Data Analysis Tools for Portable Flow Monitoring

The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati developed a system wide hydraulic model during 2000 and 2003. The flow-monitoring concept for this System Wide Model divided the 400 square mile sewers area into two parts. Each part had approximately 150 monitors for a four or five month period providing concurrent data from all related sewersheds. The first period ran from February 2001 – June 2001, the second from February 2002 – May 2002. The project goal was to have all monitors is place and operational before the start of the monitoring period. Concurrent data provided consistent analysis during the production of the hydraulic model, but required that the loss of data from any monitor he minimized. Monitors not operating properly had to be identified quickly and restored to working order. During the course of the project scenarios were identified which appeared to be a monitor requiring replacement, but were later determined to be hydraulic conditions mimicking a problem. Costly replacements can be avoided by correctly identifying these conditions.Four tools are used to analyze flow-monitoring data and assess the performance of the monitor, the hydrograph, the time series of level and velocity, the scattergraph, and photographs of hydraulic conditions. These tools, which allow the engineer to analyze the flow, are demonstrated for the following conditions. Examples for each condition are provided in Appendix A