — ones that measure flow, pressure, water level and
water quality — and link them together with models to ‘fill in the gaps’ and provide a complete
picture of water quality changes across the entire system.”
Using IoT across water networks in this way allows operators to make better decisions about water management, and even automate decision-making to
respond to demands in real time, including when and how to operate treatment plants, pumps and valves.
“In addition to providing precision, this technology eliminates many procedures that, until now, have been carried out manually,” says Alicia Asín, co-founder and
chief executive of Libelium, which designs and manufacturers IoT solutions. She adds that this not only saves money, it means staff can be reassigned to other
tasks, adding value to the business.
SES Water, which provides water in Sutton and East Surrey, has been working with a number of its key supply chain partners to trial a range of specialist digital
water meters, sensors and acoustic loggers on underground mains water pipes, which are connected using Vodafone’s narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) network.
“These partnerships we have developed are helping us create an intelligent water distribution network that aims to cut leakage by 15 per cent over the next five
years and provide a better, more resilient service to our customers,” says Daniel Woodworth, network strategy manager at SES Water.
The water company is getting near real-time data from the sensors, and artificial intelligence and machine-learning alerts them immediately to leaks, low
pressure or other supply interruptions. “As a result we can be made aware of any leakage occurring on our customers’ pipework, allowing us to pinpoint the
precise location before it can cause any damage to property, the environment or an interruption to supply,” says Woodworth. After seeing significant benefits
of moving to NB-IoT, SES Water has now begun a full company-wide rollout of the technology. In future, it could even enable the water provider to predict and
prevent pipeline failure before it happens.
Whatever the industry, Rik Gunderson, utility client director at Software AG, says there are ultimately three elements to improving water management and
reducing wastage: capturing the data, analysing that data and using these insights to drive a business outcome. “The hardest part in any industry is the ability
to access the data, make both it and the resulting analytics easily accessible yet secure, and to have the business foresight to use the data in a way that drives
decisions,” he says. While this might be a challenge in some instances, the results, both environmentally and economically, seem well worth the effort.
Page 10

ABB supports India’s Koppal district to ease water shortages with
digital water management solutions
In a unique project led by L&T Construction Water & Effluent Treatment IC for the Government of Karnataka, ABB’s end-to-end solutions will help the local water
authority to track, measure and optimize water use in this drought-stricken region of southwest India, as well as pump and distribute clean treated river water
to village homes. The solution includes 635 digital flowmeters and technologies to improve control at pumping stations and reservoirs.
With a population of around one million people, the Koppal district is regularly
challenged by water shortages. Until now, responses have ranged from
preserving ancient wells to following age-old water conservation practices,
but thanks to digital technologies, the Kushtagi and Yelburga villages will soon
benefit from ABB’s digital water management solutions as part of a multi-village
clean drinking water scheme.
Koppal needed solutions that could effectively monitor water flow and manage
leakstoreducenon-revenuewaterandachieveoverallproductivityimprovement
in a widely dispersed water distribution network set-up. L&T Construction
Water & Effluent Treatment IC, the lead contractor for the project, chose ABB
Ability™ Symphony® Plus SCADA and ABB’s AquaMaster 4 flowmeters for the
project, sanctioned by the Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Department, Koppal,
Karnataka.
ABB’s engagement spans the end-to-end automation and instrumentation of the project, from the pumping station at the river to the treatment of clean
drinking water. The route comprises 620 overhead tanks and 16 reservoirs. The project involves putting in place a network of RTUs (remote terminal units) for
remote locations and pumping stations and ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus SCADA to supervise and control the operation. ABB AbilityTM Symphony® Plus SCADA
is designed to maximize reliability and availability of water plants and networks through integrated information management, integration of equipment, and
process optimization based on the entire water network data for safer and enhanced operations.
The SCADA solutions help monitor and analyze daily flow consumption patterns thereby identifying possible leaks and sending the information in real-time to
the central control room. This helps to avert water loss because it means that leaks are identified and can be repaired swiftly.
ABB’s AquaMaster 4 electromagnetic flowmeters, running on
battery power, will offer reliability even in low flow conditions,
in areas where most mechanical flowmeters would fail. They
offer measurement accuracy down to flow velocities lower
than 0.1m/s where most meters struggle to even detect
flow. As the vast majority of leaks are small but continuous,
the ability of AquaMaster to detect small variations in flow
is crucial in combating the water shortage challenge in the
Koppal district.
The AquaMaster 4 is a first of its kind digital flowmeter that is
easy to install and use. Its unique Velox Mobile App interface
saves time and resources by eliminating the requirement
for special cables, tools or the input of a trained engineer
to set up the meter or read data on it. The device is largely
self-sufficient in operation, with automatic self-health check
and auto calibration features. ABB Velox App uses near-field
communication (NFC), protected by strong encryption to
avoid eavesdropping or tampering.
With inbuilt tamper-proof datalogging, self-diagnostics, and a smart integrated GPRS communication module, AquaMaster 4 facilitates automated meter
reading (AMR) and links to an automatic billing system, providing transparency in consumption data, with user-specific tags and access control. GIS (geographical
information systems) enable preventive maintenance and permit easy navigation to the site of a potential leak, thanks to Google Maps GPS assistance. The
meters can be verified by the ABB Ability Verification™ for measurement devices solution, which extends the life-cycle of the product, validates accuracy, and
provides the customer with a health-check report in accordance with the ISO9001 standard. This makes AquaMaster 4 a perfect choice for Advance Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) projects.
