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Uniform registration of failures in wastewater systems–experiences from pilot projects
Abstract
Although the majority of management authorities for wastewater systems has automatic systems for failure reporting, the reports are not uniform. Often they consist of a combination of real failures and interpreted operational data. Moreover, operational data are generally registered at a too low frequency. In order to enhance systematic process analysis, STOWA and the RIONED foundation have launched a uniform registration format, defining failures and operational data. At the moment, this format is being tested in three pilot projects for a period of one year. In these pilots different aspects of the implementation of the format are assessed, including availability of data, required changes of telemetry, added value of data. The results show that the required data is, or can easily be, registered in state of the art SCADA systems. However, extracting data for further analysis is not always possible. A first analysis shows that the level of pump failures varies between water authorities and between objects and that emergency stops of pumping stations due to operational problems at a downstream wwtp can occur even more frequently than pump failures. This indicates that the actual performance of wastewater systems may significantly deviate from the design level of performance.
... Centrifugal submersible pump Radial Sewage pumps 1 to 10 kW 1,120,000 Radial Sewage pumps >10 to 25 progressive cavity and Archimedes' screw, can handle sludge with more than 2% solids as well as sludge and sewage [2,3,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. Sewage pumps play an important role in wastewater collection and treatment because they have been among the main electromechanical equipment of these facilities around Europe for over 30 years [1][2][3][4][6][7][8][9]12]. Their operational life is around 15-20 years and thus a significant number of them are non-functional any more [2,7-10,13-16]. ...
... Sewage pumps play an important role in wastewater collection and treatment because they have been among the main electromechanical equipment of these facilities around Europe for over 30 years [1][2][3][4][6][7][8][9]12]. Their operational life is around 15-20 years and thus a significant number of them are non-functional any more [2,[7][8][9][10][13][14][15][16]. ...
... Another important consideration is that the life expectancy of sewage pumps (around 15 years, even if their maintenance, repair procedures and operation during these years follow the manufacturer directives, precautions and limitations) could be extended, with the ultimate result that a relatively small number of pumps will reach their end of life [3,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]23]. Many of these facilities have been in operation for more than 15 years in Greece and around the EU, resulting in an increased number of sewage pumps becoming non-functional. ...
Sewage pumps have been among the main electromechanical equipment of the sewage and wastewater management facilities around Europe for over 30 years. Their operational life ranges between 15 and 20 years. Therefore, a significant proportion of that equipment is currently non-operational, and many of them must be disposed of in the forthcoming years. Although the “Waste electrical and electronic equipment” Directive (2012/19/EU) is the main related legislation, sewage pumps are not directly addressed. EcoDesign Legislation is the main legislation applicable on such cases. This work investigates the possibilities of recycling sewage pumps used in wastewater management facilities after their renovation or upgrade. Evaluation results indicate that there is high potential for material recovery and for significant economic benefit. Therefore, the recovery of materials and safe handling of non-operating industrial and possibly hazardous electrical equipment waste, could contribute to the minimization of their impact on the environment.
... Registration of failure data is very important aspect too. In the paper of Korving and Langeveld [57], the uniform registration of failures was performed. This method enables cooperation of the different management authorities on the level of daily operations. ...
The aim of the present work was the modeling of the wastewater treatment plant operation work using Monte Carlo method and different random variables probability distributions modeling. The analysis includes the following pollutants indicators; BOD 5 (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD Cr (Chemical Oxygen Demand), Total Suspended Solids (SS t), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Total Phosphorus (TP). The Anderson-Darling (A-D) test was used for the assessment of theoretical and empirical distributions compatibility. The selection of the best-fitting statistical distributions was performed using peak-weighted root mean square (PWRMSE) parameter. Based on the performed calculations, it was stated that pollutants indicators in treated sewage were characterized by a significant variability. Obtained results indicate that the best-fitting pollutants indicators statistical distribution is Gauss Mixed Model (GMM) function. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation method confirmed that some problems related to the organic and biogenic pollutants reduction may be observed in the Wastewater Treatment Plant, in Jaworzno.
Sewage pumping stations represent an element of the sewer system, which is directly responsible for affecting serviceability; i.e., failing pumps may result in combined sewer overflows or flooding. However, failures of sewage pumps are not yet incorporated in sewer assessments due to lack of data. This paper presents the analysis of pump failure data provided by two sewer management authorities in The Netherlands. Pump failures have been studied accounting for the nature of the failures, the operation and maintenance procedures of the management authority, the aging of the pumps, and the changes in the environment of pumps. The analysis shows that sewage pumps fail relatively often due to the composition of sewage and the discontinuous operation of the pumps. The interarrival time and the duration of failures are highly variable and independent of the specific function of the pump. Resulting pump failure characteristics are applied in a Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the impact of failures on combined sewer overflow volumes. The results indicate that the serviceability of sewer systems is significantly affected by failing pumps. Therefore, including pump availability in sewer system assessments should be considered.
