by Wayne Graham
This article was published in the fall 2024 issue of our newsletter.
This column details clever solutions that operators come up with every day at water and wastewater facilities. Below are several cases of them solving problems, saving money, and making life at their second home—the treatment plant—a little easier.
A webcam mounted in front of the flow chart at the Bethel wastewater treatment facility.
Webcams for Remote Monitoring
Many operators have installed cameras as a low-cost way to remotely monitor critical equipment. The Bethel wastewater treatment facility has a webcam pointed at a rotor drive and another at a flow meter chart. This allows the operator to remotely monitor flows during storms from their computer—that’s a cheap SCADA system! The St. Johnsbury wastewater treatment facility uses cameras to monitor a septage receiving station and their very critical screw pumps. The staff at the Newport wastewater treatment facility has been using cameras tied to their SCADA system for extra real-time monitoring.
A sight window installed on a pump station in Lyndon.
Viewing Window
Anyone operating a self-priming or vacuum-assist wastewater pump station with fiberglass hinged covers understands the dangers of opening the cover during windy or below-freezing days. Lyndon operators installed a plexiglass viewing port so they can see the controls and record hourly meter readings without opening the cover during poor weather.
Phil Laramie’s trailer-mounted crane.
Off-Road Crane
Always thinking out of the box, Phil Laramie of Laramie Water Resources set up a trailer-mounted crane that can be pulled by off-road vehicles to remove pumps and equipment valves at remote pump stations and valve pits. This has come in handy on several of his projects.
Tank Cleaning with a Sump Pump
A lot of us have below-grade chlorine contact tanks to clean. If you don’t have an already-plumbed piping/pump system, a really good 2-inch sump pump can make the job much easier. There is nothing as frustrating as dewatering a tank with a trash pump only to have it go air-bound when the job is nearly complete, especially when you can’t reprime it! I will come to your facility with my heavy-duty 2-inch sump pump to assist if you want a demo.
Cameras for Confined Spaces
In order to avoid dangerous and time-consuming confined space entries, the Burlington stormwater department uses a GoPro camera attached to a pole to inspect below-grade structures. What a great idea!