Innovative Systems for Improving Collection System Asset Management

SUMMARY Using smart technology to improve asset management has become an essential part of managing wastewater collection systems, especially for aging systems with little to no historical data. As an Investor-Owned Utility (IOU), New Jersey American Water has a mixture of wastewater systems with different topographies, sewer pipe ages, and other physical challenges. Performance data is critical to understanding both the (daily) operational and longer-term investment needs for the collection systems. New Jersey American Water started its first (pilot) deployment of sewer monitoring technology in Lakewood in June 2020, using SmartCover© satellite-based sensors. The pilot was successful in reducing the number of annual SSO events from 12 to zero, and the monitoring platform provided valuable data for estimating levels of inflow and infiltration (I&I). The sewer monitoring program was expanded over the following 2 years, and there are now over 160 units deployed across 7 wastewater systems. New Jersey American Water uses the SmartCover© monitoring platform to accelerate the evaluation of new acquisitions, including rapid identification of critical I&I targets. INTRODUCTION — A GROWING NETWORK OF WASTEWATER SYSTEMS New Jersey American Water is the largest water service provider in the state of New Jersey, serving approximately 2.8 million people in 190 communities. New Jersey American Water currently owns and/or operates 30 wastewater systems with 21 wastewater treatment plants, 85 lift stations, and over 500 miles of pipe. Over the last five years, New Jersey American Water has invested over $105 million into wastewater system assets, including wastewater mains, treatment plants and lift stations, to continue to provide reliable and environmentally sound service that complies with federal and state wastewater environmental regulations. THE CHALLENGE — IMPROVING WASTEWATER SYSTEM INTELLIGENCE In efforts to minimize health and environmental challenges, New Jersey American Water works to identify and eliminate potential weaknesses in each collection system: -Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) -Inflow (stormwater) that rapidly flows into sewer mains due to faulty drains, connections, and manhole covers -Infiltration (groundwater) that seeps into the sewer system due to aging pipelines -Aging pipelines that are blocked, cracked, or broken -Potential system power failures -Insufficient system capacity -Blockages caused by customer usage While New Jersey is the 5th smallest state, it contains 4 different physiographic regions that includes coastal plains, mountains, and regions of dense forests and small rivers. This creates a set of challenges that differ across the following 7 wastewater systems owned by New Jersey American Water: 1.Bound Brook: Total lack of historic records 2.Egg Harbor City: Older system, with flat topography with pump stations and tidal influences (high ground water table) 3.Haddonfield: Major I&I issues, suburb of an older major NJ City (Camden) 4.Lakewood: First site to deploy sewer monitoring, system suffers from high population and undersized pipes 5.Long Hill Township: Hilly terrain, no additional connections permitted (self-imposed sewer bans), and wet weather flows increase treatment needs from 1 to 4 MGD. 6.Ocean City: Older system, surrounded by water, and prone to flooding (tidal) 7.Somerville: A recent acquisition with known SSO issues and a wet weather facility being built downstream by the County THE SOLUTION: SMART SEWER MONITORING TECHNOLOGY New Jersey American Water's operations and engineering teams work collaboratively to develop comprehensive capital investment plans and preventive maintenance processes. The utility's Comprehensive Planning (CP) process is used for both new acquisitions and existing systems. The team was searching for a technology to enable targeted analysis on their sewer mains, providing real-time data and alarming to avert sanitary sewer overflows, backups, and subsequent cleanup. The technology also needed to provide valuable data for I&I analysis to make quicker, informed capital investment decisions. New Jersey American Water chose the SmartCover© platform for a pilot in its Lakewood NJ system in 2020. The monitoring units provide real-time, low-cost level/flow data, and provide real-time alarms to dispatch crews before overflows occur. This eliminates both the environmental and community impacts associated with SSOs. The technology also incorporates both National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather (doppler radar) as well as United States Geological Survey (USGS) river/stream and ocean gauges. The platform enabled New Jersey American Water to understand the impact of extreme weather events across the entire Lakewood sewer shed, enabling more efficient use of capital by focusing on high-impact I&I areas as well as undersized pipe bottlenecks. THE PROOF: PINPOINTING HOTSPOTS LEADS TO IMMEDIATE ROI Large amounts of data are collected and analyzed daily, helping New Jersey American Water pinpoint problem areas in its 7 largest sewer systems. Critical repairs and targeted investigations, e.g., smoke/dye testing, are driven by SmartCover©. The sensors are now integrated with American Water's MapCall system, enabling operations team members an easy path to alarm management and work order management for field issues. In addition to preventing SSO events and identifying problematic areas in their sewer systems, the smart sewer technology has allowed the utility to better allocate resources for system maintenance, including: -Improved visibility allows site cleaning to be performed based on real-time trends -Personnel and equipment redirected to other projects delivers gains in productivity -Continuous monitoring between cleanings enables SSO protection and risk reduction -Less time in roadways results in crew safety -Fewer cleanings reduce pipe and structural wear to extend asset life The sewer technology has allowed New Jersey American Water to perform targeted analysis on their sewers, providing real-time data and alarming to avert sanitary sewer overflows, backups, and subsequent cleanup. Most important, the units are providing valuable data for I&I analysis to make quicker, informed capital investment decisions. It is a key tool in the utility's toolkit for collection system maintenance and replacements.