In 2018, WinCan partnered with Lucity to bring even more flexibility to the WinCan platform and enhance the asset management capabilities of wastewater professionals around the world. Lucity had been an industry leader in wastewater asset management for nearly 30 years when they partnered with WinCan. Just a year later, they were acquired by CentralSquare, a move that would build on that value with even more robust offerings.

In spite of advances in new sewer pipe material, the evolution of sewer inspection was relatively slow throughout most of the 20th century. Before the advent of camera technology and sewer inspection software, lamp-holes were used to gaze down into sewer mains to ensure water was flowing. If there was no water flowing or if the water was pooling, then the maintenance crews knew there was a problem. These wastewater professionals conducted most of their inspections and maintenance by entering the sewers and looking down main lines with nothing but their eyes and a bit of auxiliary light, but we’ve come a long way since then.

At Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Wastewater Collections Supervisor Rich Schultz and GIS Coordinator Jen Gordon have been working together on a program that utilizes technology to maximize efficiencies while maintaining reliable wastewater services in East San Diego County.

Sewer systems require regular inspections and maintenance to ensure they function at peak efficiency. But who is actually responsible for the labor involved in sewer upkeep?

Municipalities often have hundreds of thousands of assets to keep track of. Without an accurate record of each one, its location and its condition, it’s impossible for engineers and operators to properly plan maintenance and expansion. However, advances in inspection and analysis methods are changing the way we understand the infrastructure that is under our feet, giving us the ability to visualize collection system layout and capacity like never before.

Although artificial intelligence (AI) won’t replace wastewater professionals, the sewer industry is making great strides in developing AI algorithms that can monitor data, predict outcomes and complete tasks in the same way a human would. From using telemetry data to improve upon hydraulic modeling of sewers, to AI-powered applications that identify anomalies in effluent, machine learning has enabled sewer professionals to better see, understand and manage wastewater and the infrastructure that transports it. 

Legacy data provides wastewater professionals the opportunity to review the history of defects for a given section, monitor rates of deterioration, and make more informed decisions on when and how to repair infrastructure. However, the condition of legacy data makes a significant difference in the value that it provides to municipalities. In particular, data security, accessibility and quality are all crucial to successfully managing wastewater infrastructure and sustaining data hygiene.

The collection and transportation of wastewater to treatment plants is an essential task of public infrastructure, but what exactly is wastewater? In the broadest sense, wastewater is any water that has been put through residential, commercial or industrial use. But depending on the surrounding environment, wastewater may include any varieties of runoff that finds its way into sewer mains, and when mixed with the endless variety of human, animal and industrial waste produced by local residents and businesses, the result is a potentially toxic concoction that has as much potential to harm the local environment as it does to be cleaned and made into new drinking water.

Coding standards help wastewater professionals keep data organized, communicate more effectively, and ensure regulatory compliance. By providing a standard method of identification and classification, standards like those detailed in NASSCO’s Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) provide common ground for municipalities and contractors who may otherwise inspect and code to internal standards rather than those of the region they are in.

We are excited to welcome our new regional sales manager, Roger Roesselet, to the WinCan family. Roger brings a wealth of experience to our team and will be responsible for sales in the DACH region, as well as business development worldwide.