Water & Wastewater Asia May/June 2022

IN CONVERSATION WITH
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION:
Reimaging water processing
Brings forth innovations while enhancing existing systems.
“Lacroix already provides a water loss
solution; the challenge is accurately finding
the location of the leak to fix it quickly and
efficiently. In the future, the challenge will be
to use artificial intelligence (AI) to anticipate
leaks and perform preventative maintenance
to ensure that leaks do not occur in the first
place.”
Sofrel Neo installed in an underground water manhole
Embracing the smart water concept involves
the monitoring, control and command of
water networks. Digitalisation is another key
factor which might bring added value across
this whole process, from the water sensors
to virtualisation solutions such as analytics
and SCADA, Eric Woo, business development
manager, Asia, Lacroix, suggested.
Take SCADA for instance, it has the capability
to remotely control and manage water
networks, thus enabling plant operators to
manage their networks better and optimise
the operation of the devices they deploy.
The SCADA central station thus serves as a
gateway between the devices spread across
the terrain and the operator responsible
for analysing the network. Besides, the
software also collects critical data such as
the service life of technical parts and network
outputs, allowing operators to better plan for
supplementary installations for their network.
Under Lacrox’s SCADA offerings include
the Sofrel PCWin2 SCADA Central Station
designed for operating Sofrel networks.
It features the Interface Homme Machine
(IHM) in HTML5, which enables operators to
remain in contact with their installations and
monitor their network via mobile devices or
PCs.
Other PCWin2 functions include a
centralised alarm reporting via SMS and
e-mail; automatic calculations of average
flows, balances, formulas and more;
curve plotting, graphic mimic diagrams;
operating reports in Excel format; and selfconfiguration
based on the parameters of
the devices.
That said, a digitised water network has
its set of vulnerabilities, as Woo told
Water & Wastewater Asia: “Water network
vulnerabilities are plentiful. The main issues
lie in the ageing water infrastructure, which
can lead to a high risk of leaks and nonrevenue
water, and the impact of climate
change, particularly on combined sewer
overflows (CSO) and water pollution.
The solution, he suggested, could include
monitoring the age of infrastructure, analysing
the number of leaks and their locations
and also increasing the density of the leak
detection devices to improve the visibility of
the whole water network.
To support leakage detection and CSO
monitoring, Lacroix developed the Sofrel
DL4W range which consists of LS/LT,
OpenSensor and Neo data loggers specifically
designed for drinking water and wastewater
networks. Watertight, operational for up to 10
years with their high-capacity lithium battery
and fitted with a 2G/4G antenna, the LX data
loggers are compatible with all instruments
used in water networks.
Since its launch, specific features and uses
connected to water management have been
introduced to enhance the Sofrel data logger
offer. They are currently deployed across
isolated sites and, subject to severe conditions
in the field, supply daily data used to monitor
and react to water network performance
levels.
Most often placed in manholes, the Sofrel data
logger is frequently subjected to submersion
phenomena. Equipped with a closure system
and military-style connector, the IoT LX enjoys
reinforced IP68 classification, enabling it to
function even when the manhole is flooded.
14 WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA | MAY/JUNE 2022