WIPAC Monthly - January 2022

WIPAC MONTHLY
The Monthly Update from Water Industry Process Automation & Control
www.wipac.org.uk Issue 1/2022- January 2022

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 - 11
District Meter Areas - Why accuracy actually matters...................................................
In our first article of the year Vincent Favre of Flow-Tronic talks about the use of insertion magmeters within DMAs
and how the accuracy of the instrumentation that we use is absolutely vital to enable us to make the decisions
that we need to make as an industry
12 - 15
Understanding the impact of smart water.....................................................................
In this opinion piece by Amir Cahn of the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN Forum) he discusses the impact
of smart water or Digital Transformation on the water industry and what, if developed properly, can have on the
water industry
16
A Water Breakthrough..................................................................................................
In this article we look at the "breakthrough" that the OFWAT Breakthrough challenge is facilitating with a number
of water companies in a project, led by Severn Trent Water, by using artificial intelligence and machine learning in
wastewater catchments in order to help prevent pollution incidents and improve water quality.
17 -18
Workshops, conferences & seminars............................................................................
The highlights of the conferences and workshops in the coming months. 19 - 20

From the Editor

Another year begins and the beginning of the year has seen the plethora of predictions for what is going to be big in
development this year. I have read it all with quite some interest and saw alot of things rehashed from previous years
as people desperately hope that this year will see the breakthrough that people hope will happen and by predicting that
it will happen will try and make it happen.
The biggest of these predictions for me in this is the "Digital Twin" phenomenon. I have seen precisely one Digital Twin
within the water industry that I have thought - that is the concept nailed on the head. It took 10 years to develop and
was developed in Valencia in Spain by the team at Idrica and the people at Global Omnium. It is something that I had the
pleasure of seeing when I last visited the WEX Global Conference in Valencia in Spain. The key for me for that was the un-
derstanding that the weakness of every instrument in the "Twin" is understood and so there is an in-depth understanding
of what is going on. The closest I think that we have seen in the UK is the work that Severn Trent Water at Spernal. Both
pieces of work were well thought about and crucial to the centre of it all was accurate data. To me the one barrier that
we have is that the data that we gather is simply not that well understood. In reality it is like building a glorious palatial
building on shaky foundations. You can design it but at the end of the day it is doomed to fail before it begins as the actual
base of things just simply isn't there. In reality I wish that this wasn't the case and yes we could build a national Digital
Twin of the entire water system but until we sort out the basics it doesn't matter how much we say and how much we
believe it will happen....it simply won't.
The next prediction that I saw for this year is the "Data as a Service." Five years ago I was a deep non-believer in this as realistically I couldn't see how an
external company could actually install, maintain and operate something from scratch cheaper than a water company. I remember a few years ago one of the
leading lights in the US Water Industry simply said "Data as a Service - sure I'll look at it and use it as long as its cheaper that what I already pay," and this is the
fundamental concept. However the way things are in the water industry at the moment and with the development of technology then there are applications
where "data as a service" along with all of the analytics will work. For me probably one of the simplest applications is water meter reading where a company
can replace the existing water meter, pop it onto a secure NBIoT network and with all of the data do the analytics that will help the water company identify and
repair leaks. The sensible company would take a percentage of the water savings as part of the deal to boost the economics of the application. Are there other
applications, absolutely, fraught with ramifications the event duration monitoring programme that monitors the CSO network around the country is another
application especially as the maintenance burden for the water companies must be huge. The savings are obvious - avoided spills and pollution events are an
obvious analytics solution that can help the water companies to manage their network. Its something that has probably already been thought of but the key
as usual is helping where the pain points are.
Open Data is certainly going to be another area of discussion this year as all of the data is released from various programmes and then we realise that the
quality of the data that is being collected isn't quite there and alot of false assumptions are made. I love the concept of Open Data and firmly believe that
everything should be upfront and open but there is a huge amount of work that goes into quality controlling that data and explaining why the data needs to
be quality controlled as people don't understand that power spikes, scaling errors and the likes always plague the data and without alot of QC you can't see
the wood for the trees. This is the danger of open data that we must be careful with.
So moving forward what are going to be the pain points to address? Well pollution is going to be one of course, it was an issue that we saw last year and it is
an issue that we will see for years to come. We saw in the Environment Act the need for monitoring quality in the water environment. Those of you who are
regular readers will have seen my prediction on cost of somewhere between £3-5 billion. The smart manufacturer will be coming up with solutions to this
right now which will allow a quick and easy deployment that isn't relatively cheap in the CAPEX but expensive in the OPEX but is in fact a balance of the TOTEX.
Whatever the solution is the quality of the data is going to be king as getting the data wrong has a higher cost than the initial installation. This is going to take
new technology, skill in the workforce and alot of hard work.
Some food for thought to start the year.
Have a good month
Oliver

WIPAC launches the Instrumentation Apprentice Competition
Traditionally the Instrumentation Apprentice Competition is something that the water industry has come together at the Water, Wastewater & Environmental
Monitoring Conference & Exhibition to celebrate the apprentices that the industry has in the field of instrumentation discipline. However the Coronavirus
pandemic has meant that the last time the industry got together was 2018 where Natalie Oliver and Dan Calvert of Yorkshire Water at the time won. With
planning for the 2022 version of WWEM going forward the planning for the next instrumentation apprentice competition is moving forward with the hope that
we will have a physical event at Telford in October 2022.
With this in mind the planning and call for (a) sponsors and (b) competitors is starting this month. The competition was first run at WWEM 2014 by WIPAC and
was designed to get the apprentices in instrumentation together and compete in a friendly atmosphere and most of all learn from the wealth of technologies,
suppliers and experts that are present at each WWEM conference and exhibition.
To be eligible competitors must be on a registered apprentice programme and be working within the water industry either directly for a water company or
indeed one of the many contractors working within the industry. Over the coming months details will be announced.
Organisation for this year's WWEM is starting to move forward and it can be confirmed that:
• There will be a return of the highly successful WIPAC Flow Forum which has been running at WWEM since 2014
• The WIPAC Pollution Forum which was first featured at the last virtual WWEM in 2020 will return at the live event
• The WIPAC Learning Zone will be expanded to the Learning & Development Zone. We are currently in discussion with a number of the
professional organisations and universities who are involved in instrumentation about running master-classes on instrumentation and on
instrumentation theory. The professional organisations will be there to help advise people on their routes of career development
• There are ongoing talks to have a Digital Transformation Zone at WWEM enabling attendees to discuss the various concepts and how we
can use Digital Transformation to solve some the industry's issues.
• Within the Digital Transformation Zone there will be opportunities to try out Serious Gaming for those who are attending WWEM
With over eight months to go the programme is still developing but it is certain that this year's edition of WWEM will be bigger and better than ever and offer
more and more for those attending.
Israel's Ministry Of Health Takes Its COVID-19 Wastewater Project
Nationwide
Israel’s Ministry of Health leads national project to identify coronavirus from wastewater using innovative technology.
• Over the past two years, several pilot projects led by the Ministry of Health have been implemented in a number of Israeli cities by using
breakthrough technology in the wastewater sector, the virology laboratory at Sheba Medical Center and researchers from Ben Gurion
University and the Technion – in order to find a systematic solution for identifying coronavirus from wastewater to protect public health.
• The Ministry of Health and the government are leading the systematic solution for identifying latent morbidity, several days before receiving
indications of actual morbidity.
• The Ministry of Health is currently applying the innovative technology, which was developed by Kando, and which makes use of wastewater
in a national project, in which hundreds of control units will be deployed throughout the country.
Coping with Covid has moved up a gear and decision makers will soon receive a new tool that will allow them to take swift, optimal decisions based on accurate
information. After several successful pilot projects conducted over the past two years, Israel’s Ministry of Health has begun applying technology that represents
an innovative solution for monitoring Covid from wastewater. The solution is based on the use of sensors and control units placed in municipal sewage systems
with computer analysis, big data and AI, which presents decision makers with relevant insights and warnings. This allows warnings about latent morbidity, and
the beginning of a future wave of morbidity, and the discovery of new variants by the geographical identification of the focuses of the outbreak, in a way that
allows as far as is possible, security, continued routine, and economic growth and prosperity. The project is being conducted in collaboration with the Ministry
of Health, the Virology Laboratory at Sheba Medical Centre at Tel Hashomer, Kando, researchers from Ben Gurion University – Profs. Ariel Kushmaro, Nadav
Davidovitch and Jacob Moran-Gilad, and Prof. Eran Friedler of the Environmental, Water and Agricultural Engineering Unit of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at
the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
According to the plan, as part of this project, towns of more than 20,000 people will be monitored twice a week. The solution enables the collection of
representative samples in a way that optimizes the potential to locate indications of the virus, according to the viral load in the wastewater, and to monitor the
level of the morbidity in a particular area. The samples collected are sent to the laboratories at Ben Gurion University where PCR tests suitable for wastewater
are conducted. In the event that the results received are positive, an additional test is carried out to quantify the Omicron variant and other variants. This is a
procedure that takes about 24 hours, from taking the sample until receiving the results, and at the end of which a picture of the real situation is received, and a
tool that serves in protecting the health of the public.
This project has made the Ministry of Health and the State of Israel into a world leader in coping with coronavirus, by using a national network to identify the
virus in wastewater and protect the health of the public, while applying and installing technology that does not disrupt the normal daily routine of the population.
Page 4
Industry News

