The ROI of Resiliency
In an era where climate and environmental challenges increasingly impact water systems, enhancing resilience through advanced technology is crucial. XPV Water Partners, dedicated to pioneering sustainable water solutions, supports this mission through its investments in companies aligned with this purpose.
In the case of SmartCover Systems, our collaboration underscores our commitment to transforming water management practices, focusing on reliability, efficiency, and sustainability. To increase resiliency, multiple organizations within Florida have embraced the SmartCover smart sewer technology for greater real-time network visibility, especially during storm events.
The following are examples of SmartCover’s tangible impact, exemplifying how real-time data and proactive management strategies are empowering communities to mitigate risks and optimize their infrastructure amidst challenging conditions.
Winter Haven, Florida, experiences heavy rain events that contribute to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), which damage property, harm the environment, and impact public health. Seeking to enhance their sewer intelligence with real-time visibility into their underground infrastructure, the city deployed a network of SmartCover sensors and rain monitors, including SmartCover’s advanced lift station monitoring solution. This technology provided real-time level and trend analysis in typical trouble spots, allowing the city to monitor changes in conditions as they occurred. SmartCover’s off-the-grid monitoring system revolutionized the city’s response time. Operating independently of local power grids with satellite communications, it ensured continuous visibility even during power outages. Within the first few hours of installation, the city received an alarm notification that helped avoid an SSO. A few months later, when a lift station failed due to an electrical issue, the lift station monitoring system pinpointed the exact location, enabling the city to respond within minutes and prevent an overflow. The implementation of SmartCover’s technology improved response times, reduced SSOs, and enhanced the city’s understanding of major inflow and infiltration (I&I) points in the wastewater collection system. The resilient, off-the-grid capabilities of SmartCover’s solution provided the redundancy needed to better manage and respond to unexpected events, significantly bolstering the city’s wastewater infrastructure and public health safeguards.
Panama City, Florida serves 36,000 people with 4,920 active manholes, 208 miles of gravity mains, 125 miles of force mains, and 128 lift stations conveying about 4 million gallons of wastewater daily to 2 different wastewater treatment plants. Severe inflow & infiltration (I&I) challenges first began with Hurricane Michael and were made worse by the flooding that followed Hurricane Sally. Before Michael, it would take approximately 6 inches of rain before there were impacts in operations. After both hurricanes, the I&I contribution was 1MG per plant for every inch of rain, a serious threat to operations and the performance of the collection system. A resultant Consent Order required either payment of substantial fines and penalties or an in-kind environmental improvement project. The City chose the latter, implementing SmartCover technology to help pinpoint I&I hotspots where sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) were most likely to occur. The technology, utilizing uninterruptible satellite communication and a reliable, multi-year battery, has provided the City with greater visibility and advanced notice to prepare and respond, resulting in a substantial decrease in their SSOs.
The Toho Water Authority, Florida is the largest provider of water, wastewater and reclaimed water services in Osceola County. Formed by a special act by the Florida Legislature, Toho currently serves 150,000 customers in St. Cloud, Kissimmee, Poinciana and unincorporated areas of Osceola, Polk and Orange counties. Toho initiated a proactive program to mitigate the impact of SSOs, optimize their sewer cleaning schedules, and measure effectiveness of their Capital Improvement Program to reduce I&I. This program allows Toho to meet Florida’s 62-600.705 – an inspection of 25% of the collection and transmission system every 5 years and the maintenance of a power outage contingency plan. Key to the program is deployment of SmartCover’s satellite-based smart sewer technology, which has delivered greater visibility into Toho’s collection system, early warnings for known problem areas, identification of maintenance vs. scheduled cleanings, calculation of I&I based on level and rainfall data, and the ability to trend and compare data.