Page 11

Future Water launches Virtual Networks Group for water
companies and supply chain
Water industry trade body has announced the launch of a new Virtual Networks Group following the successful hosting of Future Water Networks 2020 in
November which operated virtually, across three mornings and one afternoon.
‘Smart networks in an uncertain world’ was the theme of this year’s event and UK attendees were joined by delegates from the West Coast of the USA, through
to Australia, South Africa, Canada, Ghana and France.
More than 40 experts presented views, ideas and forward thinking, on lessons learned from Covid-19, the net carbon zero journey, Data & AI, Making Sewers
Smarter, Innovation and the future.
James Hargrave, Leakage Manager at Anglian Water who will chair the new group said:
'"I'm delighted to Chair the group and for me, I think this could be the platform to enact how, new ideas and innovations can be physically manifested. The virtual
nature of the network is very much around removing the water company boundary lines and creating a UK sector physical network that is virtually managed
by way of a 'collective' that steers the trial of technology and sharing of data / outputs so we benefit as a collective and reduce waste by recreating the wheel
every time.
Key areas of focus the group will address include:
• Provide templates for testing and reporting of innovative and emerging technologies, to allow objective and robust reporting of trials and
evaluations
• Compile and report statistics and numbers on emerging technologies and services
• Allow water companies to communicate their future needs and requirements to the supply chain.
• Store, share and access reports/documentation on trials and evaluations of hard and soft technologies
• Allow water companies to collaborate and identify areas/companies who might be best placed to test different technologies (for example
smart cities being used to test and evaluate technologies such as NbIOT, Lorawan other comms tech)
The Virtual Networks Group is targeting a number of outcomes, including the identification of “islands of excellence” that exist around water companies and the
supply chain and sharing their knowledge.
It is also aiming to realise the benefits of new and emerging technologies by assessing, evaluating and bringing them to market more quickly.
Dene Marshallsay, Director, Artesia Consulting and a member of Future Water, commented:
“‘The challenge is to create a virtual place where water company network managers and operators, and the supply chain, can share knowledge and/or collaborate
on innovations and emerging products and services aimed at specific areas (such as managing leakage, meeting leakage targets, making sewers smarter) for
mutual benefit.’
The group is seeking input from across the supply chain - click here to register to join
Yorkshire Water partners on innovative AI and IoT pollution
prevention solution
Yorkshire Water, the University of Sheffield and Siemens Digital Industries have joined forces to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to
reduce wastewater network blockages and reduce pollution. The partnership has developed an innovative blockage predictor solution to improve the performance
of the sewer network. It identifies problems quickly and provides advanced notice of blockages, enabling Yorkshire Water colleagues to attend and rectify any issues
before they escalate. An ongoing trial involving a variety of sewage assets across 70 sites in the region gave up to two weeks advance notice of blockages. The project
is part of Yorkshire Water’s Pollution Incident Reduction Plan 2020-2025 which aims to reduce pollution incidents by 50% by focusing on early intervention. The AI
in the new blockage predictor tool found 9 in 10 potential issues, three times more successful than the existing Yorkshire Water pollution prediction processes that
relied on statistical methods. The AI also reduced the number of false positive alerts by 50%.
Smart sensors feed water level data into SIWA Blockage Predictor, an application on Siemens’ cloud-based, open Internet of Things (IoT) operating system,
MindSphere. The analytics are embedded within a web application, enabling remote access on mobile devices or PCs and notifying users in advance of any issues.
AI evaluates the characteristics and performance of the sewer network in real time and predicts problems like a network blockage before they happen, enabling
Yorkshire Water to fast-track engineers to inspect and resolve issues. Heather Sheffield, manager of operational planning and technology, at Yorkshire Water said:
“The results of the innovative trial across the region have been very positive. The data has allowed us to identify problems with our network quickly, giving our teams
the opportunity to attend before pollution incidents occur. Our partnership with Siemens and the University of Sheffield illustrates our commitment to investing in
cutting edge technology to provide a data driven approach. A key goal of our Pollution Incident Reduction Plan 2020-2025 is to reduce pollution incidents by 50%
by focusing on prediction and intervention to prevent pollution and avoid repeat incidents."
“The solution could have a significant role to play in reducing the number of pollution incidents, which can have a negative impact on the environment, as well as
increasing our efficiency and providing improved value to our customers.”
Yorkshire Water is using the project as a test-bed for emerging technologies to respond to the demands from the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator
Ofwat to reduce pollution incidents within performance commitments and produce more accurate and reliable reporting data in relation to discharges from CSOs.
Page 12

How Internet of Things Can Be A Game Changer For The Water
Industry
Innovation is something that we strive for at Yarra Valley Water. It allows us to continually evolve our business and to deliver results for our customers. The
Internet of Things (IoT) is one way that Yarra Valley Water is future-proofing the way we do business in line with our 2030 strategy.
In simple terms, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of interconnected computing devices which have the capability to transfer data between one
another via a wireless communications network without human interaction. This communications network is constantly evolving and in recent times, the
number of connections has exponentially increased due to the advent of low-cost communications technologies and falling device/component costs. In some
instances, the devices are so cheap that they are thrown away at the end of their life.
