Reducing Unaccounted-for-Effluent in a Common Effluent Treatment Plant by 66.4% using EverSense for WaterMAP

A Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in South India was facing wide variations in the effluent volumes received from its 72 member industrial plants. While the expected average effluent discharge from each industry was around 20 m³/day, nearly 50% of this flow remained unaccounted for. To address this challenge, our Forbes Marshall Digital partnership with this CETP began in March 2024 with a shared objective: to improve effluent accountability and establish a more cost-effective treatment process. Using EverSense for WaterMAP, a Forbes Marshall Digital solution, the goal was to decrease the gap in effluent discharge measurement and reduce the Unaccounted-for-Effluent (UAE) between the tanneries and the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) from 50% to below 10%, thereby reducing the overall cost of treatment for the CETP.

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a graph showing variations in effluent received and released by a CETP

PROBLEM

Continuous measurement gap of 800 to 900 m3/day between effluent released by industry and that received at CETP. The measurement recorded at each industry discharge point was less than that received at the CETP, and there was no mechanism to correctly charge the plant letting out this effluent discharge.

Frequent downtime based on market demand and production load within these member plants caused unscheduled discharge flows. The sudden maximum or part flow (which could be less than the minimum required flow) through the flow meter impacted its calibration.

Unscheduled and uneven discharge from member plants, creating sudden load fluctuations and operational strain on the CETP. Some industrial plants store their effluent in an open tank on their premises to allow the water to evaporate, before discharging the more concentrated chemicals to the CETP. This thicker chemical sludge can choke their flowmeter, resulting in more electricity costs, with much less discharge occurring, amongst other issues.

Equipment issues such as non-return valve (NRV) failure and pump choking caused by concentrated effluent blocking the filter suction mechanism, lead to fluctuating flow and backflow into the sump (the common effluent collection tank).

High treatment cost of the CETP due to inefficiencies in managing fluctuating and unaccounted effluent loads.

SOLUTION

RTru installed at each of the 72 member industrial plants to provide data on status of the flow of effluent.

Sequentially controlling the effluent discharge for each industry over cloud to maintain the CETP load.

Ensuring all member plants release the effluent at rated flow rate to avoid flow meter inaccuracies at lower flow rate. Monitor the flow meter diagnostics and define the accuracy of the measurement.

Maintaining the uptime of the entire network at above 95% minimising the probability of data loss.

Through digital connectivity, the user receives an alert when the flowmeter needs to be cleaned (as against having to follow a fixed monthly maintenance schedule).