United States
Small wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) frequently present significant physical challenges for instrumentation and control engineers. However, a compliant flow measurement facility has been installed at a plant in Fowey, in the south-west of England, by a partnership involving a water company, a contractor, an instrumentation provider and an inspection company.
The flow monitor at Fowey WwTW needed to be replaced as part of a capital maintenance programme which was challenging due to the constrained nature of the site. Therefore, more innovative solutions wereconsidered as an alternative to a like–for–like replacement.
Engineers from Tecker, a MEICA contractor for South West Water, therefore reviewed the available options. “The channel is in-between two aeration ditches, and there was insufficient room to extend or divert the channel,” explains Tecker Project Engineer Ben Finney. “We therefore considered repairing or replacing the flume, but an alternative suggestion was made that we contact Nivus to see if their cross-correlation flow meter might be able to deliver accurate flow measurements without the costs and problems associated with capital works.”