Coca-Cola vending machines were amongst the first IoT devices. They had the ability to report back to head office when stock levels were running low or when
there were issues with the machine cooling system which might impact product quality. The depth and breadth of potential IoT use cases now spans almost
every industry.
When it comes to water corporations, initiatives like digital metering, significant changes to environmental legislation, increased compliance requirements, and
dynamic customer expectations are driving the industry to embrace technology more and more.
The water industry has long connected our critical assets to SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems for real-time monitoring and control.
Typical examples include water and sewer pumping stations, treatment plants, large flow meters and pressure sensors, and water quality monitoring points.
The sensors at these critical assets have typically had a higher accuracy requirement (and are often regularly calibrated to ensure they remain within defined
tolerances) and are designed to be robust and reliable (they are often powered, have inbuilt redundancy, and often dual network communications capability).
Device costs (made up of the sensor and the communications equipment to connect to backend IT systems) are typically in the tens of thousands of dollars. The
backend IT systems to support them are highly secure and often only accessed by a handful of Operational Technology (OT) expert staff within the organisation.
As well as our critical installation-based assets, Yarra Valley Water has over 20,000 kms of water mains and sewer mains, which are mostly unmonitored,
meaning we often rely on our customers to contact us about failures.
The Opportunity
The Internet of Things presents a unique opportunity to change this – with the deployment of thousands of low-cost devices across the entire network,
providing visibility of what is happening in near real-time and enabling us to:
• Identify significant issues (like sewer spills and major pipe breaks) before customers call us.
• Identify smaller issues as they escalate through the analysis of trend data. In many instances this will prevent the occurrence of more
significant issues.
• Automate the issuing of emergency or planned maintenance jobs to resolve issues – speeding up response times and improving network
reliability.
Yarra Valley Water has classified these devices as “business critical”. They are much cheaper, typically battery-powered, and are designed to transmit smaller
amounts of data less frequently to maximise their lifespan. We plan to manage them through a device management platform (due to the large number of
devices), with network communications services to be provided by a specialist network operator. The data received from the devices will be combined with
other relevant business data and analysed to provide meaningful and actionable insights – for the business and customers. Some of the business-critical
devices currently being considered are:
• Digital water meters – Measurement of the volume of water consumed which can be used to identify unnecessary customer use such as
leaks,waterlossesinthebroaderpipenetwork(whencombinedwithbulkflowmeterdata),andpotentialbehaviouralchangeinterventions
to reduce overall consumption.
• Plug-in device – The device is secured on to a mechanical meter or larger-sized meter and a probe measures the pulse. The most common
pulse sensors for magnetic pulse outputs are reed switches. The plug-in device capture the pulse count and transmit the data in a similar
way to a digital water meter via a wireless communications network.
• Water pressure sensors – Measurement of water pressure which can be used to identify when water is off, valves not returned to the
correct position following operational events, cross-connections between supply zones, and other network deficiencies which may slowly
escalate over time.
• Sewer level sensors – Measurement of the level of flow in sewer pipes and manholes which can be used to identify overflows, pipe
blockages, impact of wet weather on the system, and system capacity constraints.
Some of the key learnings from Yarra Valley Water’s IoT journey so far:
• Don’t get caught up in the hype and keep things simple. There can be a tendency to find devices which solve multiple problems at the same
time but you need to constantly balance business value with cost.
• Careful consideration needs to be given to how much processing is done on the device versus your backend IT systems. Yarra Valley
Water’s preference is to keep the device as simple as possible and do the bulk of the data analytics in our own backend IT systems. The
primary reasons for this are to increase device life, reduce device cost, and minimise the cyber security risk.
• It is important to understand the differences between “mission critical” and “business critical” devices and carefully design your
enterprise architecture to support both by taking into account the different cyber security, data storage and availability, and data analytics
considerations for each.
Page 13

Feature Article:
Instrumentation and
Digital Transformation
Whether you call it Digital Transformation, Water 4.0, or Smart Water, the water industry as a whole is changing drastically in the way that it operates. If you ask
a dozen people what these buzzwords mean, you will naturally get a dozen answers. It is because the Digital Transformation of the water industry is different for
different people and for different operational and management aspects of what is done to produce water, distribute it to customers, collect it, treat it, and put it
back to the environment.
From an operational point of view, we have to know what is going on within the water & wastewater system, and we have used instrumentation to tell us what
the situation is for years. So, what is new? Why should we digitally transform? What does it mean? It is a fact that the water industry has been monitoring its
assets for years. It is a fact we monitor what the customer uses for billing purposes, but it is also a fact that the vast majority of the data that is collected is either
collected in the wrong way or the data itself goes to waste as its use has never been well-defined. This is the general state of the water industry at the current time.
In recent years, we have heard about data mining, Big Data, and a plethora of techniques that can provide insights and realise value in the data we collect. To me,
this is where the Digital Transformation of the water industry starts, as there is a huge value in the data that the industry collects as long as that data is right. Of
course, the major source of data (but not the only one) is in the operational instrumentation that is out in the field and this is the subject of a recent paper that
has been written for the International Water Association.
Within Digital Transformation instrumentation is the source of data and, according to the SWAN Layers Diagram, it represents Layer 2 sitting on top of the physical
infrastructure layer. What we as an industry quite often don’t think about is that the underlying layer in the SWAN Layers is vital for the layer above. So naturally, as
the bottom-most layer in the concept of “Smart Water”, the layers representing telemetry & communications, visualisation, and analytics have no place without
the successful implementation of the instrumentation layer.