TheEC authorizes Suez and SchneiderElectricsJVinthedigitalization
of water management
The European Commission this month gave the green light to the Suez Group's alliance with Schneider Electric to create a company that will offer water
management software for water and wastewater treatment facilities in France, reports Europapress. According to the institution, the operation will not have a
negative effect on the European economic area.
The Commission believes that the joint venture does not raise competition concerns because the impact of the resulting company's activity will be minimal on
the European market as a whole.
At the end of March of 2021, Suez and Schneider Electric announced the creation of a new leader in digital water to develop and market a joint offering of
innovative digital solutions for the management of the water cycle.
The Suez group offers solutions for water management, recycling and wastewater recovery to both the public and private sectors worldwide, while Schneider
is active in the digitization of water, energy and infrastructure management.
GoAigua and WatSyn Solutions partner to help Canadian water
utilities unify digital infrastructure
GoAigua, a smart water technology company, and WatSyn Solutions Inc., a trusted digital solutions provider, recently announced a strategic partnership to help
utilities in Canada advance digital transformation.
GoAigua’s proven software and analytics platform delivers full connectivity across utilities, simplifying the path to digital transformation. GoAigua eliminates silos
of information from SCADA, GIS, ERP, AMI/AMR, CMMS, IoT Sensors, and more – providing a holistic, real-time view of the status of processes and infrastructure.
With advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, utilities can identify and reduce non-revenue water, plan for capital expenditures, improve
operational efficiency, and ensure high levels of customer satisfaction. GoAigua offers predictive, actionable data insights, and one of the world’s first fully
operational Digital Twins.
WatSyn Solutions has supported digital transformation in the water industry since 2002. Through key partnerships with industry leaders, WatSyn is uniquely
positioned to assist Canadian municipalities and consultancies in the selection of software solutions for modelling, managing, and optimizing water, sewer, and
storm-water systems.
“GoAigua’s platform truly provides a unified experience to simplify the digital transformation of water, sewer, and storm-water utilities. The platform was created
by utilities for utilities, and provides the clean and powerful user experience that our customers expect,” says Chris Baxter, Ph.D., President of WatSyn Solutions.
“We look forward to working alongside the WatSyn team to bring the benefits of GoAigua to more utilities. Exciting times are ahead for Canadian utilities,” says
Pablo Calabuig, CEO of GoAigua North America.
SUEZ acquires Sentinel Monitoring Systems
SUEZ - Water Technologies & Solutions completed the acquisition of Sentinel Monitoring Systems, a real-time microbial monitoring company headquartered in
Tucson, Arizona. Sentinel Monitoring Systems develops products that provide real-time and near-real-time solutions to monitor the effectiveness of microbial
control within life sciences ultrapure water and manufacturing processes. Under this purchase agreement, SUEZ has acquired all of Sentinel Monitoring Systems’
business. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Microbial monitoring plays a critical role in ensuring the safety of patients from harmful bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants. Sentinel's technology can
detect individual microorganisms 150x faster than conventional methods, reducing the risk of microbial contamination and allowing manufacturers to respond
quickly to control risk and minimize impacts to downstream operations before irreversible damage is created. In addition, with Sentinel Monitoring Systems'
advanced technology and industry knowledge, SUEZ will enhance its Analytical Instruments portfolio. As a result, SUEZ will become a leading supplier to offer
the full range of compendial water testing methods to life science markets, including Total Organic Carbon, Conductivity, Bacterial Endotoxin Testing, and
Bioburden, increasing productivity, lowering operating costs, and improving risk management.
"Sentinel Monitoring Systems is a great company with a strong track record of pioneering innovation since it launched in 2014," said Yuvbir Singh, Chief Executive
Officer, SUEZ's Water Technologies & Solutions. "As we continue to grow our business, we believe that this acquisition broadens our Analytical Instruments
portfolio and is a tremendous opportunity for SUEZ, our customers, employees, and partners around the world."
SUEZ has a comprehensive and competitive suite of water monitoring products and services in our Analytical Instruments portfolio for the Life Sciences and
Industrial and Environmental markets. Integrating Sentinel Monitoring Systems into our existing portfolio will allow access to new and growing markets in
addition to innovative technology, solutions, and employee talent that will benefit our customers and partners worldwide.
Page 5

