Online Water Monitoring Open-Day
Having the ability to constantly monitor a water source(s) for pesticides throughout the water treatment process and determine if the results are within or exceed parameters can drastically change its treatment control philosophy.
At the moment, the usual way to monitor pesticides is to take daily samples and send them to the lab for analysis.
The lag time between sampling and obtaining the result is often too long, and water treatment decisions can’t be made accurately.
Measuring more regularly means there is less of a chance that a snap change in results goes unnoticed before settling back to the norm by the time the next sample is taken.
Being able to make more measurements per day and with rapid results would give the ability to gain extra data in the same time space. The capability to understand additional and sometimes key information about what is going on in the treatment process as its happening, rather than after the event has the potential to be a very useful management tool.
Put simply, treatment is only necessary when pesticide levels exceed a trigger value. And, treatment is being wasted when levels of pesticides are low.
The actual concept of online monitoring on water treatment works is not new, but this has been previously restricted to simple determinants. Pesticides are not easy to determine.
Some online monitors struggle to detect pesticides below even the trigger exceedance levels, some are compound specific, and some have questionable comparisons with the lab results.
The solution is to use the same equipment (a high-end Mass Spectrometer) that is in operation in the lab, running 24/7, but this comes with its own issues.
- Can such a system integrate within a Water Treatment Works infrastructure easily?
- The environment needs to be as lab-like as possible – how can this be achieved?
- How is the sampling accomplished?
- How is sample preparation dealt with 24/7?
- How are the results communicated back to local control in the form of SCADA?
Anatune have been working in partnership with Agilent Technologies and JRP Ltd to deliver a collaborative solution with Affinity Water where these issues have been addressed.
To find out what we’ve been doing, please check out this article, published in ‘Water and Wastewater Treatment Online’.
Affinity Water, Anatune, Agilent and JRP will be running an online monitoring open-day on 16th March at Affinity Water Treatment Works in Hertfordshire (Potters Bar).
This will comprise a series of short presentations, detailing the philosophy behind the project, followed by a tour of the works, and the Unit, inside which houses the analyser.
f you are interested in attending, please register your FREE place now. Places are limited, and on a first-come first-served basis.