National Water Services Provider
Customer is a major water provider in the UK
Comvista Networks® were consulted by a facilities management company in relation to providing waste water management and telemetry at a former mine site in south Scotland. The maintenance of the site had virtually ceased since the 1980’s and there were concerns about the volumes and type of discharge from the redundant works into a local salmon river.
Providing a Monitoring Solution
Comvista Networks® attended site with the utilities provider and the facilities management representatives to determine what existed from the old workings and what could be done in order to manage outflow and overflow from the disused mine. Following some detailed consultation with our process engineers we embarked upon providing a monitoring solution in conjunction with civil engineering improvements which were being carried out at the site.
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In order to restrict and control the flow into the nearby river it was essential to understand the parameters by which SEPA wished to control the outflow. Having been presented with the detail, we then set to work providing level and flow sensors at the river as well as level and flow sensors at the mine site. Siemens Echomax magflow and Hydrorangers were chosen as our for the constituent parts to measure flow and volume. We designed and manufactured ‘in house’ the overflow steel work needed to channel discharge into already established reed beds for natural filtration of overflow.
The main mine discharge pipework was replaced entirely and a 300mm pipework scheme was installed. This main discharge is controlled by an automatically controlled butterfly valve. The telemetry was designed by Comvista Networks and consists of two remotely provided ADSL circuits which communicate directly with each other as well as with the management interface, one at the river site and one at the mine head. These circuits and the respective kit were provided by Comvista Networks® using Exemys cLAN and MOXA® ioLogik components. The outflows from the main site are determined the level and flow of the river which is approx. half a mile away. Only when the flow and level reach a pre-determined point does the main discharge reach the river. Otherwise the controlled mine overflow allows measured discharge into naturally filtrated reed beds
Overview
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Re-design telemetry and discharge system at former mine site
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Engage with all agencies involved in project
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Supply of Mechanical, Electrical and Communications resources for project
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Fully install a remotely managed site reporting and management system
Project Results
The results from this complex project are that the flow and volume from the mine workings are now meeting the terms by which the regulator has determined. The telemetry is presented in ‘real time’ to the customer via a managed web interface. The results are then archived or sent by email to recipients for ongoing analysis. The site no longer presents a threat to the local environment and the client can monitor the performance of the site at intervals of their own choice.
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The project has now been commissioned to the complete satisfaction of our customer and going forward it is anticipated that the network provision and support of this site will continue beyond its contracted term.
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As a company who are mainly focused on primary network provision this represented a challenge on a number of levels, not least the distance travelled to implement the solution. We met the challenges and learned a lot from this project. We believe we proved beyond doubt our capability to meet and exceed our customer’s expectations. Our capability to provide first class project management and delivery of bespoke projects stands up to scrutiny and can be supported by our customer. Comvista Networks Limited ‘more than just a network provider’
November 2016
