The benefits of improved wastewater network management can be grouped into the following three categories:

 

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Customer Benefits

 

The clear benefits to the customer lay in limiting the potential of flooding of customer properties whether it be internal (inside the property) or external (gardens etc.). A Smart Wastewater Network can help to detect potential risk areas of blockage by using a combination of data on sewer levels and network modelling can do this more efficiently. At a more local level customer flood alarms are being used where risk factors are high warning the customer and water company where a customer is at risk.

 

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Environmental Benefits

 

The benefits to the environment are in limiting discharges through storm overflows and increasing the environmental quality by utilising the maximum capacity of the sewers at any one time depending upon the underlying environmental conditions. The use of instrumentation in the network can also warn of problems related to sewer misuse (blockage) or asset condition (infiltration) which can warn of potential areas of problems. 

 

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Operational Benefits

 

The benefits to the operator are in managing sewage flows through the collection network, allowing a greater level of operational efficiency by limiting sewer blockage by early detection, limiting pump blockage by the management of sewer debris and by easier detection of infiltration into the network. Smart wastewater network management can also be used to increase treatment efficiency by balancing flows throughout the process, depending upon underlying environmental conditions, and ensuring flows through the process are within permitted conditions at all times. Depending upon the capacity that is available, this can limit the requirements for additional temporary flow storage facilities.