The safe disposal of sewer effluents and water treatment requires measurements of suspended solid concentration in treatment pipes, culverts and other conduits.
A sewer effluent containing a low value of suspended solids may be subject to a reduced treatment or no treatment at all. A plant treating sewer effluents from several municipalities may bill those municipalities in accordance with the volume flow and the total suspended solids concentration measured on the intake conduits from each municipality.
In the past, intrusive periodical samplings of solids-carrying water were taken and analyzed in laboratories to provide needed information about the solids content of the water.
Various methods have been proposed to electronically measure total solids concentration in a volume of liquid, but no instrumentation has been provided for concurrently measuring suspended solids concentration as well as flow on a continuous, real time base.
This invention results from an attempt to provide a more practical instrumentation for use in sewer and water collection systems, distribution systems and treatment plants.