Royal HaskoningDHV and Schneider Electric collaborate on Nereda
wastewater treatment plants
Royal HaskoningDHV has announced that Schneider Electric is now a global preferred supplier for its Nereda® wastewater treatment solution. Schneider Electric
is the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, and the world’s most sustainable corporation 2021 as ranked by
Corporate Knights. Royal HaskoningDHV is an independent consultancy that integrates digital technologies and software solutions to design, safeguard, and
maintain the built environment — from infrastructure, mobility and buildings to energy, water supplies and industrial sites. Nereda is a sustainable and cost-
effective wastewater treatment technology that purifies water using the unique features of aerobic granular sludge. With over 90 projects completed or being
delivered across the world, Nereda is a well-established technology for both municipal and industrial use.
As a preferred supplier, Schneider Electric will combine the capabilities of its EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert solution, the world’s first universal automation
system, with the Nereda technology to develop the next generation of Nereda Process Control. The control system will improve plant process efficiency and allow
wastewater customers to have complete lifecycle management, seamless integration of IT/OT services, and improved system diagnostics for their automation
systems.
" I am very excited to welcome Schneider Electric to the Nereda Community. This partnership will benefit our clients with even stronger project execution, plant
performance, and opportunities for optimization,” said René Noppeney, Global Director of Water Technology Products, Royal HaskoningDHV.
“We are delighted to be supporting Nereda and its award-winning wastewater treatment technology,” said Alain Dedieu, Water and Wastewater president,
Schneider Electric. “EcoStruxure Automation Expert takes a software-centric, native IT/OT convergence approach to automation. This makes it easy to integrate
advanced IT applications, tools, and technologies, and allows greater hardware flexibility and asset-based maintenance — all of which improves sustainability
and resilience in wastewater treatment plants.”
Nereda is known for its integrated software controller through which plant operators can directly view plant performance along key parameters and explore
resources for optimization. This solution will facilitate project execution and plant operation onsite by streamlining the implementation, testing, and updating
of the Nereda control software on any plants.
This new partnership with Schneider Electric is an important step to advance the Nereda technology. Additionally, the partnership opens the possibilities for
leveraging digital integrations to further optimize plant performance.
Page 6

Affinity Water uses chatbots and automation in customer
conversations
Affinity Water, the largest water only company in the UK, has begun a new digital engagement process by introducing conversational SMS messaging to its
customers to drive up engagement rates.
Developer customers, Self-Lay Providers or NAV partners, and homeowner customers who are undertaking a new project or renovation will all benefit from the
innovation which will improve the customer experience for them by assisting them to engage with the company using a new digital conversational automated
“chatbot” messaging approach.
Affinity Water said it is recognising the shift in how customers interact with companies and their desire to engage more often in a better way. Graham Turk,
Director of Production and Supply at Affinity Water said:
“We are passionate about delivering outstanding service to our customers and are constantly looking for ways to make it easy for them to engage with us. Webio
allows us to open another channel of communication that is different to other messaging platforms we've seen in the past. The two-way interaction functionality
and simple back-end user interface enables an authentic experience for our customers, which ultimately allows us to respond to them more efficiently, as well
as build a more effective understanding of their sentiment. We look forward to working with Webio further to understand how we can build on this to create a
truly industry-leading service.”
The partnership with Webio, a leading provider of Conversational AI to the Utilities, Financial Services and Retail industries will see its conversational AI platform
enable the Affinity teams to pro-actively reach out and engage with customers via conversational SMS messaging.
The benefits will be:
• Chatbots will help the Affinity Water teams start customer conversations and push important literature from the website to them.
• It will also be able to give status updates on projects and book appointments for site visits.
• All interactions are handled by chatbots and routed to agents where conversations continue over SMS.
• For situations that require a voice call, conversations are seamlessly transferred to agents with full conversation history.
• Due to the asynchronous nature of SMS, agents have the capacity to manage multiple customers conversations at a time and customers
have the flexibility to respond at a time that is convenient for them.
On conversation completion,the chatbots deploy SMS feedback surveys where responses are ranked and prioritised based on survey scores. This gives the team
an opportunity to uncover how they can improve and what they need to do better. They can also hone in on what is working and how that can be replicated
across the complete customer base.
Since Affinity Water introduced Webio’s conversational technology the development services have improved:
• Overall engagement rates with customers post-transaction have increased by 100%+
• Average responses rates have gone from less than 2% to over 20%
Mark Oppermann, Head of Sales and Marketing at Webio said:
“The figures speak for themselves. It is very satisfying to see the impact technology can make and we are delighted to be working with the Affinity team in
helping bring conversational technology to life for them. The opportunities with automation and AI are endless and we are excited to continue this journey with
the team.”
Detectronic To Deliver Important Field Trial
Detectronic’s Australian channel partner, Environmental Data Services (EDS), is set to deliver an important field trial project for a large water authority after
winning a tender following a successful trial phase. Covering three separate catchment sites over six months, the flow survey project will see the water
authority deploy a number of Detectronic’s LIDoTT Smart sensors, a highly affordable multi-sensor sewer monitor incorporating temperature, pressure and
ultrasonic level technologies specifically designed to provide continuous data in surcharge conditions.
Commenting on the project, Sebastian Harper, managing director of Environmental Data Services, said: “As a result of the positive trial phase earlier this year,
we were invited to tender for the field trial and consequently won the tender.”
Continues Sebastian: “The objective of this particular field trial is to enable the water authority to enhance its understanding of the overall sewer network
with a view to further improving performance, efficiency and environmental sustainability.
“Providing everything needed to create a truly smart sewer network solution which can be quickly deployed either in specific (problem) catchments or
throughout the entire network, the MSFM 2.5T AV Flow Meter with true redundancy LIDoTT sensor for hydraulic level verification, will provide the water
authority with millimetric accuracy. It is specifically designed to deliver incredibly high-quality data with none of the data spikes or ‘noise’ traditionally
associated with conventional ultrasonic level monitors.
“In six months, the water authority will have an unrivalled, highly accurate picture of these specific areas of the network that have been monitored. This will
inform the implementation of a wider smart sewer network that consistently performs with zero major blockages, and without the spills or pollutions that
can cost water companies millions to resolve.”
Concludes Dave Walker, co-founder of Detectronic: “Winning this tender is a tangible milestone for Detectronic and our channel partner, EDS. We’re looking
forward to working with the water authority and supporting them to further improve the resilience and performance of their wastewater network.”
Page 7

New data shows 99% of English bathing sites meet required water
quality standards
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has published new data showing that 99% of bathing waters in England have passed water quality
standards following testing at over 400 designated sites carried out by the Environment Agency (EA).
The results show that for the 2021 bathing season 94.7% of beaches and inland waters gained an ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ rating while 4.3% achieved the minimum
‘Sufficient’ rating. This compares with 98.3% passing the required standards in 2019, and is the highest number since new standards were introduced in 2015.
Bathing waters are monitored for sources of pollution known to be a risk to bathers’ health, with up to 20 samples taken from each site during the bathing
season. Each sample is tested for bacteria, specifically E coli and intestinal enterococci.
The EA has been monitoring bathing water sites since the 1990s - in the early 1990s, for example, just 28% of bathing waters met the highest standards in force
at that time. Based on today’s data, 99% of bathing waters meet the minimum standard, with 70.7% reaching the highest standards.
Since 2015 the EA has required water companies to install Event Duration Monitors at bathing water sites. This captures data on the frequency and duration of
storm overflow discharges, with all the data published online so the public can see what is happening in their local area.
More than 12,000 of England’s 15,000 storm overflows now have monitors in place
More than 12,000 of England’s 15,000 storm overflows now have monitors in place - the remaining 3,000 will have them by end of 2023.
Environment Agency Chair Emma Howard Boyd said:
“With billions spent on seaside visits every year, we know good water quality helps coastal towns prosper. Twenty years of improvements in bathing water took
targeted regulation and significant investment. While this is reflected in today’s results we must continue to work together to maintain this trend.
“We cannot afford to be complacent. Public confidence in water quality has faltered in recent years with new evidence of pollution incidents getting much
needed attention as a result of some excellent campaigning. The polluter must pay. To restore trust, water companies, industry and farmers need to get the
basics right or face legal action.
“The Environment Agency is working to ensure £120 million is invested in coastal habitats like England’s saltmarshes, which protect against coastal erosion and
also store carbon equivalent to nearly 40 million people’s annual domestic emissions.”
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow commented:
“Water quality is an absolute priority. We are the first Government to direct Ofwat to prioritise action by water companies to protect the environment and
deliver the improvements that we all want to see.
“But we must go further to protect and enhance water quality. Our Environment Act puts in place more protections against water pollution than ever before, we
are investing in programmes to support farmers to tackle water quality issues, and we are clear that where water companies do not step up we will take robust
action.”
This is the first year that part of the River Wharfe in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, has been given an official classification after being added to the list of bathing waters
in 2021.
It comes as Yorkshire Water has announced new investment of up to £13 million to improve water quality in the area. This will include extra disinfection
measures and a new scheme to reroute the sewage network in areas upstream of the bathing water site.
While a designation is an important first step towards longer-term water quality improvement, it will take time to identify how to meet the required bathing
water standard alongside the financial investment and co-operation needed to make it happen.
Page 8

