Also discussed here: Report sounds alarm on aging infrastructure(CBC News, Sep. 11, 2012)
Today, we look at an article that describes how South Bend, a city in the USA, reduced sewage overflow problems from 27 to one per year and saved $114 million, using a combination of sensors and intelligent monitoring and control, much as how traffic is managed with intelligent traffic lights, for example. This would be of interest to those cities, such as Ottawa in Canada, which is trying to reduce pollution reaching nearby rivers and streams by constructing large holding ponds at a cost of several hundred million dollars. The same approach could be used to monitor and control water leakage, another major and growing issue in cities with antique piping infrastructures.
Key Quotes:
“Traffic congestion, air pollution, crime and just general inefficiency are among a host of problems that plague growing cities and that, data suggests, actually grow at a faster rate than cities themselves”
“South Bend’s problems stem from its outdated combined sewer system that mixes rainwater and sewage in the same pipes. Heavy rains mean waste isn’t easily diverted away from the river and to the sewage treatment plant; backups occur when large streams of water hit bottlenecks in the system”
“With the sensor network and cloud software in place, the city can see in real time where problems are arising, as well as where there’s excess capacity. Armed with this information, city employees can intelligently divert sewage flows to ensure as much as possible makes its way to the treatment plant and as little as possible finds its way into people’s homes.”
“the project not only saved the city $114 million, but it also has reduced the number of sewage overflow incidents to 1 per year from 27 per year. The solution was a system that married 116 sensors … strategically dispersed throughout the 500-mile sewer system, with IBM’s cloud-based Intelligent Operations Center software. “
- “27 per cent of Ottawa's pipe infrastructure is more than 40 years old, and 50 per cent is between 20 and 40 years old.
- Fifteen per cent of the city's roads are more than 40 years old, and another 20 per cent are between 20 and 40 years old”
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