Real-Time Detection of Pipe collapse Enables Fast Response, No Spill, and Minimum Damage, Saving Property and Huge Potential Costs Who: City of Escondido, CA Problem: Escondido, CA, one of the oldest incorporated cities in San Diego County, home to the California Center for the Arts and the Wild Animal Park, has an extensive sewer collection system: 375 miles of pipe, 14 lift stations, and the Hale Avenue Treatment Plant. A city with 150,000 population and a collection system with pipes as old as 100 years, the 2017 “atmospheric river” descended onto Southern California during January, dumping significant rain on Escondido. This rain, through inflow and infiltration and local subsidence, placed an undue stress on portions of the collection system. A series of major rain storms hit Southern California in mid-January 2017. These rain events caused a pipe collapse that was detected by the SmartLevel system The City of Escondido uses SmartCover technology at 33 locations throughout the City, including all lift stations Details: Over the past few years, the City of Escondido has expanded their SmartLevel™ monitoring system to 33 locations, including all of their lift stations. Data from these sensing locations has provided Escondido with early warning of potential spills dozens of times since 2006. In the four days between January 17 and January 24, 2017, the City of Escondido received 4.73 inches of rain, nearly one half of normal annual rainfall in four days. A section of steel reinforced concrete pipe spanning 173 feet collapsed sometime shortly before 1:47am on the morning of January 21st during a high flow I&I event. This collapse caused sewage water to back up to a location with a SmartLevel sensor, alerting City staff at 2:14am. Results: Within 20 minutes of the SmartLevel alert, Escondido staff were on-site searching for the reason for the backup. They discovered a 24 inch collapsed pipe about 700 feet downstream. There was no spill. The City estimates early notification saved millions of dollars in fines and repairs. According to Utilities Director Chris McKinney, real-time, early warning provided by the SmartLevel system was key. “I wanted to let you know that your company’s system performed well for us and helped us avoid a much larger problem,” said McKinney. The 24 inch pipe collapse occured at the location indicated. Prior to a spill occuring, water backed up to a SmartLevel location indicated and a spill was averted. Case Study Real-Time Detection Further Details: A map of the Escondido collection system is in the vicinity of the pipe collapse is shown on the reverse side. The pipe collapse took place in a 24 inch line about 700 feet downstream from the SmartLevel monitored location. Water pooled upstream at a time of day when flows were low, but inflow and infiltration from the recent storms was high. As the water pooled upstream, the SmartLevel monitor picked up the rise that took place over about 20 minutes prior to triggering an alert. Since City crews responded immediately to the alert, they were able to prevent any sewage from spilling. Repairs to the pipe began the same day, as shown in the photograph below. Camera work performed after the spill and prior to repair shows the extent of the collapse and the blockage caused by decaying concrete. 2067 Wineridge Place, Suite E, Escondido, CA 92029 P: 760-291-1980 • E: sales@smartcoversystems.com • W: www.smartcoversystems.com MKT-112-A SmartCover, SmartFLOE, SmartLevel, SmartRain and SmartTrend are registered trademarks of Hadronex, Inc.