Scottish Water sets out multi-million pound plans to install sensors
and improve monitoring on CSOs
Scottish Water has set out its plans to install sensors on a number of its 3,614 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) within its 50,000km of sewer network in
Scotland. The water company intends to install monitoring on approximately 1,000 network and treatment works CSOs discharging to the highest priority
waters, including all designated shellfish and bathing waters.
According to Scottish Water, the improved monitoring activities, which are currently estimated to cost around £50 million to £70 million to deliver, will improve
its understanding of how they are operating and will provide transparent information on their performance. The utility will also examine the costs and benefits of
extending monitor coverage to lower priority locations and to where spills are not predicted to be occurring. For around 2,600 CSOs where there is low predicted
spill frequency, low amenity and an absence of evidenced environmental impacts, Scottish Water anticipates there will be little benefit from monitoring.
Spill trigger levels will be used to drive investigations at monitored network CSOs to determine cause, scale of need and scope for improvement, together with
increased reporting of spill data from monitored CSOs. By December 2022, Scottish Water will publish spill data annually for monitored CSOs where data are
already currently reported to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) which identify where possible the main reason for the spills (e.g. heavy rain,
blockages or a flow issue at the treatment works).
Beyond that date, by December 2023 the company will publish spill data annually for all other monitored CSOs and by December 2024, publish near real-time
spill data for all monitored CSOs. Scottish Water also intends to develop a prioritisation framework to consider the need for increased capacity at treatment
works where monitors identify that spills are occurring prior to meeting licensed hydraulic capacity. In addition, the utility is also planning to deliver intelligent
wastewater networks in 3 catchments (East Calder, Erskine and Lossiemouth) to expand its intelligence on network behaviour during dry weather and during
rainfall and develop a plan for further roll-out of this approach.
A network of sensors will be installed to provide data on sewer network performance within pilot catchments, transmitting data to Scottish Water’s Intelligent
Control Centre. The water company said that data analytics will generate near real time insights that will allow staff to take a rapid, proactive response to avoid
blockages. The insights will also contribute to an improved understanding of how the sewer network behaves under different rainfall events, including which
conditions lead to spills.
Scottish Water also proposes to continue the prioritisation of around 630 CSOs currently causing sewer related debris (SRD problems) by reviewing available
performance information and undertaking surveys at all CSOs modelled to spill more than once in five years and/or, for monitored CSOs, those exceeding spill
frequency triggers.
The utility will develop solutions for those CSOs at 85 locations that are already confirmed as being high priority having significant SRD impacts on rivers. Subject
to by the investment planning and prioritisation group (IPPG) that oversees the development of the rolling Scottish Water investment programme, Scottish
Water will then agree delivery timetables for the high priority CSOs (currently estimated to cost around£100 million - £130 million) with the aim of delivering
these CSO improvements by December 2027.
The plans are contained in Scottish Water’s Urban Waters Route Map – beyond 2027 the utility will develop solutions for all its medium priority CSOs at around
150 locations. Delivery timetables for these, currently estimated to cost around £150 million to £200 million, will be promoted as a priority investment - subject
to approval, Scottish Water will plan to deliver improvements to these CSOs by December 2031. While screens are fitted to many CSOs where frequent spills
occur, around 80% of CSOs do not have a screen and have the potential to spill during rainfall causing sewage litter in the watercourse. According to the water
company, further improvements in screening will be required as spill frequencies increase.
The actions outlined in the Route Map have significant investment demands and not all are currently set out in Scottish Water’s investment planning scenarios.
RS Hydro Secures Major UK Tender for Wastewater
In a landmark achievement, RS Hydro has won the UKs largest framework for the provision of multi-parameter onsite water quality monitoring systems for the
monitoring of final effluent waste water. The four-year framework, with the option of two further two-year extensions, is thought to be worth £2 million and
is the first of its kind in the UK.
This has come at a time when the monitoring of our water quality resources has been highly publicised both within the industry and through popular media and
social networking, most recently entering the Houses of Parliament for debate on the current sewage situation in the UK.
The Proteus probe and supporting wireless telemetry systems met all of these criteria with the highest score amongst all nine bidders and is currently under trial
with Scottish Water”. The Proteus is a unique and patented technology on the global market that allows it to measure BOD, COD, DOC, TOC, coliforms alongside
a multitude of other standard water quality parameters such as turbidity, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, pH/ORP, conductivity and temperature. With Proteus,
the innovation isn’t limited to just the individual sensors as the multi-parameter sensor platform and wireless telemetry system will support seamless integration
into Scottish Water’s sensor data systems, creating the ultimate innovative platform in water quality monitoring.
We are really excited about working with Scottish Water and raising the bar for the whole of the UK for water quality monitoring. With the current press about
the quality of our rivers, we are hopeful that this backing of innovation will ultimately lead to an improvement in water quality for all of our rivers and bathing
waters. The Proteus will provide real-time monitoring and alerts to Scottish Water, allowing it to react quickly to any incidents in a timely manner or indeed
provide feedback/feed forward control to its wastewater assets. Proteus was only launched in 2018 and is proving to be a global success story."
Page 9

