INTELLITECT Water has launched a unique, highly innovative drinking water monitoring technology, the Intellisonde SATM, which provides remote, continuous access to tap water quality data.
Historically, the normal response to any issues relating to tap water quality would be for a Water Company to dispatch a team of water samplers equipped with sample bottles and/or DPD test kits. There are four main problems with this approach.
Firstly, such tests are by definition a 'spot test' and therefore only give an indication of water quality at one moment in time. So, any problems that occur before or after the sampler's visit may be missed.
Secondly, in order to test tap water, it is normally necessary to be able to gain access to the customers' premises which relies on them being present when the sampler calls.
Thirdly, the manual collection of water quality data is laborious and expensive.
Fourthly, the number of tests that can be undertaken at a customer's premises is limited, in terms of both the accuracy of testing and the range of tests that are possible.
The Intellisonde SATM resolves all four of these problems.
The Intellisonde SATM is a tiny water quality monitoring instrument with a low capital cost, which can be easily fitted to a consumer water meter or boundary box.
Fitted quickly via 1½ inch BSP, the Intellisonde SATM is able to take and store water quality measurements for up to 11 parameters at selectable intervals between 1 minute and 1 hour. The data is stored on board and can be accessed by a range of telemetry options. Alternatively, it is possible to set alarms so that the units will raise an alarm and send data via GPRS once preset conditions arise (such as a drop in free chlorine levels or a rise in turbidity or colour). Alarms can be SMS alerts or the transmission of raw data to any laptop or computer.
Intellisonde SATM is upgradeable, which means that further parameters can be added to a sonde that was initially ordered with say four sensors. The full range of measurements available on the Intellisonde SATM include, Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Dissolved Oxygen, Conductivity, pH, ORP/Redox, Flow, Pressure, Temperature, Turbidity and Colour.
In addition to the investigation of customer complaints, the
Intellisonde SATM can also help with sampling surveys, providing a means to perform cyclic reviews for asset planning and renewal, risk assessments and incident reports. The Intellisonde SATM can also be used on project work in support of investigations into pipe network condition or operation.
Intellisonde SATM is designed for short application (SA) - weeks or months.
Commenting on the wider applications for the Intellisonde SATM and its sister products, Intellitect CEO Tony Halker says, "The SA helps differentiate between problems caused by the water company and those generated at the consumers' premises. It can also reduce the cost of managing responses to customer complaints and gives visible reassurance to the consumer. All of our monitors provide low-cost, real-time access to accurate water quality at the boundaries of water distribution systems. This enables Water Companies to manage disinfection processes more efficiently which will reduce costs whilst maintaining high levels of drinking water quality."
