Cost-effective remote monitoring system for wastewater pumping stations

July 9, 2020 11:47 am

Kuldiga is a town in Western Latvia. It is the centre of Kuldiga municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldiga was first mentioned in 1242. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1368.

The problem
KuldigasUdens SIA is a company which is responsible for local wastewater treatment. Wastewater treatment is a sophisticated procedure and sometimes requires a complex system. The newest system at KuldigasUdens SIA must ensure a steady flow from the main pumping station to the sewage treatment plant in order not to destroy any bacteria, and full and reliable monitoring is a critical point.

In 2010, local authorities decided to upgrade the existing main wastewater pumping station with a remote monitoring system. Furthermore, newly built wastewater stations should also be equipped with such a solution.

The customer, KuldigasUdens SIA, looked for a simple and cost-effective monitoring system. The technical director, Agris Alkšnuzars, already had some experience with the previously set-up system, but he was not satisfied with the service provided by the company which had installed this system. Grundfos took this opportunity and presented Grundfos Remote Management (GRM), which fully convinced Agris Alkšnuzars and his team with its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

The solution
The existing system included an operation of three wastewater pumps on the basis of a constant level in the intake well. For achieving this, these pumps were equipped with one frequency converter and controller, which enabled alternating operation every 24 hours and a possible operation of all three pumps, if needed. This solution was very complex and caused a lot of problems.

Grundfos offered a replacement of the existing controller for the three main sewage pumps by Grundfos Dedicated Controls with integrated GRM module CIM 270 for data monitoring. At stage one, Grundfos’ solution offers frequency converters for each pump instead of one frequency converter for three pumps, resulting in easy operation by Grundfos Dedicated Controls.

Unfortunately, the installed controller was not able to support this idea, so it was decided to connect only one frequency converter, which controlled only one wastewater pump whereas the second pump was kept in reserve and the third pump switched off due to low flow rate. This solution did not include alternating operation.

At the end of 2010, Grundfos and KuldigasUdens SIA entered the second stage of this project. The plan included also equipping the second pump with a frequency converter and to upgrade the existing Dedicated Controls with a new version.

So the technical director AgrisAlkšnuzars was able to operate with many frequency converters. Also, stage three was entered at the end of 2010. At this stage, it was decided to equip three new wastewater pumping stations with Grundfos SEV pumps, Dedicated Controls and CIM 270 modules and two new plants with Grundfos SLV-E AutoAdapt CIU 271 pumps and modules. All stations were connected to the Grundfos Grundfos Remote Management (GRM) system.

The outcome
The installed system (Grundfos Dedicated Controls and Grundfos GRM) provides a safe and secure solution. The customer’s main request — getting an overview of operation processes of the wastewater treatment plant from its offices — was completely fulfilled. Thanks to Grundfos GRM, KuldigasUdens SIA gets information about the operation conditions via email and SMS.

AndrisKlavins, Kuldiga’s water director, states, “Grundfos GRM solution has proven its efficiency and safe operation. The decision to install Grundfos GRM system at our plants is — to some extent — based on the simplicity of the system and our previous relations with the Grundfos company. Besides, we see perspective for Grundfos GRM to be used with other pumps, pump systems which are under our supervision.”

Grundfos Remote Management (GRM)
With this secure and reliable remote management system, you can monitor and manage your pump systems from an Internet PC at a very low price. Grundfos Remote Management is a cost-effective and straightforward way to monitor and manage pump installations in commercial buildings and in water supply and wastewater infrastructure. It reduces the need for onsite inspections, and in the event of an alarm or warning, the relevant people are notified directly. Compared to mobile phone-based monitoring, the system offers a wider range of benefits and functionalities. For those who do not require remote process automation, Grundfos Remote Management is the ideal solution for monitoring and remote control as opposed to traditional SCADA systems.

Initial investment is minimal, and a fixed low fee covers data traffic, hosting costs and system support, including back-up of all data.

The CIU271 communication interface enables data transmission via GPRS/SMS from your Grundfos pumps and controllers. The built-in multi-purpose I/O board allows you to connect sensors and switches.

For more information, visit: www.grundfos.in