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<br /> <br />Pg. 2 <br /> <br />Work first began in 2005 when South Bend became a real-world laboratory in a pilot <br />study to demonstrate the economic feasibility of the concept. In 2008-09, the City and <br />EmNet deployed 105 wireless sensors underneath manhole covers citywide. Through an <br />embedded radio mesh network, these small computers enable crews to monitor <br />monitoring points, data from sensors is transmitted by radio to a nearby gateway, which <br />uploads the depth and flow of storm water and sewage in the 500-mile sewer network. <br />The small computers enabled City crews to monitor 110 strategic points in the City sewer <br />system in real time. <br /> <br />In the first full year of monitoring in 2009, CSOnet reduced South Bend’s dry-weather <br />overflows of the sewer system by 66 percent. It allowed the City to achieve several <br />objectives: <br /> <br />Monitor 36 CSO outfalls, 42 locations throughout major trunk lines, five retention <br /> <br />basins and 27 locations along the interceptor – the primary line that conveys outflow <br />along the river to the wastewater treatment plant. <br /> <br />Provide an early-warning and prevention system for dry-weather overflows to the <br /> <br />combined sewer. <br /> <br />Discover potential areas for inline storage in larger sewer lines. <br /> <br /> <br />Find locations of possible bottlenecks in the interceptor and trunk lines. <br /> <br /> <br />Determine the effective storage capacity of retention ponds. <br /> <br /> <br />With support from the federal stimulus, crews installed nine “smart valves” with <br />motorized controls and overflow reservoirs at key locations throughout South Bend in <br />2010. <br /> <br />“This enables us to use capacity in existing sewer pipes and retention basins to store <br />excess water until rain stops,” said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. “It maximizes the flow of <br />wastewater to the interceptor sewer line leading to the wastewater treatment plant and <br />minimizes combined sewer overflows into the St. Joseph River.” <br /> <br />Over the long term, CSOnet is expected to have a significant impact. A study conducted <br />by Malcolm Pirnie, an environmental engineering firm, determined that a citywide <br />installation would reduce CSOs by up to 24 percent, according to Luis Montestruque, <br />president and primary research investigator of EmNet L.L.C. <br /> <br />That’s not all. <br /> <br />“For a $6 million investment, we’ll save about $120 million by using existing assets to <br />achieve the same level of benefit as conventional solutions,” said Gary Gilot, director of <br />the Department of Public Works for the City of South Bend. “This will give us real-time <br />control to maximize the storage capacity of our conveyance system. It gives us a new tool <br />to prevent basement backups.” <br /> <br />