Welsh utility scales up deployment of Clever submersible wastewater pump

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will roll out a whole bunch of Flygt Concertor clever pumping methods, following a profitable deployment which delivered vitality financial savings of 40%. The venture demonstrates the evolution of pumping, writes Synneve Henningson, senior product supervisor, Xylem.

As a part of its dedication to enhancing customer support and defending the surroundings, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) is considerably growing funding in its wastewater operations. The utility plans to take a position £1.9 billion throughout AMP8 – the 2025–30 asset administration interval – practically doubling the £1 billion dedicated throughout the earlier 5 years.

This main funding targets important air pollution discount, together with stopping 186 high-priority storm overflows from harming the surroundings. Progressive applied sciences, together with clever pumping methods, are central to attaining these outcomes, in addition to Welsh Water’s broader objectives, akin to vitality discount and attaining carbon neutrality by 2040.

Trial
DCWW manages a big wastewater infrastructure portfolio, together with roughly 2,800 pumping stations and 800 therapy works. Elevated strain from local weather change and inhabitants progress has pushed the necessity to modernise belongings, construct resilience and scale back operational dangers together with blockages, air pollution occasions and flooding.

In 2020, DCWW partnered with Xylem to pilot the Flygt Concertor 6020 pump and Nexicon management panel at 10 problem-prone pumping stations. These websites had skilled frequent blockages and required common cleansing and upkeep.

Over the six-month trial:

• Blockages had been decreased in any respect websites – with one station lowering blockages from 53 to zero.
• Web site cleansing necessities dropped considerably throughout all areas.
• The decreased want for ancillary gear freed up capital for different investments.

Following this success, DCWW upgraded roughly 80 pumping stations with Concertor methods throughout AMP7.

Clever pumping
The Flygt Concertor is a brilliant, adaptive pumping system with built-in sensing, management and communication capabilities. Key options embrace:

• Self-cleaning performance through built-in management know-how to forestall blockages
• Vitality financial savings as a consequence of real-time efficiency adjustment
• An 85% discount in pump and elements stock
• Nexicon sensible controller, which optimises energy utilization through adaptive algorithms, and additional reduces carbon footprint by decreasing vitality use and minimising web site visits.

Vitality financial savings of 40%
DCWW reported the next enhancements on the 80 websites upgraded with Flygt Concertor methods:

• Common vitality financial savings of 40 %
• Vital reductions in car miles and web site visits, decreasing carbon emissions
• Improved resilience throughout storm and nighttime flows
• Decrease upkeep demand and fewer guide interventions
• Standardised {hardware} and operations throughout websites – eight pump fashions now exchange practically 90 variants.

This standardisation has decreased complexity, enabled twin skilling of engineers and decreased reliance on specialist assist. Engineers are actually capable of preserve methods independently, lowering downtime and assist prices.

Wider rollout
Constructing on the sturdy efficiency of the preliminary rollout, DCWW plans to put in Concertor methods at an extra 400 websites throughout AMP8, together with the brand new, bigger Flygt Concertor 6030. It’s the first UK utility to undertake the mannequin.

Welsh Water is now laying the groundwork for an clever, predictive operations mannequin. As a part of this digital transformation, the utility plans to combine Xylem’s Avensor cloud platform. The mixing of Concertor methods and Avensor will allow smarter asset administration, data-driven decision-making and long-term efficiency optimisation.

Having labored carefully with Welsh Water over a few years, this roll-out represents an thrilling scaling-up of clever methods and highlights how pumping know-how is evolving.

With Concertor and Nexicon simplifying operations, and Avensor poised to carry real-time intelligence, DCWW is setting a brand new customary in wastewater administration – lowering air pollution danger, reactive callouts, vitality prices and carbon emissions, whereas constructing future resilience.