Date: December 20, 2018

Dilawar Azeem Rasool

(2017-MS-EN-23)

Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of Water Supply and

Sewerage Projects
1. Introduction
Efficient and effective running of the project in proper working condition is essential for its
success. It includes well-organized control of system, provision of adequate resources, result
oriented management, cost recovery, appropriate crisis and preventive maintenance.
Smooth and unrestricted functionality of such management structure includes certain key
elements that require critical monitoring. These elements are individually discussed below:

2. O&M Costs
A cost effective project is always desirable. If operation and maintenance is poorly planned,
associated costs will be too high. These costs include staff salary, energy bill and repair
works. Energy bill contributes the most after staff salary in overall expenditure of O&M.
Pump operators, plumbers and electricians are among common staff requirement. Number
of staff depends upon project size. Over staffing can lead to extra annual cost and under
staffing can undermine effective operation of the project. Energy bill requirement depends
upon the pumping machinery installed. Therefore, accurate capacity calculation for
machinery is required. Installed machinery and civil structure will have wear and tear with
time and require maintenance periodically. Annual preventive maintenance plan ensures
continuous running of the system, which adds annual repair cost to overall budget of the
project. Pumping machinery contributes 5% and civil work contributes 1% of capital cost as
annual repair cost.

3. Pumps
Pumping machinery is key component of water supply and sewerage system. Optimized
design and operation of pumps is crucial. Pumps must be designed according to its
application. Vertical turbines or submersible pumps can serve the purpose. However,
vertical turbines require water lubrication to avoid excessive abrasion of rubber bushes in
column pipe. Multiple pumps must be used to include flow variations during operation.
Pumps require continuous monitoring to ensure timely start up and shut down. In case of
vertical pumps, start up without water lubrication can damage the bushes and cause
frequent maintenance. If pump does not start when required, incoming sewage can cause
overflow of wet wells, which subsequently can cause surcharging of sewer lines. A dry pump
run can seriously damage the interior of the pump.
4. Common Maintenance Issues
During operation of system, different maintenance issues can arise. These issues include
pumping machinery breakdown, leakages in lines and water contamination, low pressure at
consumer end, sewer pipe blockage and manhole surcharging. Field investigation can
identify the causes of the problem. Proactive maintenance can reduce occurrence of such
issues. Sewage contains biological material, which can cause odor and gas accumulation due
to bacterial action. Hydrogen sulfide gas produced in sewer system is most toxic and can be
fatal for sewer men. Proper design of collection system and adequate ventilation can reduce
odor and gas problems. Slow velocities and thinner pipes generate more gases. A minimum
threshold for velocity is established. Ventilation shafts having cross sectional area half of
sewer area remove gases and discharge at sufficient height above nearby roofs. Hydrogen
sulfide generation causes another problem. Reaction with damp walls of sewer and oxygen
forms sulfuric acid which deteriorates the sewer crown.

5. SCADA- Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition

SCADA a software, which controls the hardware through a communication system and
reads & acquires data from the hardware. Hardware includes pump, valve, voltmeter;
ampere meter etc. It is usually used in automated and remote controlled systems. It has three
main components: server on which software is installed. It is connected through the
communication system to the field equipment. SCADA is involved in Operations of water
supply and sewerage system through control of pumps, valves and monitoring of OHRs
water levels. SCADA reduces staff and can display real time status of individual components
of system which can be monitored and decisive actions can be taken for effective operation
of water supply and sewerage project.

6. Occupational health and Safety Issues

Every process has health and safety hazards associated with it and must be eliminated for
the safety of personnel involved in it. In water supply and sewerage project there are
different phases and hence give rise to different types of safety issues. In construction phase,
trenches pose falling hazard to the people. Reflector tape and road signs must be used.
Trenches are equipped with shuttering to avoid caving. Alternate routes are developed for
traffic diversion. Water sprinkling can reduce air borne dust. Personal protective equipment
can protect against injury during both construction and operation phase. These include
electric shock, work at height, chemical handling, protection against impact etc. Construction
must be completed as soon as possible to reduce traffic problems. In case of sewer cleaning
and maintenance, sufficient ventilation time is given prior to work to ensure discharge of
hydrogen sulfide gas so that area is in safe working environment.

Reference

Sajjad H. Sheikh, Javed A. Aziz. Water Supply and Wastewater Engineering.