CleanTech startup turns tap on global growth
Norfolk CleanTech startup WATR has secured £75k growth capital from business angels with Anglia Capital Group.
Co-founders Glyn Cotton and Dan Jones are committed to using WATR’s technology to improve water conditions across the globe. Their long-term ambition is
for WATR to become the early warning system for water quality globally and to have units in every country in the world by 2024.
Water is the most valuable resource on the planet. With the environment and climate at the top of many agendas, especially since the recent COP26 summit,
WATR chimed with Anglia Capital and its partners at New Anglia Capital to secure the seed cash.
Hannah Smith, investment director at Anglia Capital Group, said: “When WATR pitched to our members they were immediately impressed by the mission to
improve water conditions around the world.
“Businesses with a focus on sustainability are increasingly seeing success in gaining early-stage funding as more of our members seek to invest in companies
which are having a positive impact on the environment.”
Based in one of Norfolk’s technology hubs, the Hethel Engineering Centre (run by Hethel Innovation), the team at WATR have developed a product which can
provide the customer with a live time data feed to an app or dashboard so they may observe parameters such as water temperature, ORP, dissolved oxygen, pH,
conductivity and chlorophyll amongst others.
WATR is now gaining recognition across the industry and has recently been selected as double finalists in the “World changing ideas” and “On the rise categories”
in the Fast Company’s 2021 awards.
Glyn Cotton said: “WATR has had an extremely exciting year. We made new product enhancements to WATR, added new accessories and opened a new market
with Soil Monitoring. We are currently working on a number of projects with different water companies, a large environmental project in Devon, as well as
working with SMEs and fisheries.
“We are now generating enquiries globally and the level of interest in the product in the last three months has been phenomenal. It’s fantastic that after four
years of intense development that we are starting to realise our mission, to improve water conditions around the globe.”
WATR recently launched a new product, TERA, which enables farmers and agriculturalists to utilise the power of real-time soil condition data to improve crop
conditions, reduce costs and create more efficient farming and agricultural solutions.
Welsh Water implement innovative cameras to survey pipes
underground
Welsh Water and API (Advanced Pipe Inspection) have announced a new innovative water camera system to investigate the condition of these supply pipes
which has already delivered several benefits to our customers, the environment and to the company. Traditionally, teams would dig trial holes to assess and
survey pipes, taking more time, greater planning, and resources. The new camera system enters the water main via existing fire hydrants and creates a live video
recording of the size and condition of the pipe, thereby avoiding digging in the road. Trystan Davies, Programme Manager for Welsh Water who created and led
the improvement initiative said:
“Innovation is critically important to overcoming current and future challenges and working collaboratively with the supply chain allows us to focus on solving
a common problem outside of the normal client – contractor relationship. Utilising the collective knowledge and experience of the group helped us learn and
develop new capabilities in an iterative fashion to make greater improvements.”
Through this new way of working there is far less disruption to Welsh Water's customers as the process is approximately three times quicker and a far smoother
method for theutility's teams. The work force will also spend less time in highways and on busy roads, making it a safer working environment. The teams have
also witnessed up to 74% savings in cost per survey and a fall in carbon costs by up to 92% per survey. However, the camera was not the only innovative outcome
of the initiative. Welsh Water teamed up with Kenton Pearce of AVK to create a world’s first see through printed 3D model of fire hydrants to allow the company
to understand how the equipment will work. Following this the cameras were able to be assessed and improved to become the latest products they are today.
KeystakeholdersfromWelshWater,API,AVKandMorrisonUtilityServicescametogetherinNovember2021todemonstrateanddisplaytheadvancedtechnology.
Jon Prout, Civil Structural Engineering Manager for Welsh Water, commented:
“A much smaller team of two people can now carry out 6 to 10 surveys a day instead of 2 to 3 through traditional methods, and even work with no traffic
management in place, which is beneficial especially within a busy area such as Aberystwyth or Newport.” Clive Webster of API said:
“The smaller cameras can enter the water main via existing fire hydrants to access 10 metres of pipe instead of 2 inches of pipe and to create a video recording
to display the pipe size, condition and the amount of sediment in the pipe.”
The group are currently working on the next phases of improvement to further reduce health and safety risks, customer disruption, environmental impact, and
cost. The project formed part of the multi-million-pound Zonal Studies investment made by the not-for-profit company to improve services to customers and
help protect the environment. Between 2020 and 2025, the company is set to invest a further £1.8 billion across the country.
Page 10

The Six Water Technology Trends For 2022, According To Idrica
AMI infrastructure, digital twins, intelligent asset management, Geographical Information Systems, 5G and Artificial Intelligence are the water technology trends
for 2022, according to Idrica. These global trends are set to bring innovative use cases to revolutionize the water industry.
In a world where data is the most valuable asset, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is fundamental given the amount of information it can produce. This
infrastructure can improve all business processes and help utilities and consumers make better decisions, because of the large numbers of sensors deployed on
them compared to other IoT systems in the industry.
Moreover, digital twins, defined as a virtual copy of the water supply system that simulates how it behaves, help to make better decisions thanks to the holistic
view they provide of the system and their ability to simulate real and fictitious scenarios. Thus, utilities can anticipate the response of the network to any
circumstance affecting operations, whether it has occurred before or not, helping them to assess different scenarios.
In recent years, leading water utilities have been building intelligent asset management into their processes. As a result of the deployment of sensors on their
infrastructure and the implementation of other technologies such as micro-metering, GIS and SCADAs, utilities have an ever-increasing volume of information
available. In this context, intelligent management integrates and organizes all this data in order to make better decisions. For this reason, the water industry
is adding this tool with the ultimate goal of maximizing efficiency, bringing significant economic and environmental benefits by reducing costs and energy
consumption.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have become an essential tool for water utilities, helping them to extract value from their data to improve their business
processes. These systems enable companies to integrate and represent an ever-increasing flow of information. In practice, any data with geospatial content can
be represented in a GIS. This enables utilities to bring together the value of the location and its information in a single tool, where it can be centrally managed,
providing essential information to guide actions and solve problems. For example, to monitor changes that water utilities make to their infrastructure.
Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence (AI) helps to provide more sustainable management of water resources. Within AI, Machine Learning (ML) has huge potential
in the industry. One of its main advantages is that it automates processes that are costly to manage manually. This improves the accuracy of the results, which
are calculated at high computational speed thanks to the infrastructure that underpins them. Thus, utilities can make better decisions because they have real-
time information about what is happening in the infrastructures. Other branches of AI, which are also being applied to water, are voice and vision recognition
systems, expert systems, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and robots.
Finally, 5G is not just another new generation of communication; instead it opens up radically new business opportunities that were not previously possible.
Water utilities globally are transforming their processes as a means to achieve greater water and energy efficiency. This journey includes securely leveraging the
value of data obtained from sensors in order to make better decisions.
Thanks to its low latency and its ability to connect millions of devices, 5G is set to become a key ally for utilities. Moreover, against a background of increased
transparency, this technology will help to liberate and democratize data, making it more accessible. The range of available technologies will benefit all water
utilities, regardless of their degree of digital transformation.
The six technologies that Idrica defines, explains and reflects on in the recently published report “Water Technology Trends 2022: redefining the utilities of the
future” are some of the must-have tools for ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
6. The digital transformation of processes is no longer an option; it is simply the road to follow in order to offer a quality service as demanded by 21st century
citizens.
Climate change and water scarcity, which already affects 40% of the population, are challenges that need to be addressed urgently. In 2022, and over the next
few years, utilities will continue to optimize their management thanks to these technology trends, among other developments. The future depends on digital
transformation. However, this should not be conceived as an end in itself, but as a way of extracting value from data and converting information into business
intelligence. This is the only way we will be able to tackle the challenges of the coming decades, Idrica concludes.
The six technologies that Idrica defines, explains and reflects on in the recently published report “Water Technology Trends 2022: redefining the utilities of the
future” are some of the must-have tools for ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
6. The digital transformation of processes is no longer an option; it is simply the road to follow in order to offer a quality service as demanded by 21st century
citizens. Climate change and water scarcity, which already affects 40% of the population, are challenges that need to be addressed urgently. In 2022, and over
the next few years, utilities will continue to optimize their management thanks to these technology trends, among other developments.
The future depends on digital transformation. However, this should not be conceived as an end in itself, but as a way of extracting value from data and converting
information into business intelligence. This is the only way we will be able to tackle the challenges of the coming decades, Idrica concludes.
Page 11