From this we can conclude that instrumentation is a fundamental part of the Digital Transformation of the water industry as it is where the potential begins and is
the fundamental source of where data come from. Instrumentation is present throughout water & wastewater systems and ranges from the use of smart meters
at a customer’s premises to what amounts to industrial instrumentation systems on the various network and treatment work systems within the water industry.
All the examples of where Digital Transformation has succeeded in the water industry so far have been based upon three basic tenants:
1. Good quality data from properly installed instrumentation;
2. A basic knowledge of the uncertainty of the data; and
3. A robust instrumentation maintenance processes, making sure that instrumentation accuracy is maintained.
Conversely, it has been poor quality data, from either poorly installed or poorly maintained instruments, that has resulted in the failure of some of the most
promising Digital Transformation projects.
For any Digital Transformation project to succeed, a data and information strategy needs to be put in place. This strategy can be in a specific area, such as
non-revenue water, or in a more generalised company-based operational area. An example of this is in the Global Omnium Digital Twin model built for the
City of Valencia (Conjeos,2020). This application-specific Digital Transformation project saw instrumentation installed along with dual redundancy on telemetry
outstations, coupled with an understanding of the accuracy of the instrumentation using general uncertainty principles. This has allowed the construction of a
hydraulic digital twin that enables operators to not only understand the system performance, but to use the system to predict future outcomes. Such functionality
can only be achieved using accurate instrumentation, which is ideally coupled with the instrumentation meta-data to provide full functionality of both visualisation
and analytics.
Clearly, with the right instrumentation, situational awareness of the system can be achieved, thus facilitating informed decision-making, which is where the value
exists for companies within the water industry. As an industry, we know that accurate instrumentation is an absolute must but does not always exist. Why not? Is
this due to resistance to the effective use of instrumentation?
Resistance To The Effective Use Of Instrumentation
Resistance to the effective use of instrumentation usually starts when instruments are not installed correctly or have been installed for little or no purpose. In
these circumstances, there can be a perception that an instrument is not correct which, in turn, leads to lack of maintenance of the instrument and, therefore,
additional wrong measurements.
This leads to a vicious circle where the instrument provides inaccurate or useless data — and therefore useless information — and is consequently abandoned.
The risk in this approach lies in the use of incorrect data, which, in some cases, can cause poor control of the treatment works and result in regulatory issues.
The root causes for a lack of trust in instrumentation are:
• Instrument reliability – There is resistance to the use of instrumentation to full effectiveness, as it is perceived as unreliable. This can be true
if an instrument was badly installed or installed in the wrong place. However, in other cases, the instrument reliability is compromised by
poor maintenance;
• The threat of instruments – The perceived threat that instrumentation and automation will be used to retrench or replace the workforce.
On the contrary, instrumentation should be a tool for operators to operate more efficiently by reducing the time spent manually analysing
samples;
• Over-design of the automation system – The design and then use of instrumentation so that the system is over-complicated and un-operable.
This causes a gap between the design engineer and the user;
• Poor use of current data and poor data management – Instrumentation that is currently in place at treatment works normally feeds through
to a SCADA system. However, the vast majority of data that the instruments produce is generally not used, leading to “data richness, but
Page 14

information poverty”;
• A lack of understanding of what instrumentation can achieve – There is generally a poor knowledge over what instrumentation can achieve
to deliver process control/advanced process control. Poor integration of the current instrumentation leads to the loss of most of data and
information that instrumentation produces, which results in poor efficiencies in current process control and the inability to utilise the
instrumentation to its full effectiveness;
• Lack of trust in instrumentation – Instrumentation is not trusted from the operator level to the corporate level, or at the regulatory level;
therefore, it cannot be used for regulatory compliance.
All of these examples cause barriers to the effective use of instrumentation and lead to poor confidence in adoption of the systems that will generate the data
to support Digital Transformation. The experience of these barriers has led to the development of the instrumentation life-cycle philosophy.
The Instrumentation Life-cycle
The instrumentation life-cycle has five stages. These are intended to take the designer and operator of instrumentation through the operational life of an
instrument and highlight early-on issues that could cause problems in the future. The first three stages of instrumentation life-cycle assessment are to help users
think about the process of instrumentation and understand the value that an instrument brings. The five stages are illustrated in Figure 1
Stage 1 – Instrumentation Purpose
The first stage defines what an instrument is going to be used for in the water or wastewater system, the data it will produce, and how this is going to satisfy an
information strategy, thus addressing and clarifying the real application of the instrument. The reason why an instrument is needed could be multiple, including
(but not limited to):
• Regulatory
• Financial
• Monitoring/Alert purposes only
• Asset Monitoring or Protection
• Control Purpose
Stage 2 – Instrument Specification
The second stage is the instrumentation specification and selection. For this, it is important to understand:
• What parameter is the instrument meant to measure (level, flow, temperature, state)?
• How is it meant to measure it? What technique is going to be used? What is the accuracy requirement? In what range it needs to operate?
What is the required response time and measurement frequency?
• What is the application (e.g., in the network, on the inlet or outlet of the treatment works)?
• What are the physical constraints of the measurement location?
• What are the power and communication requirements?
