Online biological monitoring in decentralized non-potable water system
A total biological count associated with treated water produced by a wastewater treatment system may be monitored online in a decentralized non-potable water system. Preventative and/or corrective action can be taken in response to a deviation from a predetermined threshold level.
1 . A method for online biological monitoring in a decentralized non-potable water reuse system, comprising:
accessing a wastewater treatment system of the decentralized non-potable water reuse system, the decentralized non-potable water reuse system configured to locally collect, treat and store water associated with a single building or a group of buildings in close proximity, the wastewater treatment system configured to treat at least graywater associated with the decentralized non-potable water reuse system;
establishing a baseline of a total biological count of treated water at an outlet of the wastewater treatment system, the established baseline being site-specific to the decentralized non-potable water reuse system; and
performing online monitoring of the total biological count associated with treated water discharged from the wastewater treatment system relative to the established baseline to, in turn, monitor for any change in an operational condition of the decentralized non-potable water reuse system.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of a dissolved adenosine triphosphate (dATP), a cellular ATP (cATP) and/or a total ATP (tATP) concentration of the treated water is monitored.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein treated water is sampled downstream of a disinfection process for online monitoring.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein multiple samples of treated water are collected and analyzed per day.
5 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising comparing the monitored concentration to a predetermined threshold level, and still further comprising providing a notification to a system operator if the monitored concentration exceeds the predetermined threshold level.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising performing a culture-based test periodically for validation and/or in response to a deviation from the predetermined threshold level.
7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising establishing a site-specific correlation between online biological monitoring results and culture-based biological test results.
8 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising correlating ATP concentration to mixed liquor suspended solids.
9 . The method of claim 2 , wherein a frequency and/or concentration of ATP detections is applied to determine severeness of bacterial regrowth.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a non-biological water quality measurement of temperature, pH, turbidity or percent solids.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising correlating the monitored total biological count to at least one of: treated water quality, wastewater treatment energy efficiency, membrane filtration performance, disinfection effectiveness, and bacterial regrowth in pipes and/or storage tanks.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising taking a preventative or corrective action in response to the monitored total biological count exceeding a predetermined threshold level via closed-loop control.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising bypassing the decentralized non-potable water reuse system to a potable mode of operation while the preventative or corrective action is taken.
14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transferring thermal energy associated with the wastewater treatment system to an onsite heat pump to recover thermal energy; and
delivering at least a portion of the recovered thermal energy to an onsite energy demand.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising delivering treated water for one or more non-potable applications.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein online monitoring is performed downstream of at least one of: membrane treatment, UV treatment or ozone treatment.
17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring a total biological count upstream of the water treatment system or at a point of reuse.
18 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising analyzing water quality data over time to facilitate optimization of system maintenance in terms of frequency of cleaning and/or distribution system flushing.
19 . A system, comprising:
a decentralized non-potable water reuse system including a wastewater treatment system, the decentralized non-potable water reuse system configured to locally collect, treat and store water associated with a single building or a group of buildings in close proximity, the wastewater treatment system configured to treat at least graywater associated with the decentralized non-potable water reuse system;
an online analyzer constructed and arranged to monitor a total biological count associated with treated water discharged from the wastewater treatment system; and
a closed-loop control system in communication with the online analyzer and configured to provide a notification to a system operator if the monitored total biological count exceeds a predetermined threshold level in terms of deviation from a site-specific baseline.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the online analyzer monitors at least one of a dissolved adenosine triphosphate (dATP), a cellular ATP (cATP) and/or a total ATP (tATP) concentration of the treated water.
21 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the closed-loop control system is further configured to perform a preventative or corrective action prior to performance failure or breakthrough detection in response to the monitored concentration exceeding the predetermined threshold level.
22 . The system of claim 21 , wherein membrane, tank or pipe cleaning or other system maintenance is performed responsive to the monitored concentration exceeding the predetermined threshold level.
23 . The system of claim 21 , wherein UV intensity, ozone dose, chemical feed, flow rate or residence time in association with one or more unit operations is adjusted responsive to the monitored concentration exceeding the predetermined threshold level.
24 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the wastewater treatment system comprises at least one of a: flow equalization tank, a primary settling unit operation, a biological treatment unit operation, a filtration unit operation, a disinfection unit operation, and treated water storage.
25 . The system of claim 24 , wherein the system comprises a membrane bioreactor.
26 . The system of claim 19 , further comprising:
a heat pump configured to deliver thermal energy to an onsite energy demand; and
a heat exchanger, proximate to and in thermal communication with the onsite wastewater treatment system and the heat pump, the heat exchanger configured to convey thermal energy to the heat pump.
27 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the online analyzer is arranged in a flow-through configuration.
28 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the system is configured to recirculate treated water upstream of the wastewater treatment system to maintain continuous disinfection without residual chlorine.
29 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the closed-loop control system is configured to isolate a potential problem in process piping or treated water storage tanks.
30 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the wastewater treatment system is further configured to treat blackwater, foundation drainage, stormwater and/or rainwater associated with the decentralized non-potable water reuse system.
31 . A method of retrofitting a decentralized non-potable water reuse system configured to locally collect, treat and store water associated with a single building or a group of buildings in close proximity, comprising:
installing an online biological analyzer downstream of a wastewater treatment system and upstream of a point of use in the decentralized non-potable water reuse system, the online biological analyzer constructed and arranged to monitor a total biological count associated with treated water produced by the wastewater treatment system;
establishing a baseline of a total biological count of treated water at an outlet of the wastewater treatment system, the baseline being site-specific to the decentralized non-potable water reuse system; and
interconnecting the online biological analyzer with a closed-loop controller configured to perform a preventative or corrective action in response to the monitored total biological count exceeding a predetermined threshold level in terms of deviation from the site-specific baseline.
32 . The method of claim 31 , wherein the online biological analyzer monitors at least one of a dissolved adenosine triphosphate (dATP), a cellular ATP (cATP) and/or a total ATP (tATP) concentration of the treated water.
33 . The method of claim 32 , wherein the online biological analyzer samples the treated water multiple times per day.
34 . The method of claim 31 , further comprising installing an onsite heat pump to recover thermal energy from the wastewater treatment system for delivery to an onsite energy demand.