Telemetry Monitoring of A Small Water Supply

1
Telemetry Monitoring of A Small Water Supply

• Sacha D. Sánchez1, Dr. San Hwang2, Daniel
  Concepción3
• 1 Dept. of Electrical Engineering
• 2 Dept. of Civil Engineering and Surveying
• 3 Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
• University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
• October 25, 2007
• Seventh Caribbean Islands Water Resources
  Congress
• University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix, USVI

2
Contents

• Introduction of Telemetry
• PR Rural Community Water Supply
• Telemetry Monitoring of San German Filtration
  Plant
• Objectives
• System Components
• Monitoring Results
• New Drum Filtration Units
• Objectives
• System Components
• Preliminary Test Results
• Conclusions

3
Telemetry

• Telemetry systems are used to monitor and control
  a plant or equipment in industries such as
  telecommunications, water and waste control.
• Types of Telemetry
• Radio in rangeland
• Conventional phone/modem system
• Satellite system

4
Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring

• Real-time data collection and control, using
  remote telemetry, allows and operator to monitor
  hard-to-reach sites.
• Recording events using telemetry allows for more
  accurate planning and decision making.
• Real-time water quality data have many advantages
  over data collected and distributed by
  traditional means.
• Timeliness, data quality, data availability, and
  cost.

5
Status of Rural Water Supply Systems in Puerto
Rico

• Rural drinking water supply system in PR have
  experienced poor water quality and insufficient
  quantity, specially for non-PRASA communities.
• Non-PRASA systems water treatment systems
  that are not under the purview of the Puerto Rico
  Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA).
• Approximately 10 of the PR population

6
Issues and Problems in Small Systems
7
Telemetry Monitoring of Filtration Plant

• Rio Piedras Community in San German, Puerto Rico
• 65 to 70 families (approximately 240 inhabitants)
• typical small rural community

8
Objectives

• Evaluate effectiveness and performance of remote
  monitoring and telemetry systems.
• Monitor water quality of the Rio Piedras
  community.
• Monitor depth, turbidity, and specific
  conductivity at source using a sonde.
• Monitor water quality at the distribution tank
  using two sondes.
• Use collected data to analyze the conditions and
  changes in water quality at the source and
  distribution tank.
  

9
System Components

Solar Panel and Radio Tower

Source Water Quality
,

Solar Panel and Radio Tower

Distribution Water
Quality
,

Source Water Quality

and
Distribution
Tank
Water

Level
data access node



Automatic Contro
l

Valve

based on

Source Water

Dam

HFGF

SS
F

Turbidity


(830
ft)

(8
1
0
ft)

(
922 ft)

0
.52 miles

0
.
25
miles

Source Water
Quality
Sonde

0.77 miles

Distribution
Tank

Distribution
A

(8
1
0
ft)

Network

Dist
ribution Tank
Dist
ribution
Water
10
Telemetry instruments

• Intake Structure Upstream of the Dam
• YSI 6920 Sonde
• Depth, Turbidity, Temperature, Specific
  Conductivity (conductivity, salinity)
• Tower with Solar Panel and Data Node (slave
  node ) with radio antenna.

Cable to tower
11

• HFGF
• Automated control valve. This valve is set to
  automatically close whenever turbidity readings
  at the source reach a set value.

12

• Distribution Tank
• YSI 600 LS Sonde (inside the tank)
• Temperature, Depth (Water level), Specific
  conductivity (conductivity, salinity)
• YSI 6920 Sonde (effluent of tank)
• Temperature, Turbidity, Specific Conductivity
  (conductivity, salinity)

YSI 600 LS Sonde
YSI 6920 Sonde
13

• Tower with Solar Panel and Master Control Node
  (master node) with radio receiver and cellular
  communication.

14
Calibration Instruments

• 650 MDS Display/Logger
• Computer program Echo Watch for Windows
• Calibration of the sondes is checked weekly to
  maintain accurate readings.

15
On-line Monitoringwww.ysieconet.com
16
Reports and Graphs
17
Turbidity
18
New Drum Filtration Systems

• Objectives
• A low-cost method of disinfection to produce
  microbiologically safe drinking water for smaller
  rural communities

19
Drum Filters Configuration

• Lead Filter
• 55-gallon steel drum filled with a fine sand
  supported by coarser sand with downward through
  the filter.
• Lag Filter
• 55-gallon steel drum filled with a greater depth
  of finer sand filter material supported by two
  layer of coarse sand.
• Tablet Chlorinator

20
Preliminary Test Results
86 reduction
0.8 NTU

• As of January 1, 2002, turbidity may never exceed
  1 NTU, and must not exceed 0.3 NTU in 95 of
  daily samples in any month.

21
85 reduction

• Cryptosporidium (as of1/1/02 for systems serving
  gt10,000 and 1/14/05 for systems serving lt10,000)
  99 removal.
• Giardia lamblia 99.9 removal/inactivation

22
70 reduction
23
gt99 reduction
300

• HPC No more than 500 bacterial colonies per
  milliliter.
• HPC has no health effects it is an analytic
  method used to measure the variety of bacteria
  that are common in water.
• The lower the concentration of bacteria in
  drinking water, the better maintained the water
  system is.

24
Conclusions

• Solution to the problem of filtration for those
  small rural communities receiving water from
  surface sources in P.R.
• Effectiveness and performance of remote telemetry
  systems demonstrate.
• It is feasible to operate a small water treatment
  plant remotely, but it does not mean it is
  hands free
• Necessary to have local community educated and
  involved
• Developing of innovative drinking water treatment
  technologies that are easily implemented.
• Existing filtration plant
• Smaller size drum filtration units

25
Acknowledgments

• US Environmental Protection Agency
• Shaw Environmental Group, Inc.
• Dr. Ivonne Santiago