Advances in Water Treatment and Enviromental Management

62 WATER TREATMENTDepartment, the first one regarding technology and purification engineering andthe latter for management and running of the Sanitation network and Stations.That’s why, it came from a common agreement to set up, on the purification Stationin MEYZIEU, an expert system which helps in taking decisions.The Sanitation Department scope of powers:With an annual budget of about 500 MF and a manpower of 625 persons, the SanitationDepartment gets all powers regarding Sanitation on COURLY’S area:– surveys and plans,– building of networks and purification stations– development of the network and purification stations.In that way, it has to administrate:– 2 200 km of unitary collectors, including 700 km which can be inspected,– 25 stations for the pickup of waste water,– 9 purification stations representing a total capacity of about 1 500 000Eq/inhab.Why implementing an expert system?To help its management, the Sanitation Department developed a special system to:– curb and reduce operating costs,– widen its knowledge about existing equipments and improve the ability ofdealing with rainy periods.These tools are:– a mathematical device (SERAIL), allowing the rekoning of theoretic flowsin every point of the Sanitation network during rainy periods of a givenintensity,– a computer file mentioning all manufacturers and their present or possiblerejections in the network,– an urban data base (SUR: Urban Reference System),– a teleprocessing system for purification and pickup stations to which aregiven all pluviometric and exploitation measures,– an analytic accountancy for calculating cost prices and ratios.However sophisticated and performing tools may be, their implementation and uselead to two findings:1) The knowledge about the network and stations operation has improved alot but there are few or no means of having a rational influence on them:Storm Spillways are not, or slighthy, automated and present manufacturedpurification stations are not equipped with machines fitted to modify theiroutput and their impact on natural environnement.2) Information, measures and signs devices deliver so much data that it isimpossible for the operating man to collect them all at a precise momentand then, even if he got them, he wouldn’t have enough intellectualcapacities to do the treatment and synthesis.That’s why in the purification station of MEYZIEU—which is equipped with thenecessary machines able to modify its output and impact on environnement—it was