PreView Camera: Visual Wastewater Monitoring
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is utilizing TREKK PreView cameras as part of its MSD Project Clear initiative. Project Clear is a long term effort to improve water quality and alleviate wastewater concerns in the St. Louis region.
The District asked TREKK to help identify sources of infiltration and inflow (I/I), which were contributing to excess wet weather flow at various pump stations. In addition to traditional methods like smoke and dyed water testing, TREKK recommended using the PreView camera to provide supplemental visual verification monitoring prior to smoke testing. The PreView camera provided a cost-effective solution to quickly break down the study areas, reducing time and effort. We temporarily installed cameras in manholes to assess conditions during rain events, and then moved to new locations to further pin point I/I sources. The camera was not intended to replace smoke testing and dye testing, but rather provide a focused effort to supplement the smoke and dye testing results.
To date, TREKK has installed PreView cameras in nearly 30 manholes and taken more than 400,000 images. The PreView camera has recorded I/I from cross connections, separated pipe joints, leaking pipe seals, rim defects and other structural defects. These images are uploaded to TREKK’s Waterspout dashboard where the District can monitor the camera data in real time. The Waterspout platform includes a time-lapse feature to watch videos during a specific time period, such as a rain event. The camera time-lapse interval is adjustable and can be triggered by an external device, such as a float or other level sensor. Utilizing an external sensor reduces the amount of dry weather data and provides alarming for wet weather events.
Besides I/I investigation, the camera can be used for monitoring contamination, detecting sources of debris, verifying sensor data from other devices such as flow meters, and other visual applications. While the main purpose for this project is to help detect sources of I/I, the camera also provided insight during dry weather. This helped establish both a baseline for dry weather flow and catch potential contamination by observing flow color and debris. The PreView camera has become an invaluable tool for the District and will continue to play an important role in its sewer and stormwater surveillance.
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Wastewater
Stormwater
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