Waste water network monitoring

PiP DigiSense.™ devices installed in manholes at strategic locations  in wastewater networks enable near real-time monitoring and alerting for normal flow and flood events. Monitoring of normal flows over time enables improved network  management strategies and richer modelling data for long-term investment  planning.  Event detection to provide early warning of possible flooding means council staff can allocate their limited resources to reducing the risks in the key areas of concern.

LISTEN

PiP IoT was born out of inFact’s work in the sewer networks with Christchurch City Council where the flood prone city needed an early warning system if sewerage was likely to flow into the streets.  inFact developed two products for these applications as a direct requirement set out by the cities Three Waters Division.

THINK

Developing smart IOT sensors required a high level of research and development of the ultrasound devices which detect water level at long range, antenna systems to get radio transmissions out of the deep manholes and for long term installations, a low power circuit that enables the device to sit idle for years while providing pre-set hourly, daily or event based measurements of level.  

OUTCOME

inFact chose to use a highly ruggedised overmoulding process to fully encapsulate the sensitive electronics and seal them against the aggressive corrosive H2S gases present in the sewer network.  Designing  technology for low cost manufacture and large scale deployment presented a significant challenge for the design and production teams.