Municipal wastewater comes from a number of different sources: residential waste, industrial effluent, stormwater, road runoff, and more. On their own or togetherābut especially togetherāthese fluids can pose a serious risk to humans and the environment. Thatās why wastewater treatment facilities have such strict protocols in place for safety and containment. The results could be catastrophic if they didnāt.
For one example of just how bad of an impact wastewater can have on the environment, look to the recent case of the West Point Treatment Plant on Seattleās Puget Sound. In February of 2017, the wastewater treatment facility experienced a power outage and float switch failure. This resulted in serious flooding and the discharge of wastewater into the soundāover 30 million gallons of wastewater, to be exact. Needless to say, the effects of this event on the environment have not been good.
The Importance of Float Level Switches for Wastewater Environmental Safety
There are lots of lessons to be learned from the West Point Treatment Plant fiasco, but one of the most salient is the importance of reliable liquid level sensors for wastewater treatment.
Liquid level sensors serve many roles in modern wastewater treatment plants, including the following:
High-level alarms and emergency shut-offs
Low-level alarms and leak detection
Wet well and sump pumps
Storage inventory detection
Chemical mixing and batching
And others!
These tasks donāt just ensure the proper treatment and recirculation of wastewater, but the safety and security of the surrounding environment as well.
Wastewater Environmental Safety Switches from SMD Fluid Controls
SMD Fluid Controls is a leading designer and manufacturer of liquid level sensors for wastewater environmental safety and other applications.
Vertical and Horizontally-Mounted Float Switches
Standard float switches from SMD Fluid Controls come on a variety of materials and configurations, many of which are well-suited for wastewater applications. The FS11, for example, is a stainless steel switch with a corrosion-resistant, compact design that makes it ideal for high or low-level detection in wastewater treatment tanks.
Ultrasonic Liquid Level Sensors
For some wastewater applications non-contact level sensors, which do not actually come into contact with the liquid medium being measured, may be required. Ultrasonic level sensors accomplish this by using ultrasonic beams of sound to measure liquid tank levels.
Among SMDās ultrasonic sensors, the stainless steel FL-LL switch is best suited to wastewater applications.