Article:
District Metered Areas:
Why accuracy actually matters?
Reducing losses across drinking water distribution systems is thankfully becoming a worldwide top priority. Translated in Non-Revenue Water, it absolutely
makes sense to recapture water being lost through leaks and not sold. Regulations are slowly implemented across the US (Water audits mandatory in some
states) and in Canada (Quebec for example). The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Water Association (IWA) published a water
audit table (figure 1) showing a detailed breakdown of a water system production/Consumption and losses.
Using accurate flowmeters for the blue section is never questioned in our industry and the same applies to apparent losses (Source, Residential, Commercial
and Industrial metering). Real losses quantification on the other hand has been approached with lower expectation, mostly due to flowmeter limitations and
industry habit.
Data repeatability naturally became one key feature with DMA (District Metered Area) monitoring MNF (Minimum Night Flow Trending) as accuracy was not
achievable with battery powered flowmeters.
Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a standard or known value whereas repeatability refers to the closeness of the agreement between the
results of successive measurements of the same measure, when carried out under the same conditions of measurement. Having a strong repeatability without
accuracy can be defended when managing a DMA with one single entry point and for MNF tracking purpose (hydraulic DMAs).
Experiences across North America have proven this model to be not sustainable for various reasons such as fire safety, water quality, distribution system
design, etc. DMAs are therefore regularly set with multiple inlets and outlets, thus creating a situation where repeatability cannot be the main choosing factor
for flowmeters. Also, new approaches such as virtual DMAs (No boundary valve closure, increase of monitoring points with flow, pressure, noise data remote
collection) require ACCURATE AND REPEATABLE flow data as a base for all the top-end analysis.
Even the most advanced algorithm/AI cannot turn weak data into a reliable and brilliant model.
Multiple flow monitoring points being a starting point when designing DMA’s (virtual or not), the next step is the flowmeter choice for flow data collection and
KPIs tracking (Minimum Night Flow, ILI, water losses/connection/day, etc.).
Historically, our industry associates DMAs with either in-line magmeters or single point insertion magmeters (centre line insertion) and for a large proportion,
battery-powered devices. Using existing vaults is always preferred as a way to lower the overall set-up cost.
If one conducts a broad market survey of in-line magmeters, a few key points will naturally appear:
• High cost of installation (Unnecessary interruption of supply)
• No indication of accuracy on low velocities (Night flow hydraulic conditions)
• No indication of lowest stable velocity detectable
• Need to reduce the pipe size to increase the velocity and somehow overcome the two previous points. Thus, creating higher pressure
head loss and consequently increasing the amount of energy needed to supply water throughout the network (rise in CO2 emission for
pumped systems)
As mentioned previously, a large proportion of DMA flow monitoring applications require self-contained devices. This market expectation (long battery life)
comes with a drawback which is rarely raised during the flowmeter selection: How often are measurement taken in order to maintain several years of battery
life? The answer is definitely not real time. Having a slow sampling rate automatically impacts the flowmeter accuracy, stability, repeatability and also, its ability
to catch rapid flow changes.
Figure 1: IWA/AWWA Water Audit Method: Water Balance
Page 12

Single point insertion magmeters have one similarity with in-line magmeters which is the use of two electrodes to measure the flow. With the in-line mag, the
water is going through a tube and the electrodes are embedded within the wall at specific locations (9 and 3 o’clock). As for the single point insertion magmeter,
the sensor is inserted inside the pipe and the electrodes are positioned to be in the centre line. It is worth noting that another type of installation (called 1/8th)
is possible and mostly used for larger pipe when the centre line cannot be reached safely (high velocities, probe too short) but with a high degree of inaccuracy.
Manufacturers follow the ISO norm 7145-1982 (BS1042 section 2.2) and all state the fact that a fully developed velocity profile (figure 2) is needed to meet the
accuracy, repeatability and stability claims.
Based on the hypothesis that the site velocity profile meets the previous requirement, the sensor will measure the maximum velocity (centre line) and apply
an insertion factor (blockage factor depending on probe size), a profile factor (value between 0.85 and 0.875) to calculate the average velocity, then used in the
end to determine the flow rate (calibration and linearization applied to flow value).
If we now consider all of the above in a real-life distribution system, we then have a fair number of assumptions to make in order to confidently use flow data
coming from a single point insertion magmeter:
• My profile is fully developed. Unlikely in most applications (upstream straight distance not respected, old metallic pipe with corrosion,
profile distorted…)
• Performing a full velocity profile should help. Maybe. Again, two more assumptions must be made:
1. Velocity won’t change during the process
2. Profile remains the same at all times, which is not true in almost all water applications
• Sensor is correctly installed in the centre line. Possibility for error if installation procedure is not followed precisely
All the previous points tend to demonstrate that having a plastic or a smooth pipe with very long straight distance is one of the only situations which can provide
a fully developed symmetrical profile. It also shows that several critical milestones must be met on-site (similar to laboratory hydraulic test rig) to guarantee
proper hydraulic conditions.
As in-line magmeters, battery powered single point insertion meters sample at best every 30 seconds to guarantee a decent battery life. Due to the location of
the electrodes, they tend to measure lower velocity (some Manufacturers have claims down to ± 2 cm/s or ± 0.065 ft/s) but what about the accuracy and stability
at low flows.
In refence to ISO norm 7145-1982, accuracy is commonly shown as ±2% of the reading value or ± 2mm/s (± 0.0065 ft/s) whichever is the greater. So, what does
it really mean?
• Manufacturers can decide how they display their sensor’s accuracy
• By doing the math, 10 cm/s or 0.32 ft/s appears to be the trigger point where ± 2mm/s or ± 0.0065 ft/s becomes more favourable
• At 5 cm/s or 0.16 ft/s, accuracy is ± 4% with high instability
• At 2 cm/s or 0.065 ft/s, accuracy is ±10% with high instability
Those accuracies are based on velocity and get much worse if we look at flowrates especially for single point meters due to velocity profile distortions at low
velocities.
To summarize: Choosing the right DMA flowmeter is critical to the data quality and reliability for future analysis and processing.

