Smart Monitoring Solutions from Badger Meter for Safe Water

Source water contaminants will vary by region and location. Some common sources include industry and agriculture runoff, fertilisers or soil. The monitoring of incoming water to support appropriate treatment protocols are followed at the entry into a drinking water treatment facility is where process control and optimisation begins. Intake protection sets the stage for efficiency down the line. 

Continuous water quality monitoring of your source water is important as it helps you compile data on the typical water conditions entering your treatment facility. Having accurate data helps you maintain control of chemical dosing in the treatment process, ultimately helping you meet regulations and maintain compliance. Furthermore, continuous monitoring allows treatment facilities to set up contamination or event detection alarms. Implementing a solution that uses spectral, or pattern alarms will help you measure any changes to standard parameters, as well as empower you to react much faster to negative events that may disrupt your treatment process.

Parameters to Monitor During Intake

Turbidity, organics (such as TOC; DOC), pH, ammonia and conductivity are the main parameters utilities monitor for at this stage, but there can be other requirements on additional parameters, all depending on the intake water quality. Some utilities may even be monitoring for UV254—the measurement of organic matter present in raw water. 

In the instance of an Italian water utility, nitrate contamination was a recurring issue for drinking water operations. The fertiliser used in the largely agricultural area sometimes caused nitrate levels in the groundwater to exceed the 50 mg/L limit set by Council Directive 91/676/EEC, which regulates pollution from agricultural sources. To keep a close eye on nitrate levels, the utility evaluated several water quality monitoring tools before selecting and installing a long-term system that would track nitrate (NO3), chlorine dioxide and temperature levels continuously. 

The final setup includes several products from the BlueEdge™ suite of solutions, including the spectro::lyser V3 probe for nitrate measurement and the chlodi::lyser sensor for monitoring chlorine dioxide. Both connect to a con::cube V3 IoT control unit, which can monitor up to 64 parameters for comprehensive online water analysis. 

The monitoring system provides continuous, 24-hour oversight of water quality, making it easy to react when nitrate levels rise. High-frequency measurements deliver precise, real-time insights, while automatic brush cleaning minimises maintenance and reduces operating costs over the life of the units. The water utility can use this accurate data to act quickly to prevent contamination of the water supply to keep the drinking water safe for the communities it serves.

Real-Time Reporting

Badger Meter water quality instrumentation uses optical sensors to record and track data. This data is used to build algorithms to make sure events and contaminations are seen as quickly as possible; sometimes within 10-20 seconds. The sensors continuously issue alerts when something goes wrong. Badger Meter spectrometer probes provide an optical UV-Vis spectrum over a wide range, effectively “fingerprinting” the water quality data. If this fingerprint is changing, it's a clear signal that something has affected the quality of the water. 

With real-time online water quality monitoring, Badger Meter helps drinking water treatment operators gain transparency for water quality and over time begin to see a shift from being reactive to proactive and that is when efficiency is realised. All data is sent seamlessly to SCADA allowing for remote access and optimal process control. Even when water quality conditions are changing rapidly, real-time monitoring and reporting allows utilities to see these events and address them early, without interruption of service for their constituents. 

Confidently Deliver Clean Drinking Water with BlueEdge Solutions

Drinking water treatment facilities have the critical job of producing a safe supply of high-quality drinking water. Complex operational processes demand the highest flow meter accuracy and reliability, as well as long-term stability and a low cost of ownership. BlueEdge unifies Badger Meter products, software and services to help customers orchestrate end-to-end solutions to address water challenges. Water treatment solutions from Badger Meter meet the challenge of increasing compliance levels, assisting utility customers with real time water quality data, protecting treatment assets and providing opportunities for process optimisation using analytics. Discover more at badgermeter.com/optimisation or connect with an expert October 7-10 at Pollutec Lyon.