Home > Solutions > Rural drinking water > APR 5 sectores
Background
- In 2018, Anglo American started the Rural Water Program, with the objective of supporting the management of the rural potable water (APR) committees. That year, We Techs entered into a strategic alliance with the Anglo American Foundation, supporting more than 83 committees of APRs in the Metropolitan Region and Valparaíso.
- One of the APRs that was benefited by the program is the APR 5 Sectors in the city of Catemu, providing water to more than 2500 people. This had constant ruptures due to overpressure in the water main line and also problems with tank filling.
Challenge
The challenge consisted in finding solutions that could enable the resolution of the existing APR issues and provide real time data to operate the system.
Specifically:
- Solve the issues caused by ruptures in the water main and the subsequent filling of its tanks, which had a direct impact on the continuity of water supply and generated low pressure of water in the higher areas.
- Tool that would enable the monitoring, remote system control and collection of historical data for the analysis of trends in the supply and demand of water.
solution
A system monitoring and remote-control platform is developed and additionally equipment is installed to control the extraction of water and tank filling.
- An APR monitoring and remote-control platform, in conjunction with a real time operational alarm system to alert problems or inconsistencies, alongside the installation of a control room within the APR facilities. Also, a monitoring room is installed in the APR site.
- Expert analysts provide operational assistance by training and supporting the operation of the system and the use of the monitoring and remote-control platform.
- Generation of quantity and quality historical data that is available for data analysis, regular operational reporting and trend visualization of well yield and customer demands.
- Installation of a variable frequency drive controller on the well to control discharge pressure, tank filling valves and an efficient operational logic.
Solution Specifications
- Easy to use and accessible monitoring and remote-control platform.
- Visualization adapted for computers and mobile devices for field work.
- Training and consulting provided by expert analysts in the field of platform management and efficient operation of water systems.
- It allows both operators and committee administration to have full visibility of the system status at all times.
- Installation of a variable frequency drive controller to control discharge pressure, together with an electro valve system and an efficient filling logic for the 3 tanks in the APR.
Impact
The work carried out together with We Techs allowed the following:
1 Less ruptures in the water main, reducing tank emptying events to an average of 3,3 tank emptying events in January 2020 to zero emptying events in January 2022.
2 An increase in the average tank storage from 55% in January 2020 to 81% in January 2022. This allowed an improvement in the supply pressure, allowing the extension of coverage to the higher areas.
3 Counting with a system monitoring and remote-control platform and a real time alarm system to identify potential anomalies or failures, and thereby reduce the number of trips to the plant and improve emergency response time.
4 Provide information to support operational decision making, regular reporting and the analysis of water demand and supply trends to secure supply continuity to end customers.