FLOW-TRONIC’s Equal Area Multi-Point Insertion flowmeter has technical features that is fit for any flow application across a water system (bulk meter, custody
transfer, DMA, etc). They have expended tremendous effort in conducting tests and research to find the best way to build and calibrate their electromagnetic
Figure 2: Velocity profiles
Page 13

averaging insertion sensor TORPEE-MAG.
• Multi-point velocity sensing electrodes located at Equal Area of flow (Only researched and validated positioning)
• Electrodes number and positioning facilitate installation in most pipe layout for optimum results
• Accurate distorted flow profile measurement by positioning the sensor in plane with the distortion
• Full traverse makes sensor positioning error impossible, eliminating the human error aspect of any install
• No site calibration (Velocity profiling) required
• Graphite electrodes for high stability at low flows (METAS tested. Results available on request)
• Bi-directional sensor with same accuracy both directions (Accredited hydraulic laboratory tested. Results available on request)
• ± 0.5% of Reading Value ± zero stability from 0.25 m/s or 0.82 fts to 6 m/s or 19.68 ft/s
• ± 0.8% of Reading Value ± zero stability from 0.02 m/s or 0.065 ft/s to 0.25 m/s or 0.82 ft/s
• IP68/NEMA 6P sensor which can be permanently submerged under 10 m (32.8 ft) of water and transmitter (tested to 10 m or 32.8 ft of water
during 10 days)
• 2 seconds default sampling with 3-year battery life – Site replaceable with off-the-shelf alkaline batteries
FLOW-TRONIC S.A. believes that their customers deserve the best flow sensors delivering trustful and accurate flow data. Their rugged, solid-state TORPEE-MAG
averaging insertion electromagnetic flow sensors with electrodes placed at Equal Area and sensing electrodes pairs calibrated individually, are made for those
accurate and reliable flow measurements.
Figure 3: TORPEE-MAG measured areas
About the Author
Vincent Favre is the North America sales manager for Flow-Tronic S.A. He is an Experienced Director with a demonstrated
historyofworkingintheenvironmentalservicesindustry.HeisskilledinWaterconservation,ManagingDistributionChannels,
Sustainability, Engineering, and Water Quality. He has as a strong background as a sales professional with a Master's degree
focused in Environmental Biology from University of Lyon .
Flow-Tronic is a Belgian company established in 1989 and located in Welkenraedt. With thousands of customers using
its devices around the world, the company is internationally recognized as the leading distributor and manufacturer of
innovative and accurate liquids flow measuring instrumentation for both open channel and full pipe applications.
Flow-Tronic has a large network of specially trained flow experts and representatives for consultancy, installation & after
sales. Its activity is to provide flow metering services, supply rental flowmeters and provide repair and calibration of all
equipment sold.
Page 14

Sensing in
Wastewater Based Epidemiology
9 March 2022
Webinar
Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used hugely within the Coronavirus pandemic to
give forewarning of outbreaks and in public health engineering. As the world adjusts to a new
normal there is a need for continued vigilance in regard to the “next variant” or the “next
pandemic.” This is the role that wastewater-based epidemiology holds in the future.
In this webinar of Sensing in wastewater-based epidemiology we look at the importance of the
surveillance technique and how we can use modern sensing technology to act as a method of
forewarning for the next potential public health crisis.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Chair: Oliver Grievson, Z Tech Control Systems
13:00 Introduction by the Chairman. Oliver Grievson, Z Tech Control Systems
13:10 The importance of wastewater-based epidemiology in public health monitoring. Matthew Wade, Josh
Bunce & Andrew Zealand UK Health Security Agency
13:30 Origami-paper sensors for rapid and on-site wastewater surveillance. Zhugen Yang, Cranfield
University
13:50 COVID-19 and Beyond: Emerging Technologies for WBE. Helena Steeves, Luminultra
14:15 The use of analytics in wastewater-based epidemiology to assist public health decision making. Jacobo
Illueca, Idrica
14:40 Enhancing near-source sewage surveillance with population dynamics. Chris Sweetapple, University
of Exeter
15:05 One-Step SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Testing-“A Danaher Collaboration Solves Key Challenges faced with
Wastewater Based Epidemiology (WBE).” Jim Harbridge - Hach
15:40 Discussion
16:00 Close
REGISTRATION: The rate for SWIG Member is £31, non members registration is £65 and for students, £26 unless their institution has SWIG
membership. Registrations can be made by Tel 01934 830658 or to rosa.richards@swig.org.uk or using the on-line booking form.
Cancellation policy: Refunds can only be made if cancellations are notified at least 5 days in advance of the Workshop date.
Page 15

Opinion:
Understanding The Impact
Of Smart Water
Growing urban populations, aging infrastructure, rising customer expectations, limited budgets, and climate change are increasingly putting a strain on water
and wastewater utility management. While global water utilities have long operated SCADA systems and GIS to monitor critical functions across their network,
the use of Big Data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning are now becoming more widespread. To appreciate the impact of these solutions,
one must first identify some of the main challenges involved in water and wastewater network monitoring, as well as the benefits of real-time, proactive versus
traditional, reactive approaches. This impact is intertwined by economic, social, and environmental dimensions, which are best enabled through industry
collaboration.
On The Water Side
A key role for any water utility is to effectively measure its customers’ consumption patterns. Traditional water metering systems must be manually read, and
customer water usage volume is only recorded on a periodic basis. In contrast, smart meter devices connect a conventional water meter to an online data logger
enabling continuous monitoring of water consumption. Smart meters also identify leaks so that customers can act quickly to save water, which otherwise might
not be identified for several months. Through AI, virtual agents and chatbots can now fully automate customer service.
Water loss from aging, leaky infrastructure is a major contributing factor to water stress. It is estimated that 30 percent of all global drinking water is lost to
“non-revenue water” (NRW). The most widely deployed leak-control strategies involve regular network sweeps by field detection teams using such methods as
noise logging and step-testing. However, these techniques can be time-consuming and costly. Advanced leak-detection solutions apply fixed network sensors or
analytic software to remotely alert system operators about various network problems, which prevents water loss, large bursts that can cause significant property
damage. Drones built with AI can even be trained to automatically identify asset defects and predict failures without interrupting operations.
Another primary challenge for water operators is obtaining a reliable assessment of water quality over time. Water quality monitoring is typically conducted by
manually collecting discrete samples sent to a laboratory for analysis, which only provide a limited snapshot of current conditions. Today, water quality sensors
have evolved from traditional lab-based sensors to “in situ” sensors capable of real-time measurement of water-quality parameters on site. These devices can
locally process and transmit the measured data, enabling decision-makers to receive data from multiple remote sensor devices in a timely manner.
On The Wastewater Side
The limited capacity of current stormwater infrastructure faces mounting pressure due to changes in urban density and unpredictable weather patterns. During
rainfall, wastewater systems can overflow when collection system capacity is exceeded, blocked, or there is a mechanical failure, which can lead to large
volumes of untreated wastewater, toxic materials, and other debris being discharged directly into nearby water bodies. Combined sewage overflows (CSOs) are
a significant source of elevated contamination in many regions of the world and are also particularly difficult to quantify and regulate due to their abrupt nature.
The past decade has witnessed significant advances and cost reduction in novel stormwater sensors, wireless communications, and data platforms such as
“wireless sensor networks” (WSNs). WSNs are ideal for low-power and low maintenance applications, making them well-suited for the monitoring of large
water systems like rivers and watersheds. AI can also now assist stormwater operators with reducing hours of CCTV pipeline inspection footage to a few minutes
through automatic analysis.
Industrial wastewater poses an even more considerable threat of environmental damage since it contains a broad range of organic and inorganic pollutants,
often in high concentrations depending on the specific industrial process. These effluents are highly variable, which can result in shock loads, toxic effects on
biological treatments, and the contamination of nearby soil and groundwater. Instead of a utility relying on infrequent, regulated site visits, technologies are now
available to indicate sewage quality parameters in real-time. For example, samples can be automatically analyzed and then sent to an authorized laboratory to
make an accurate analysis, enabling 24/7 control on suspected contaminating factories.
If you are interested in further exploring the connection between smart water innovation and its impact, we invite you to join the upcoming, SWAN 12th
Annual Conference to be held through a hybrid format May 24-26, 2022, in Washington, DC. SWAN’s flagship event will bring together senior utility managers,
technology providers, researchers, consultants, regulators, and academics at the leading global smart-water event of the year. Last year’s Conference attracted
over 650 industry professionals and 90 unique utilities from over 40 countries
Page 16