• How is the instrument going to be operated and maintained?
• What are the sample conditioning requirements such as sample delivery, filtration, and sample preparation, and how this going to affect
the measurement?
• What are the costs involved in the purchase and the operation of the instrument (e.g., ongoing chemical cost and/or ongoing consumable
costs)?
• What are the legal limitations of installing the instrument? If some legal schemes are in place, the instrument may have to reflect this
limitation.
The examples in this list, albeit not exhaustive, can have a significant impact on whether and how an instrument is installed.
Stage 3 – Instrument Installation
The third stage is to consider the instrument installation and how this is going to be achieved, including ability to access, verify, calibrate, maintain, and replace.
This is an iterative process, as an instrument may be ideal in terms of specification but not installation requirements.
At this stage, it is also vitally important to understand how the instrument is going to be maintained and eventually replaced. At the end of the instrumentation
asset life, where flows are passing through the works, replacement will result in significant disruptions and cost implications. If future replacement is considered
priortoinstallation,thecostoftheinstrumentanditsreplacementcanbesignificantlylessinthelongrun.Therefore,puttingtogetheranoperationalmaintenance
and instrumentation replacement plan is worth the investment in time.
Stage 4 – Operation
The fourth stage is the operation and maintenance of an instrumentation system. This should include an operation and maintenance plan based upon the
manufacturer’s guidelines and adapted based on practical evidence including:
Page 15

• Instrumentation cleaning frequency and methodology of how to achieve proper cleaning;
• Instrumentation end-to-end testing;
• Instrumentation calibration versus instrumentation primary verification;
• Instrumentation secondary verification techniques; and
• Instrumentation consumables (chemicals, wipers, etc.).
The operation and maintenance phases are circular during the life of the asset and can be measured using primary and secondary verification to predict when
an asset is likely to fail.
Stage 5 – Review & Replace
The fifth stage begins as the instrument is about to fail and comprises the review of its lifespan, its usefulness, and whether and how it is replaced.
In summary, the instrument life-cycle is a tool that is used to ensure the accuracy of instrumentation. This is absolutely vital within the Digital Transformation
concept as the majority of projects have failed due to poor-quality data.
Even from this summary article of the International Water Association white paper, we can see that instrumentation is a fundamental part of the Digital
Transformation of the water industry.
Nitrous oxide emissions from trickling filters
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas (GHG) which is released from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) during nitrogen removal. Removing nitrogen is an
essential function of WWTPs and there are many ways of constructing plants to achieve this. Therefore, it is important to understand the N2O emission triggers
in order to implement mitigation controls through changes of process parameters. The triggers for N2O release are well understood in some type of plants but
information in scarce for other types of plants.
In the UK, trickling filters account for between 60-70% of the biological treatment of wastewater but information regarding N2O emissions from trickling filters
is limited, partly caused by the difficulties in capturing off-gases. Implementing a hood for gas collection and analysis has been applied to provide an estimate
of N2O emissions. Unisense N2O sensors have mainly been used for N2O analysis in liquid but have also been applied for off-gas measurements (Marques et al.
2016) and thus present an opportunity for cost-effective monitoring off-gas N2O concentrations. The N2O Wastewater Sensor can be implemented for gas phase
analysis in a hood as well as for liquid monitoring of the effluent to quantify the emissions from trickling filters (see Fig. 1).
One of very few studies is Wang et al. (2014) who investigated the effect of temperature on N2O emission from a trickling filter treating domestic wastewater.
The N2O emission was monitored during a year and it was observed that the emission was higher during the summer compared to winter. In trickling filters,
where air is supplied through natural ventilation, the ventilation is driven by temperature differences. With limited temperature differences between air and
water during summer, temperature becomes the governing factor for N2O release since low air flow and oxygen limitation leads to incomplete nitrification and
N2O release. A low COD/N ratio has been shown to lead to N2O formation during denitrification but as nitrification is the dominant process in the trickling filter,
it is not a significant factor for N2O release. Søvik and Kløve (2007) also found that the N2O release from a trickling filter was related to nitrification.
The air flow used for calculating N2O emission was calculated according to AR = ε ∙ us ∙ f, where AR is the airflow (m3∙s1), ε the surface fluid velocity (m∙s-1) and
f the area of the trickling filter (m2). They estimate an emission of 20.5-554 g N2O/(m3∙year), corresponding to 0.1%-0.8% of the oxidized ammonia released
as N2O-N. Studies are limited but Søvik and Kløve (2007) and references therein report that 0.004-8% of the nitrogen load was released as N2O-N. Wang et al.
(2014) suggest that a solution to limiting N2O emission could be to control the O2 supply to the trickling filter biofilm by relying on controlled ventilation instead
of natural ventilation.
In conclusion, the lack of data and high reported emissions emphasize the need for further monitoring N2O emissions from trickling filters. To implement N2O
monitoring, it is important to further develop a method for implementing N2O measurements and constructing a N2O emission model for this type of system.
Monitoring the N2O emission using the N2O Wastewater Sensor will drive a deeper understanding of the N2O release triggers in trickling filters and mitigate the
N2O emission.
Page 16

The treatment of wastewater is an energy intensive and high-cost process worldwide;
however, it is vital for maintaining water infrastructure and protecting public health.
Energy is demanded at all stages of the treatment process and beyond, regarding
the production and transport of chemicals as well as ongoing maintenance costs.