Sewer and storm water systems in cities worldwide suffer from insufficient capacity, construction failures and pipe deterioration. The consequences are structural damage and local floods leading to inflow of water into basements, traffic disturbances, street and surface erosion, and pollution of local receiving waters. This is the background for a project in the 5th Framework Programme in EU, Computer Aided Rehabilitation of Sewers and Storm water networks (CARE-S). The project objective is to establish a rational framework for sewer network rehabilitation decision-making. CARE-S is aimed to improve the structural and functional reliability of the wastewater networks (risk of in- and exfiltration, collapse and blockage due to pipe deterioration, hydraulic overloading resulting in flooding and/or receiving water pollution). This is combined with the analysis and, where necessary, upgrading of the network capacity to take care of runoff from rainstorms and snow melt in urban areas. The ultimate product will be a Decision Support System (DSS) that will enable municipal engineers to establish and maintain effective management of their sewer networks. In other words: Rehabilitate the right sewer at the right time by using the right rehabilitation technique at a minimum total cost, before serious failures occur (pro-active approach).
The municipality of Arnhem has set up a monitoring program to investigate water quality in storm sewers as well as the efficiency of several end-of-pipe solutions for stormwater treatment. Four pilot installations have been set up: a sandfilter, a lamella-separator, a soil filter and a helophyte filter. Flow rates and water levels are real-time measured. The obtained data are tested on reliability, accuracy and completeness by automated tests. Logical and statistical tests are used. During the project the necessity of data validation was proved. The detected problems appeared to be divers. Heavy noise in flow data was distinguished with a check on autocorrelations. The total measured volume was largely distorted by the noise. Multiple errors in data logger software, causing faulty flow data, were discovered. Suspicious data were sometimes caused by unexpected disturbance of the conditions. Data validation must regularly take place from the very beginning of a monitoring project to be alert on any of such disturbances.
The aim of this paper is to present current work to develop a system of performance indicators (PI) for wastewater services undertaken under the auspices of IWA and coordinated by LNEC. Present day wastewater utilities manage their services and systems in an increasingly demanding and complex way. For this reason, it is important to support their work and decision processes with the best available tools in order to deliver services with the most effective and efficient performance. The paper focuses on proposed performance indicators (PIs) for wastewater services and on the main aspects of PI assessment. These are based on data related to: environmental, operational, personnel, physical, quality of service and economic and financial performance. Data are mostly made available through the various common-use information systems in the utilities. This IWA forum has been important not only for the dissemination of the work already developed but also as promotion of a wider discussion to enhance the final draft version of the IWA Manual of Best Practice due for publication in 2003.
The Manual of Best Practice Performance Indicators for Wastewater Services provides guidelines for the establishment of a management tool for wastewater utilities based on the use of performance indicators.
The publication comprises the text and a CD-ROM with the SIGMA Lite WW software, developed by Instituto Tecnologico del Agua (ITA), Valencia Polytechnic University, Spain.
The focus is on those performance indicators considered to be the most relevant for the majority of wastewater utilities, to be used routinely at management level and potentially for metric benchmarking practices.
A set of three comprehensive appendices includes a glossary of technical terms, specifications of each parameter required to assess the performance indicators and an introduction to the software with tips for use and an example of application.
This product will be an invaluable reference source for all those concerned with managing the performance of wastewater services including customer groups, utility managers and policy-makers, regulators and other stakeholders.
With increasing global privatisation of water service provision and interest in sustainability, the challenge in setting appropriate measures and targets for performance of both service providers and assets is crucial. The business and regulatory context within which the UK water service providers (WSPs) operate is complex. In the UK performance comparisons for a range of service and other attributes are made by the Regulators. In addition other performance measurement frameworks and indicators, especially in the area of environmental sustainability, have been proposed by bodies external to the WSPs. The emergence of interest in asset serviceability is adding to the complexity of performance measurement and comparison and creates tension between short-run demands of customers and longer-term requirements for sustainability.
Uniform registration of failures in wastewater systems (SUF-SAS)
- H Korving
- J G Langeveld
- A J Palsma
- A S Beenen
Korving H., Langeveld J.G., Palsma A.J. and Beenen A.S. (2007). Uniform registration of failures in wastewater
systems (SUF-SAS). In: Proceedings of NOVATECH 2007, June 2007, Lyon, France., pp. 957-964.