Revolution In Wastewater Reticulation And Asset Management

Smart pressure sewer systems are now available on a commercial basis in New Zealand following technical development and field testing by Melbourne’s South East Water and Iota Pty Ltd. Smart pressure sewer utilises advances in information technology combined with SE Water’s experience as an asset owner and operator of pressure sewer networks to provide a robust solution to address a number of issues confronting wastewater asset owners. 

Utilisation of smart pressure sewer technology offers a paradigm shift in all aspects of wastewater reticulation and asset management, including customer interface, fault and maintenance management and complete hydraulic flow control. This includes peak flow shifting, system flushing and storage management. 

This paper will document what smart pressure sewer is and how it works. The paper will investigate the implications for asset owners in the New Zealand context, including the hydraulic benefits of the system with a particular focus on peak flow shifting and the ability to reduce peak flowrates. The benefits of reduced peak flowrates on downstream trunk transfer systems will be investigated. 

This paper will be of interest to a wide audience involved with the provision of wastewater services, accommodation of future population growth, asset management, system operations and maintenance, and design engineers.