I-Sago’s participation in the RIONED innovation prize began with a meeting with staff from Waterschap de Dommel and the Municipality of Waalre. The challenge was drawn on a business card. This challenge was to replace the tile tax and come up with an alternative, which had to be a calculation of the amount of rainwater actually discharged into the sewage system. A concrete challenge, but also an area where a lot is happening and where we do not always know everything about. Because what is happening around the sewage system?

There are a lot of models and incidental measurements taking place in sewers, but how great is it if you can extract real-time information? That would be a great solution for mapping water flows and residence times. Current sensors are very accurate, expensive and not suitable for a long stay in the sewer. To set up a good system, affordable and robust sensors are needed.

Advanced data analysis is then able to provide a good picture of the situation in the sewerage system. This method helps sewerage managers to respond to climate change, to organize the sewer load more efficiently and to make management more efficient. This should result in lower management costs and also a lower environmental impact.

In order to work out the idea more concretely, various parties were involved in the concept. For example, 2M engineering, M. J. Oomen, iReckonu, Gemeente Breda, SMS Metaal Service, Gemeente Roosendaal, Kanters and the TU Delft joined in as a project group. The idea was not just a sensor, but an entire system. For example, different sensors, communication techniques, data platform with advanced data analysis and various dashboards for various user groups are required.

Of course, a budget was needed to realize this concept. OPZuid gave us a subsidy to start with. OPZuid is part of the European Regional Development Fund and focuses on subsidies for innovation, promotion and sustainable energy.

We started together with the project partners. First, a working sensor ring was developed. This sensor ring measures a combination of water level, flow rate and temperature at different heights. Several first copies have already been successfully used within the Municipality of Roosendaal and the Municipality of Breda. The first data has already provided a good picture of how the sewer is filled, the fluctuations during the day and the influence of rainfall. In addition, various tests have also been carried out with the measurement of conductivity, PH, vibrations and displacements of the sewer pipe. This data makes it easier to map the load of the various sewer parts. For example, the model calculations can be tested on the basis of actual measurements.

In addition, the residence time becomes more visible and faulty connections can more easily be detected. By registering fluctuations in the composition of the sewage water, illegal practices such as drug labs, cannabis farms or explosives can also be detected. Furthermore, it will also be possible to calculate the tax per household in order to calculate the sewerage tax fairly. This was ultimately the original idea.

Continuous development is being done in order to be able to measure non-contact conductivity in the future. In addition, there is a desire to add sound, optical measurements and pressure measurements. The idea was that the RIONED innovation prize would give a nice boost to further development.

By participating in the RIONED innovation prize, we will continue to work on this idea and develop it considerably.

Who is RIONED?

RIONED is the umbrella organization in the Netherlands that is responsible for the proper care of waste-water, rainwater and groundwater in cities and villages. This is also known as urban water management, in which city, water and people are connected.

I-Sago’s idea was presented with the help of an animation video that makes the idea visual. You can watch this video here: