Pressure Monitoring System Provides Real-Time Results

Pressure Monitoring System Provides Real-Time Results
Intelligent Water Technology from Mueller Co.

Interested in Flow Control?

Get Flow Control articles, news and videos right in your inbox! Sign up now.

Flow Control + Get Alerts

The remote pressure monitoring system, part of the Intelligent Water Technology portfolio of products from Mueller Co., reports pressure data at customer-defined intervals via a machine-to-machine cellular-based service or a Mueller advanced metering infrastructure network. The GIS map interface can be viewed with any Web browser. Made for ease of use and installation, alerts are transmitted via SMS and/or email when user-defined settings for low- or high-pressure conditions are reached.

Designed to reduce non-revenue water, identify potential infrastructure failures related to pressure fluctuations, reduce pumping costs and improve public safety, the monitoring system includes a remote telemetry unit (RTU), adjustable top, composite valve box, sensor transducer, ball valve and service saddle. A one-year, renewable contract includes five-year minimum lithium battery and one year of cellular service.

“Some municipalities don’t recognize pressure as an issue in their system,” says Paul Gifford, director of research and development for Mueller Co. “High pressure in a system is going to increase leak rates. The more leakage you have, the more water you have to treat and pump to customers. So reducing pressure to a level that is acceptable and holding it there can maximize the efficiency of your system.”

The RTU is H-20 traffic rated, per the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, and houses the circuit board, antenna and replaceable battery. An optional lock is available.

“All of your communication hardware is accessible from the surface,” he says. “It’s also determining by GPS the location, date and time.”

The 12-inch ductile iron top inserts inside the composite polymeric valve box for field adjustability.

The sensor transducer, typically installed two per district metering area or neighborhood, captures and transmits data from the installation point to the RTU via an 11-foot cable (extensions available). The sensor transducers should be located at the low and high elevations in each zone. The standard pressure transducer is rated at 250 psi with a 300 psi option. The 300 psi-rated low-lead ball valve is manufactured in compliance with AWWA C-800 and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

“We designed it so the utility that only has 100 customers spread out down a lonely stretch of highway in Arizona can buy one and put it at the opposite end of the pipeline from their pumping station and know what’s going on in between,” Gifford says.

The monitoring system, which can be incorporated in a utility’s SCADA system, has a temperature operating range of -30 to 150 degrees F. It can be installed by direct tap into the distribution main or into an existing valve box. 800/423-1323; www.muellercompany.com.



Discussion

Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Comments are moderated before being posted.