Wastewater treatment 2020-21 is set against a backdrop of increasingly tight
regulations regarding discharge limits and a rising cost of energy. Optimisation and
energy saving are the goals now pursued by water utilities across the globe as the need
to meet the increasing demand for high quality effluent competes with the immense
costs associated with such intensive treatment (Longo et al., 2016; Gandiglio et al.,
2017).
In many scenarios, treatment infrastructure is already well established and unlikely to
change due to the sizeable cost and logistical challenges involved. Instead, attention
has turned to how existing processes can be improved upon using new and innovative
technologies to re-frame existing challenges. One such innovation has involved
fluorescence spectroscopy which works on the principle of intrinsic fluorescence of
organic matter, in that different types of organic matter fluoresce at known wavelengths. The ability to take fluorescence spectroscopy technology into the field
has been a recent and exciting innovation that has already been tested in a variety of wastewater scenarios (Bridgeman et al., 2012; Cohen et al., 2014; Carstea
et al., 2016; Goffin et al., 2018). The potential of the technology is almost unquantifiable as it can provide a highly accurate, real-time proxy for DOM dynamics
in wastewater.
Proteus Instruments developed the Proteus multi-probe and an algorithm that relates the raw fluorescence signal to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), among others (Proteus Instruments, 2020). BOD and COD were previously parameters that could only be measured using
the traditional laboratory method. The BOD laboratory test takes five days, excluding time for sample collection, transport and results returned. In addition,
it is prone to a substantial cumulative error due to the many stages involved in the process, therefore making it totally impractical for process monitoring and
control.
The initial industry testing of the Proteus multi-probe in wastewater showed its useful
application as a compliance monitor at the final effluent discharge tank however, the full
scope of application can go far beyond that. It was also installed at a Pre-Settlement Tank
(PST) and used to monitor BOD and COD in the wastewater passing through. This revealed
how Proteus could be instrumental in monitoring compliance and overall reduction in
BOD/COD levels as the water passes through the treatment process. Given the wealth of
data that could be collected at the beginning of the treatment process, Proteus has now
become an option for feed-forward and feed-back control.
Feedback and feed-forward control are both popular systems that are becoming more
widely utilised to boost efficiency in wastewater treatment. Feedback control works on
the basis that there is a defined control variable input to the ‘controller’ and actions
are taken based on the difference between the measured value and the optimum value
(Reiger et al., 2014).
In essence, the data recorded is used to make decisions retrospectively. Feed-forward control is an attempt to avoid the error occurring in the first place with a
process disturbance being measured and then entered into a predictive model which forecasts how the system should react (Rieger et al., 2014); appropriate
action can then be taken to limit the effects of the disturbance before it happens.
The Activated Sludge Process (ASP) is one of the most energy intensive processes in modern wastewater treatment. The aeration and pump support system
alone can account for over 70% of electricity consumption at WWTW (Asadi et al., 2016). Aeration alone can account for 45-75% of total energy cost for WWTWs
(Longo et al., 2016; Gikas et al., 2017). ASP lanes contain a mixture of both wastewater and bacteria; the bacteria feed on the polluting substances in the
wastewater thereby removing them from the water.
Article:
Energy saving potential of using
real-time BOD monitoring
Page 17

To sustain the bacterial communities, the ASP lanes use blowers which continually aerate the water, ensuring the biomass is maintained in suspension and able
to respire. Naturally, the more polluted the water is the more oxygen is required to aerate the water and keep the balance of organisms. Aeration must regulate
a precise equilibrium between the bacteria and the wastewater; bacteria are continually recirculated using pumps and can be removed if they become excessive
in number.
To maintain the biomass, many parameters are monitored daily to monitor both biomass health and composition. Ammonia, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Total
Suspended Solids (TSS) are the most commonly measure parameters in all ASP lanes. Ammonia is a key parameter in wastewater that has a reduction and
compliance limit. Ammonia is removed during the ASP by autotrophic bacteria completing biological nitrification. As with BOD reduction, ammonia conversion
relies upon the bacteria biomass level to be maintained as it relies on specific autotrophic bacteria for both stages; the conversion of Ammonia to nitrite and the
conversion of nitrite to nitrate (Rieger et al., 2014).
Ammonia can be used for both feed-forward and feedback control of the treatment process, from both a limiting aeration perspective and for reducing ammonia
peaks (Rieger et al., 2014). While ammonia has undoubtedly become an asset to wastewater treatment in recent years, it can only go so far to increasing
optimisation and efficiency. Ammonia is effectively being used as a proxy because more specific measures were unable to be measured at the required frequency.
Ammonia and BOD removal are intrinsically linked as the breakdown of Ammonia provides the proteins which are used by the heterotrophic bacteria to both
break down food and BOD. If conditions become ammonia limited, BOD removal becomes linear as opposed to logarithmic or exponential removal which is seen
under non-limited nutrient conditions (EBS, 2020). The amount of ammonia required to remove the BOD in-line with consent limits varies depending on the
content of the wastewater. Wastewater content and loadings show considerable variation on different time-scales e.g., diurnal, seasonal etc. While ammonia
can act as a good indicator of bacterial quality, it doesn’t provide as much detail as BOD.
