Water: its usage, distribution, management, and quality have all been newsworthy items in recent months. Within the UK, the level of investment from water companies is set to break all previous records, a £96 billion* investment from 2025 to 2030, which is an increase of over 90% on the current levels. It has been recognised that to provide the standard of water needed for a growing population; the UK needs to ensure the integrity and security of the water supply.

Alongside this, Water companies will invest a record £14.4 billion¹ – the highest amount ever in a single year, to help ensure the security of our water supply in the future and significantly reduce the amount of sewage in rivers and seas.

Securing Clean Water – Water needs to be more than clean, it must be safely managed

We’ve been working with wastewater for over a century and have extensive experience in providing and supporting the process instrumentation.

The management of wastewater is a critical component of environmental protection, sustainable resource management, and public health, without safely managed sanitation diseases can spread rapidly².

Wastewater treatment is important for several reasons. By preventing pollutants and contaminants from entering bodies of water, it prevents harm to the environment. It also allows for natural drinking water to be protected, as pollutants are less likely to enter it and spread waterborne diseases, this safeguards public health. More sustainability is achieved, as harmful pathogens are removed and the water can be used for drinking again.

Wastewater management comes with various challenges. Compliance with regulations, such as the ones detailing overflow, must be met or the company can be given large fines. This has made headlines in the UK on multiple occasions, and in mid-2023 unlimited fines for wastewater companies that dumped sewage were introduced in the UK, highlighting the need to comply or face substantial fines.

Emerging Trends of Wastewater

As we provide reliable measurement and control products to water and wastewater industries, we looked to the future of wastewater to see if there are any emerging trends to be aware of.

One trend we saw that may hit in 2025 is Circular Economy Practices³, which will see a shift from linear waste disposal models to a circular economy. This means we could see organisations increasingly integrating closed-loop systems that recirculate waste materials back into production processes.

The goal is to minimise waste through reduce, reuse, recycling and recovery, rather than traditional disposal methods. This approach could minimise the environmental impact and maximise resource efficiency, as recycled and repurposed materials often have lower costs and reduce reliance on new resources.

Also, we could see more Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD) systems emerging⁴. These systems remove wastewater through recycling and reuse, making them suitable for industries with strict environmental regulations or companies looking at ways to become more environmentally friendly.

We see that there is more need for more environmentally friendly alternatives that do not release chemicals into the environment but have consistency and effectiveness in removing pollutants.

Ensuring efficiency is also important

Did you know about two million tons of sewage is dumped⁵ into the world’s water bodies daily?

This is why filtration is so important, and we have our series of products that ensure there is an effective treatment process, and that costs are kept down.

Process instrumentation plays a large and important role in the wastewater industry. Flow meters are used to measure wastewater as it moves through channels and pipes. This is used to determine the amount of wastewater to be treated and allows for the efficiency of the process to be monitored, as well as loading rates to be calculated.

Level instrumentation is used to monitor and control the levels of wastewater in tanks, chambers, and basins. This allows for the correct amount of wastewater to be processed, as well as preventing overflows and optimising the treatment efficiency. Temperature sensors are used to ensure the efficiency of chemical reactions, as well as managing the growth of microorganisms in various stages of the treatment process.

The aging infrastructure in some plants may be affecting efficiency, and updated and new process instrumentation may help with this. Upgrading and modernising infrastructure is important to ensure continued efficiency.

Working for cleaner water

We are a supplier that offers solutions for managing and controlling various applications in the water industry. One important application is ensuring the elimination of pathogens and dangerous bacteria from the water supply.

Our solutions can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure and communication systems, working alongside the cleansing process, and minimising the need for additional staff.

We have worked with multiple wastewater companies to help modernise and upgrade their plants as demand for clean water rises with population growth.

In a case study, we assisted a water company in the south of England with measuring and reporting in their final settlement tanks. The company needed to prevent the sludge blanket layer from overflowing into the waterways. We recommended using a gap sensor and a control unit fitted onto a rotating bridge in each tank. This solution helped identify and address the issue early, preventing untreated water from entering the clean water system. It saved time, ensured legal and social responsibility, and maintained a safe water supply.

Our solution involved using the Undissolved Solids Sensor (433SD) and the Control Unit (MSM400 series). These components create a simple and cost-effective electronics system with LED indicators and alarm outputs.

Process instrumentation is crucial in wastewater. It helps to ensure that drinking water is correctly cleaned, and regulations are met. It also allows for greater optimisation of the wastewater plant, reducing waste.

If you are interested in process instrumentation for water and wastewater, or for more information about our products, contact us below.

Contact us

Sources:
*Data supplied by Ofwat
1 invest a record £14.4 billion
2 disease can spread rapidly
3 Circular Economy Practices
4 Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD) systems emerging
5 sewage is dumped

5 Fun Facts about Water – sources:
10 people drank BEFORE you have through tap
In the UK, the average person uses 150 litres of water every day
A tomato “costs” about thirteen gallons of water, eight ounces of broccoli accounts for 19.5 gallons and, notoriously, an almond requires a gallon per nut.
Growing a single almond uses 5 litres of water
15 billion litres of water 

Google converter:
Tomato thirteen Imperial gallons of water = 59.0992 – round down to 59 litres
eight ounces Broccoli accounts for 19.5 Imperial gallons water = 88.64875 round up to 89 litres
eight ounces = 226.796 round up to 227 grams.

A UK water company supplies top quality drinking water to more than 2.2 million customers, in one region. The water comes from two hundred and fifty boreholes, six rivers and six reservoirs and is treated by over ninety water treatment plants. The extraction, treatment and distribution must be managed and controlled in the most effective and efficient manner ensuring the quality of the water is never compromised.

