CHENNAI: In a bid to ensure smooth and effective functioning of sewage treatment plants (STP) across the city, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water) has proposed to introduce a sentinel system (monitoring network) and IoT (Internet of things) technology to maintain the facility.
The system will provide real time data on the status of STPs, which will allow the ‘water manager’ to predict malfunctions and carry out prior maintenance. Metro Water has also proposed to integrate generative AI into the sentinel system so that it can raise alarm during deviations and suggest possible root causes.
As per a Metro Water document, the sentinel system will integrate SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems of every STP into a unified cloud-based platform. Chennai has 12 STPs at Kodungaiyur, Koyambedu, Perungudi, Nesapakkam, Sholinganallur and Tiruvottiyur with a total waste water treatment capacity of 934 MLD (million litres per day).
According to Metro Water, the sentinel system will help overcome limited centralised visibility of data and the need for manual logging in SCADA systems, which causes delays in fault response.
“The proposed sentinel system will capture and update sensor values such as flow data, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), total suspended solids (TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels, pump status and others every 10 seconds. The system will also alert the concerned officials on deviations in flow, water quality, or energy use in STPs,” a Metro Water official said.
The project will be implemented at an outlay of Rs 6 crore and Metro Water will install flow meters at STP outlets to monitor the volume of filtered water. This feature will help Metro Water increase the revenue through sale of secondary treated water to industries. Presently, the Board sells 25 MLD of secondary treated water to industries located at Manali-Minjur Corridor.