In comparison to DO, BOD is a far superior measure as it is much closer to replicating the natural oxidative and recovery conditions in natural systems; this
instantly provides more context as to the state of the bacterial community than DO. The maximum BOD discharge in the UK is 50 mg/l with a BOD reduction
target of 70-90% from original influent; the discharge limit can be adjusted based on individual site PE (EA, 2019). Regulations are tight and non-compliances are
costly as well as dangerous to the surrounding environment. By monitoring BOD in real-time throughout the treatment process, the likelihood of meeting the
compliances increases. It is also an excellent diagnosis tool to detect instantly if there is a problem developing within the treatment process.
Currently, parameters such as ammonia and DO have been discussed and employed in both methods of control (Rieger et al., 2014). While the data can be
undoubtedly useful in refining processes and starting to boost efficiency, the data isn’t nuanced enough to reach maximum efficiency. As previously mentioned,
BOD has incredible power as a parameter that has previously been held back by the laborious and lengthy testing method; however, BOD in real-time for process
control is a game changer.
To illustrate the case, data was collected over a 61-day period in February-April 2018 using a Proteus multi-probe at a large WWTW (PE 93,500). BOD and COD
Page 18

was monitored alongside a variety of other parameters in 5-minute intervals and then daily averages were calculated.
This data was then combined with typical data for ASP process formulae and coefficients to calculate the oxygen requirement for the observed BOD value at
three different flow rates (Lenntech, 2020); cost of electricity was based on a generic kWh estimate. The flow rates were a low, medium and high selected based
on all the observed data for the trial period. This was then used to calculate the average cost for BOD removal for both a variable speed pump and a fixed speed
pump, a summary is shown in Table 1; for brevity, the overall cost average for the entire trial period is shown.
Low average flow rate Medium average flow rate High average flow rate
Average daily flow rate (m3/
day)
25,890 35,363 49,354
Average Cost for Variable
Speed Pump BOD (£)
146.15 199.61 278.66
Average Cost for Fixed Speed
Pump BOD (£)
230.51 314.85 439.42
Variable Cost over 12 months
(£)
8,769.09 11,976.64 16,719.34
Fixed Cost over 12 months (£) 14,061.20 19,205.59 26,804.79
Over 12 months, based purely on BOD, the savings are considerable. This data will vary between each treatment works depending on individual machinery
specifications and treatment procedure, but the savings margins are by no means small to start with. There is considerable scope for increased cost and
operational efficiency for the most expensive and energy intensive part of the wastewater treatment process.
Permit ranges are also important to consider when optimising wastewater treatment. Operation within permit limits is essential but imprecise data can prevent
the permit being utilised fully. Essentially, when data is not specific enough, such as using DO to program the blowers, it reduces efficiency and causes leaks in
energy and spending. BOD is far superior to DO when considering feedback and feed-forward control as DO only monitors the oxygen level without accounting
for the balancing of the bacterial biomass.
The sheer difference in value between the variable and fixed speed pump costs clearly demonstrates the enormous potential for real-time BOD monitoring to
optimise wastewater treatment and transform the efficiency of individual processes. Even on a daily basis, there is substantial room for increasing efficiency and
lowering of the operational costs. While the figures quoted are based on very specific, high-resolution data, the scope of what could be achieved by monitoring
BOD is clear. It is unlikely that there is any site that could not improve efficiency and reduce costs by monitoring BOD or COD in real-time. The discussion of ‘cost’
has mainly been focused on running costs, but there are also massive implications for reducing unnecessary wear and tear on machinery, thereby reducing
service costs and increasing service life.
Real-time BOD can be used to improve upon existing control parameters like ammonia and DO. The potential to utilise permits more fully while maintaining
Page 19

compliance regulation is a game changer for further increasing efficiency and optimisation of the wastewater treatment process. Real-time BOD monitoring
can offer a level of control that has previously been unattainable, and it can completely change the way we consider wastewater treatment. Going forward,
fluorescence technology is setting a new standard for wastewater treatment monitoring, allowing far greater control, and understanding of the process as a
whole than has been previously achievable.
References
Asadi, A., Verma, A., Yang, K. and Mejabi, B. (2017) Wastewater treatment aeration process optimization: A data mining approach. Journal of environmental
management, 203: 630-639.
Carstea, E.M., Bridgeman, J., Baker, A. and Reynolds, D.M. (2016). Fluorescence spectroscopy for wastewater monitoring: a review. Water research, 95: 205-219.
Cohen, E., Levy, G.J. and Borisover, M., (2014) Fluorescent components of organic matter in wastewater: efficacy and selectivity of the water treatment. Water
Research, 55: 323-334.
Environment Agency (2019) LUT compliance limits for BOD and COD, Environment Agency, Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-
water-treatment-works-treatment-monitoring-and-compliance-limits/waste-water-treatment-works-treatment-monitoring-and-compliance-limits#lut-for-
bod-and-cod [Last Accessed 14/12/2020]
Environmental Business Specialists LLC (2020) Ammonia in wastewater. EBS, LLC. Available at https://www.ebsbiowizard.com/ammonia-in-wastewater-979/
[Last Accessed 14/12/2020]
Gandiglio, M., Lanzini, A., Soto, A., Leone, P. and Santarelli, M. (2017) Enhancing the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants through co-digestion and
fuel cell systems. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 5: 70.
Gikas, P., 2017. Towards energy positive wastewater treatment plants. Journal of environmental management, 203: 621-629.