One particular site nestled in the English countryside has recently undergone modernisation to ensure it can continue to meet the growing demand for clean water into the future. As part of the upgrade the plant chose to use our MSM400 suspended solids monitoring systems to help automate the clarifiers’ de-sludge operation. This eliminated both the need for manual intervention and the waste of clean water during the de-sludge cycle.

As part of our continued product development, we can now detect smaller percentages of suspended solid concentrations, down to approximately half a percent of undissolved solids, using this system, which gives greater confidence when measuring a specific change within the clarity of the water. Ensuring correct water quality is delivered at each stage of the treatment process is essential, as any contamination of water would close a treatment site until the problem was rectified.

The Treatment Process

At this plant water is pumped from the nearby river in accordance with the Environmental Agency’s legislation. It is held in a man-made reservoir so demand can be continuously met, and where nature is encouraged to flourish. The water then enters the plant, is tested for quality, and is then pumped up into the clarifiers, or settlement tanks. Here the clearer water spills over the surrounding weir and on to the next stage of filtration. The solids, however, are combined with polymers and sink to the bottom where they settle over time. This creates a sludge blanket which increases in level and weight. The weight of the sludge is continuously monitored and when it exceeds a pre-set value the system begins a de-sludge operation to remove the unwanted sludge from the bottom of the tank.

During pump down the sludge passes through our MSM448 pipe section. This, combined with the MSM400 control unit measures the solids content and is used to determine when the fluid being pumped down changes from sludge to clear water. This signal is then used to stop the de-sludge operation. The sludge is then taken away and used in alternative ways such as fertilizer for the surrounding fields or taken to a Biomass facility for burning to create energy.

For the remaining clean water, further stages of treatment include RFG (Rapid Gravity Filters), GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) and Ultraviolet Light to kill off remaining bacteria. Throughout these processes acceptable chemicals are added to the water, it is then tested for turbidity and eventually acidity and alkalinity. It is then pumped out and distributed throughout the piping network.

Solution

The MSM400 system uses the principle of ultrasonic attenuation to determine the solids contents of the liquid passing through the pipe. Before installing the MSM400 solids monitoring system, the de-sludge operation was controlled by a timed interval resulting in a loss of clean water with each cycle. Furthermore, problematic
equipment often needed manual intervention.

The water treatment business is of course highly regulated with stringent penalties if performance quality
standards are not maintained. It is therefore essential the water treatment process is monitored on a continuous basis from reservoir input to turning on the tap with the customer. Clean and safe water supply is of paramount importance to all water companies in ensuring uninterrupted supply nationwide.

The use of solids monitoring instrumentation on clarifier outlets gives the ideal solution for controlling a sludge pump down sequence. we have seen an increasing need for specialised instrumentation to ensure the correct and efficient operation of such water treatment facilities. We will be pleased to discuss any similar applications and to help provide your ideal solution.

Industry:

Wastewater

Products:

MSM400

Challenge

During the water treatment process, the solids are combined with polymers and sink to the bottom, where they settle. This creates a sludge blanket which increases in level and weight. The weight of the sludge is continuously monitored and when it exceeds a pre-set value, the system begins a de-sludge operation to remove the unwanted sludge from the bottom of the tank.

One particular site nestled in the English countryside needed to undergo modernisation to ensure it can continue to meet the growing demand for clean water into the future.

The de-sludge operation was controlled by a timed interval, resulting in a loss of clean water with each cycle. Problematic equipment also often needed manual intervention.

The water treatment business is, of course, highly regulated with stringent penalties if performance quality standards are not maintained. It is therefore essential the water treatment process is monitored continuously from reservoir input to turning on the tap with the customer. Clean and safe water supply is of paramount importance to all water companies in ensuring uninterrupted supply nationwide.

Solution

As part of the upgrade, the plant used Delta Mobrey’s MSM400 suspended solids monitoring systems to help automate the clarifiers’ de-sludge operation. This eliminated both the need for manual intervention and the waste of clean water during the de-sludge cycle.

As part of our continued product development, Delta Mobrey can now detect smaller percentages of suspended solid concentrations, down to approximately half a percent of undissolved solids, using this system, which gives greater confidence when measuring a specific change within the clarity of the water. Ensuring correct water quality is delivered at each stage of the treatment process is essential, as any contamination of water would close a treatment site until the problem was rectified.

During the pump down, the sludge passes through Delta Mobrey’s MSM448 pipe section. This, combined with the MSM400 control unit, measures the solids content and is used to determine when the fluid being pumped down changes from sludge to clear water. This signal is then used to stop the de-sludge operation. The sludge is then taken away and used in alternative ways such as fertiliser for the surrounding fields or taken to a Biomass facility for burning to create energy.

For the remaining clean water, further stages of treatment include RFG (Rapid Gravity Filters), GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) and Ultraviolet Light to kill off remaining bacteria. Throughout these processes, acceptable chemicals are added to the water. It is then tested for turbidity and eventually acidity and alkalinity, before being pumped out and distributed throughout the piping network.

The MSM400 system uses the principle of ultrasonic attenuation to determine the solids contents of the liquid passing through the pipe.

Using solids monitoring instrumentation on clarifier outlets gives the ideal solution for controlling a sludge pump down sequence. Delta Mobrey has seen an increasing need for specialised instrumentation to ensure the correct and efficient operation of such water treatment facilities. Delta Mobrey will be pleased to discuss any similar applications and to help provide a solution.