Deciphering River Flow Data to Determine River Properties

The advanced monitoring of water quality and performing a real time hazard analysis prior to entering Water Treatment Works (WTW) is very much a necessity nowadays in order to give warning of any contamination and avoid downtime of the WTW. Ultrasonic flow sensors are considered to be the most stable and reliable sensors to be used within the water and wastewater industry, as they are not easily affected by the weather conditions of the rivers’ varying temperatures. Two case studies were looked at from two UK Rivers; one being the River Derwent in the East Midlands, Derbyshire, and the other being the River Severn in the West Midlands, Gloucestershire. Correlations between the flow rates of each river and the turbidity rates at a Water Treatment Works (WTW) near the gauging stations on the rivers were established. The river flow rates were then used to estimate the turbidity levels in the rivers prior to entering the WTW. The results showed that correlations existed between the rivers flow rates and its properties such as turbidity, colour and conductivity. The case studies highlighted the need for a new, intelligent and smart non-invasive type of measurement device to be introduced to enable the WTW to operate with optimum performance.