Article:
AI Water Breakthrough
Severn Trent will soon be implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate waste catchments in the UK. It’s a brave and bold solution to
combine artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to optimize a sewage network, but that is what the United Kingdom’s second-largest water
company, Severn Trent, is setting out to do after winning £2M ($2.6M USD) of funding from Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge.
Severn Trent, the water utility company for the UK Midlands region, has long recognized that the potential for fully autonomous waste catchments exists; they
just needed the means to unlock it. Severn Trent began to collaborate with fellow utilities Hafren Dyfrdwy, South West Water, Southern Water, and Thames
Water — as well as global innovators at Blackburn Starling, BT, Microsoft, Rockwell Automation, 8Power, and the University of Exeter and National Cyber
Security Centre. This collaboration of organizations recently secured funding to explore how AI can enable autonomy in waste catchments in an innovation
project which will run for three years.
The UK’s water industry and its regulators agree that climate change, population growth, urban expansion, increasing water consumption, and changing
customer behaviours mean that the industry needs solutions that are flexible and capable of adapting to what future demand will throw at them.
The motivation for this innovative research is geared toward improving the region’s customer experience and environmental well-being by reducing flooding
and pollution. The UK water sector has a legacy of suboptimal, low-tech solutions in waste catchments to minimize the risk of asset failure (which can lead
to sewage pollutions and flooding, impacting customers and the environment), reduce energy consumption and process emissions, and maximize resource
recovery.
Water companies have seen a significant increase in hydraulic sewer flooding in the last five years (over 500 percent in some cases) and the water industry
accounts for 35 percent of river pollutions. Models of population growth and climate change predict that this problem will continue to increase over the
coming years.
Between 2020-2025, population growth is projected to reach 1.39 million, with an additional 371,000 people moving into Severn Trent’s service area, an
increase of 12.1 percent from the 2015-2020 period. Other water companies will experience similar levels of increased pressure on their networks.
The UK’s national weather service predicts that over the next 50 years, the UK’s winters will become 30 percent wetter and summers will become 60 percent
drier.
Understanding the Problem
Progress has been made across the water industry in several aspects of pollution prevention. However, these have generally focused on standalone solutions
rather than holistic solutions.
Historically, water companies have developed and deployed technologies for individual challenges, such as: intelligent sewage pumping stations that utilize
controller logic to detect storm events, automatically optimizing for energy or flow; AI models to predict the likelihood and customer impact of sewage
pumping station failures or floods, allowing for proactive intervention; applications for automated sluice gates to attenuate flows, optimize storage, and calm
flow into treatment works; and low-cost IoT sewer sensors to warn of blockages before they affect customers.
Water companies have seen a significant increase on hydraulic sewer flooding in the last five years. Models of population growth and climate change predict that this problem will
increase in the future
Page 17

AI is Changing the Way the World Works
The large scale population growth and climate change is affecting customers across the UK. However, AI and machine learning present a significant opportunity
to bring these solutions together into a single autonomous catchment management solution, able to respond to the increasing demands on Severn Trent’s assets
and customers, as well as the environment.
One of the key barriers to the adoption of AI is its vulnerability to cyber threats. Proposed AI solutions are often rejected by water companies due to a lack of
confidence in the security of the system. But, with the right security in place, AI has the potential to transform the way the water sector operates.
To date, individual water companies have made inroads into the application of AI, but only for small performance improvements. To drive transformative change
and realize the benefits for stakeholders, it’s imperative to share data, best practices, and innovative solutions within the sector.
Severn Trent’s cross-sector coalition proposes to pilot an autonomous waste catchment in the island’s Midlands and Southwest regions. This will combine
emerging technologies for comprehensive testing, and create a shared blueprint that is tested, proven, and ready to be scaled across the UK.
With the blueprint, water companies would be able to:
• Minimize the risk of flooding and pollutions in real time through intelligent localized autonomous control of the catchment;
• Minimize the risk of asset failure by integrating prescriptive, condition-based maintenance of sewage pumping stations and rising mains;
• Reduce energy consumption and process emissions, and maximize resource recovery by maintaining steady-state conditions to the sewage
treatment works; and
• Protect the system from cyber threats and malicious attacks (a key barrier to the adoption of AI solutions) by developing a security wrapper
for connected Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) devices.
Over the next three years, Severn Trent and its partners will create these blueprints and integrate the appropriate sector cybersecurity requirements for the use
of AI technology on a waste or water network.
Partnership Working
Partnering with Rockwell Automation has enabled Severn Trent to leverage the company’s domain expertise gained within the Information Technology/
Operational Technology (IT/OT) layer to bring about scalable solutions for all disciplines of the water industry.
Rockwell Automation is working closely with Severn Trent and their partners, providing access and collaboration with specialist teams in the areas of network
and cyber security, AI, and machine learning applications — along with advice and support on other emerging technologies. Having provided unique solutions
within other sectors of business, many of these technologies will be transferable to the water industry.
Rockwell Automation’s specialists will work with Severn Trent to define the best vendor-agnostic technologies and solutions; leveraging the considerable
expertise gained across many different verticals to help develop a solution that delivers a real-world application.
“This application will show how the adoption of AI and machine learning, in addition to access to both real time and historical data, can deliver an intelligent
Connected Enterprise application that can be scalable and deployable within the UK water sector,” Mark Watson, water and wastewater solutions provider at
Rockwell Automation said.
In addition to access to specialist teams, Rockwell Automation is providing the software and hardware to ensure the best possible solution, in order to create a
new standard for future deployment within the sector.
Short and Long Term Benefits
The project is ambitious. In the short term, it will optimize the use of latent storage within networks, optimize the flow into sewage treatment works and develop
a security wrapper for connected devices.
The longer-term outcomes will minimize the risk of asset failure, reduce energy consumption and process emissions, facilitate sustainable growth in communities
and allow catchments across the UK to leapfrog the technology gap, resulting in fewer spills, floods, and pollution.
Page 18

Water, Wastewater & Environmental Monitoring
Telford, UK
12th - 13th October 2022
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.
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
workshops are
2
nd
February 2022 - Leakage Workshop - Virtual
9th March 2022 - Wastewater-Based Epidemiology - Virtual
SWAN Forum 12th Annual Conference
24th - 26th May 2022
The SWAN 12th Annual Conference – the leading, global smart water event of the year will take place 24-26 May 2022 in Washington,
DC at the Washington Marriott Georgetown. This year’s theme, “Connecting Innovation to Impact” will focus on the economic,
social, and environmental impact of data-driven water and wastewater solutions. Our hybrid format will enable online attendees
to live stream select sessions or view them on-demand.
WEX Global 2022
Valencia, Spain
27th - 29th June 2022 - Valencia, Spain
The WEX Global Conference. Sponsored by Idrica is currently due to take place in Valencia in Spain in March 2022. The conference
concentrates on the circular economy and smart solutions to resolve some of the global water industry's issues
Page 19
Conferences, Events,
Seminars & Studies
Conferences, Seminars & Events
2021 - 22 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.

WIPAC Monthly - January 2022

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WIPAC Monthly - January 2022