The City of Bend, Oregon encompasses just over thirty square miles and has more than 90,000 residents. Its Utility oversees the maintenance of over 450 miles of pipe and 74 lift stations. Along with these, Bend Utility Department is also responsible for maintaining more than 300 residential lift stations.
Due to the terrain largely comprised of solid rock, the Bend found itself facing significant challenges in conveying wastewater from point to point. The situation meant that instead of performing upgrades on the existing pipe, it was necessary to create entirely new systems and drainage basins, many of which were not connected.
Because of circumstances such as hydrogen sulfide as well as severe erosion of substrate in some areas as a result of the multiple lift stations, pipe inspection and cleaning was proving to be a cumbersome and costly endeavor. This often meant a greater increase in labor due to sending out multiple basin cleaning vehicles. The SL-RAT by Infosense was introduced and would prove highly useful in cutting costs and reducing labor.
As a rapid acoustic assessment tool capable of detecting blockages in mere seconds, the SL-RAT has allowed Bend to concentrate its line cleaning and root cutting solely in areas where it’s needed, particularly in older towns. It’s also helped the Utility eliminate the occurrence of sanitary sewer overflow.
To read more, please visit https://www.mswmag.com/editorial/2020/05/bringing-collections-systems-together.
The Avanti Company was founded in 1977 by Paul and Justine Devlin and is headquartered in Avon Park, FL. We provide water meters, metering systems, AMI support, on-site flow meter testing, sewer flow monitoring, inspection, and assessment services for the water, wastewater, agricultural, petroleum, and industrial marketplaces. Avanti represents products from McCrometer, Itron, Hach Flow, Honeywell/Elster, 64 seconds, Infosense, Nicor, Badger Meter, Syrinix, and others. Please visit our website at www.avanticompany.com, email us at info@avanticompany.com, or call us at 863-453-5336 for assistance with all of your flow meter and metering system needs.