Every year, the Flemish government invests around 100 million euros in maintenance and construction of sewers. The impact of these investments on the quality of the global sewer system is immeasurable. This has to do with the lack of uniform registration tools and shared databases.
AWIS: controlling waste water
Challenge
Sewerage data are spread over many organizations. The VMM is responsible for the policy regarding the planned development of the remediation infrastructure. NV Aquafin is responsible for the construction and management of the supra-municipal infrastructure. In the area of municipal sewerage management, municipalities, sewage managers and Aquafin can be responsible. All these organizations need (in part) the same information and would benefit from a common waste water information system.
Geo Solutions is contributing to the Waste Water Information System (AWIS), with a sewer inventory and a file follow-up system. Sewer data can, among other things, be loaded and kept up-to-date, new projects can be entered and subsidies can be requested.
Solution
The input of sewer data can be done online and decentrally by the various stakeholders in the sewer inventory. The platform validates the uploaded files in the agreed standard format and performs some additional checks. Some adjustments are made automatically, others are reported. This guarantees data quality and compatibility. Conflict management can be used to discuss and resolve conflicts with neighboring data managers.
Tracing can be used to check where dirty water comes from and where it goes. This way, bottlenecks can be uncovered: where are investments needed, which houses are not yet connected to the network, etc.
In the file follow-up system, small and large projects that improve the sewer network are managed and the sewer inventory is kept up-to-date. It also supports grant applications.
Result
AWIS gives the local authorities a good view of their own sewer system. This way, sewer management can be tackled efficiently and systematically. Moreover, this information reduces the risk of excavation damage, which not only saves costs but also improves safety.
AWIS also allows the government to invest in a more targeted manner in sewerage works and to make more logical decisions. The system brings together various functionalities, services and data sources. AWIS supports a number of processes, such as drawing up investment programs, granting permits for discharging waste water, determining water quality, flooding measures, etc. All information about work performed is immediately visible and the impact of those works on the total sewer system can be easily determined.