Goffin, A., Guérin, S., Rocher, V. and Varrault, G. (2018) Towards a better control of the wastewater treatment process:excitation-emission matrix fluorescence
spectroscopy of dissolved organic matter as a predictive tool of soluble BOD 5in influents of six Parisian wastewater treatment plants. Environmental Science
and Pollution Research, 25(9): 8765-8776.
John Bridgeman, Andy Baker, Cynthia Carliell-Marquet & Elfrida Carstea (2013) Determination of changes in wastewater quality through a treatment works using
fluorescence spectroscopy, Environmental Technology, 34:23:3069-3077, DOI:10.1080/09593330.2013.803131
Lenntech (2020) Calculating the Oxygen Requirement. Lenntech Water Treatment Solutions. Available at: https://www.lenntech.com/wwtp/calculate-oxygen-
requirement.htm [Last accessed 14/12/2020]
Longo, S., d’Antoni, B.M., Bongards, M., Chaparro, A., Cronrath, A., Fatone, F., Lema, J.M., Mauricio-Iglesias, M., Soares, A.and Hospido, A. (2016) Monitoring and
diagnosis of energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants. A state of the art and proposals for improvement. Applied Energy, 179: 1251-1268.
Proteus Instruments (2020) Biochemical Oxygen Demand. Available at: https://www.proteus-instruments.com/parameters/biological-oxygen-demand-bod-
sensors/ [Last Accessed 14/12/2020].
Rieger, L., Jones, R.M., Dold, P.L. and Bott, C.B. (2014) Ammonia‐Based Feed-forward and Feedback Aeration Control in Activated Sludge Processes. Water
Environment Research, 86(1): 63-73.
About the Author
Hannah Gunter is a Technical Research Assistant for Proteus Instruments who is involved in the Research & Development and
technical sales of the Proteus water quality probe. She has a particular interest in the use of fluorescence as a proxy for E. coli
sensing and the applications of this for water quality.
She graduated with a MSc River Environments and their Management with Distinction from the University of Birmingham in
December 2019. The use of fluorescence in water quality monitoring is an exciting, rapidly evolving field and was the focus of her
Masters' thesis.
Page 20

Water, Wastewater & Environmental Monitoring Virtual
13th - 14th October 2021
The WWEM Conference & Exhibition has been changed to a virtual conference and exhibition for 2021 and a physical conference
and exhibition in 2022. Details on WWEM Virtual will be released in the coming months but it is sure to include huge amount of
technical workshops and events for attendees to enjoy.
International Water Association Digital Water Summit
15th-18th November 2021 - Euskalduna Conference Centre, Bilbao, Spain
In 2021, the first edition of the IWA Digital Water Summit will take place under the tag-line “Join the transformation journey”
designed to be the reference in digitalisation for the global water sector. The Summit has a focus on business and industry, while
technology providers and water utilities will be some of the key participants that will discuss and shape the agenda of the Summit.
The programme includes plenary sessions, interactive discussions, side events, exhibition, technical visits, and social events
Sensor for Water Interest Group Workshops
The Sensors for Water Interest Group has moved their workshops for the foreseeable future to an online webinar format. The next
workshop is on 3rd February 2021
3rd February 2021 - Integrating data from sensors in water & wastewater networks
10th March 2021 - Monitoring wastewater flow
Water & Wastewater Treatment
21st
January 2021 - Wastewater 2021
WWT put on some of the leading conferences in the UK. In the calendar at the moment is the asset management conference in
August 2020 and the Wastewater Conference in January 2021.
WEX Global 2021
28th - 30th June 2021 - Valencia, Spain
The WEX Global Conference. sponsored by Idrica is currently due to take place in Valencia in Spain in June 2021. The conference
concentrates on the circular economy and smart solutions to resolve some of the global water industry's issues
Page 21
Conferences, Events,
Seminars & Studies
Conferences, Seminars & Events
2021 Conference Calendar
Due to the current international crisis there has been a large amount of disruption in the conference calendar. A lot of workshops have
moved online at least in the interim and a lot of organisations are using alternative means of getting the knowledge out there such as
webinars popping up at short notice. Do check your regular channels about information and events that are going on. Also do check on
the dates provided here as they are the best at the time of publishing but as normal things are subject to change.

13th & 14th OCTOBER
WWEM
2021
WATER, WASTEWATER
& ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING
Virtual
12th & 13th OCTOBER
WWEM
2022
WATER, WASTEWATER
& ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING
Live
WATER, WASTEWATER &
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
wwem.uk.com
Follow us: @WWEM_Exhibition
Tel: +44 (0)1727 858840
email: info@wwem.uk.com
Over 100 Free workshops,
over 140 Exhibitors and
a Focussed Conference,
WWEM is the specialist
event for monitoring,
testing and analysis of
water, wastewater and
environmental samples.to keep up to date with the latest
event information
Visit:
Supporting Trade Associations
A fantastic opportunity
to network, experience
ﬁrst-hand innovative
techniques in monitoring
West Sussex County Council
A great source
of information
and networking
opportunity
Environment Agency
A great event, not to be
missed by anyone involved
in water wastewater and
environmental monitoring
United Utilities
WWEM 2021+2022 Advert.indd 1 23/11/2020 10:24Page 22

WIPAC Monthly - December 2020

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