WaterLOG Wave. This Issue

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1 WaterLOG Wave FOURTH QUARTER 2014 This Issue 66Application Note: Monitoring Local Water Supply (p.4) 66Manager Message: New Product Development (p.2) 66Product Highlight: SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge (p.3) WATERLOG.COM

2 DEVELOPING DEPENDABLE PRODUCTS FOR YOUR SITE CHALLENGES 1 1

3 MANAGER MESSAGE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Being the product manager of the WaterLOG line of Xylem is exciting and very rewarding. But I have to confess the products we select to build are not just conjured up in my mind. Left to my own whims I don t think we would get very far. Developing the next new product is all about providing solutions to make your job easier. So this process begins with identifying the challenges you have with data collection. It involves your experiences in the field and how we can provide you an easier and better solution while maintaining the accuracy and reliability of your data. Once the challenge or problem you are dealing with has been identified, that s when we step in. Our team of WaterLOG R&D engineers pulls from their experience and bag of tricks to create a solution that works for you. In 1995 WaterLOG introduced the H-355 Bubbler system. This product eliminated the need for nitrogen gas tanks used to measure water level. Although using pressurized gas to measure the water level is a reliable and accurate method, the challenge of hauling replacement tanks of gas and the cost of building large enclosures for the tanks can be prohibitive. The H-355 overcame both these problems. WaterLOG Technician working on an SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge The Storm 3 data logger was developed to provide a data logger that could eliminate the need to carry a laptop into the field. All programming and data collection can now be achieved with a wireless connection to a smart phone and data can be retrieved directly to a USB thumb Flash Drive. As you read the product highlight in this newsletter, you will be able to see how identifying your site challenges resulted in our introduction of the H-3401 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge. We didn t develop just another rain gauge, but one that provides a better measurement. As we move into the future, I would welcome your comments about some of the challenges you face regarding data collection. Be it the challenges you deal with measuring water, the collecting of data, or displaying the data. Learning from you is key to us solving your problems. WaterLOG R&D Engineer assembling a Storm 3 data logger Have an idea? Let us know! Timothy Jeppsen, Director of Marketing Click here to share your idea with our R&D Engineers. 2

4 Product Highlight October 2014 by Brian Shupe THE SMART TIPPING BUCKET RAIN GAUGE Out Tipping The Others WaterLOG SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge Issue of Inaccuracy A common issue among all tipping bucket rain gauges is inaccuracy. This can be caused by algae in the bucket, evaporation or poor calibration. The greatest source of inaccuracy, however, is the volume at which the tipping bucket mechanism tips are sensitive to rainfall rate. The operation of a typical tipping bucket rain gauge is not complicated. As rain falls into the gauge, droplets find their way through a screen and funnel, and end up collecting in a cup. Once this cup fills to a certain point, it tips to empty the rain. Simultaneously, the gauge brings an empty cup up for the process to continue. As the cups fill and tip, they pass by an indicator which sends a signal to the measuring device that it just tipped and in turn equals some amount of rainfall. Because water droplets cause surface waves in the bucket, high rainfall rates can cause superposition or pile-up of extra water in the bucket before the cup actually tips over. The following graph shows the relationship between bucket volume and rainfall rate of a typical tipping bucket rain gauge. In this example, you can see the bucket volume/tip changes from 0.01 in/tip to in/tip (a 30% change) as the rainfall rate changes from 0 to 25 in/hour. SDI-12 Smarts In the early 2000 s, WaterLOG introduced the H-340 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge. This basic model measured up to the others available from other manufacturers, but WaterLOG wanted their rain gauge to be better than the competitors. With this goal in mind, WaterLOG R&D engineers worked on the development of the SDI-12 version of the rain gauge a model now known as the H-3401-xx-01. This model is a favorite among many today, however, the road to the release of the SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge was not without its challenges. To remedy the issue of inaccuracy, WaterLOG created a gauge containing built-in smarts. The SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge contains a microprocessor that uses a precise timer to measure the time between tips giving it the ability to measure the rainfall rate. Typical Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge: Bucket Volume v.s. Rainfall Rate knowing this rainfall rate allows the microprocessor to apply a polynomial, the smarts, to correct for the rainfall intensity sensitivity of the SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge. For example, bucket tips which are 50 seconds apart (1 in/hr) are computed with a 0.01in/tip accumulation. Whereas bucket tips which are 2 seconds apart (25 in/hr) produce a in/tip accumulation. In the typical not so smart tipping bucket rain gauge, the second example would still use the 0.01in/tip accumulation not the 0.012in/tip and would therefore be inaccurate. The development of the WaterLOG SDI-12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge did not stop at correcting this common inaccuracy. It also provides more than the typical total number of tips when measuring the SDI-12 communications. Returns are as follows: 1. Rainfall accumulation since last measurement 2. Number of raw bucket tips since last measurement 3. Total rainfall accumulation since reset 4. Total rainfall accumulation today 5. Total rainfall accumulation yesterday Our engineers continue to look for new, innovative ways to make your site data collection easier and more accurate. For more information on the SDI- 12 Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge, contact your sales representative or visit waterlog.com. 13

5 Application Note August 2014 NEW WATER QUALITY TECHNOLOGY HELPS MONITOR LOCAL WATER SUPPLY The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), deployed the latest Xylem brand technology to monitor water quality in the Crystal Springs Reservoir. The reservoir serves as the local water supply for over one million people in San Mateo and San Francisco Counties, as well as a State Fish and Game Refuge for wildlife in the area. Excess water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is stored in the reservoir after being dechloraminated at the Dechloramination Facility, and undergoes treatment again as needed for supply to customers. The new WaterLOG Storm 3 Data Loggers and YSI EXO2 Sondes provide data to help the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission better understand how discharges impact water quality. Primary Parameter (ph) A key measurement parameter for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is the power of hydrogen, commonly known as ph, because ph levels that are either too acidic or too basic can impact aquatic wildlife. The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board requires that the ph in Crystal Springs Reservoir meet a ph standard of , which is neutral. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission was careful to choose accurate and reliable instruments for monitoring. Crystal Springs Reservoir serves as an local water supply as well as a State Fish and Game Refuge. San Francisco Public Utilities needed equipment that would be user friendly, well built, and most of all dependable to keep the water in the Crystal Springs Reservoir ph neutral post discharge from the Dechloramination Facility. To do this they needed to create an early detection system that would alert the staff when standards were moving out of the ph range, commented Xylem Representative Sean Harmon. We chose the combination of the EMM68 Buoy, Storm 3 Data logger, and EXO2 Water Quality Sonde to accomplish this task. The Sondes contain a ph sensor, monitoring the water quality every few minutes. The data from the Sonde is collected by the WaterLOG Storm 3 data logger and pushed to the Cloud hosted Storm Central Data Collection Platform (DCP) site, where the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission can view the data 24/7 in graphical or tabular form. SFPUC field service technician heading out onto Crystal Springs Reservoir to deploy the YSI buoys. 4

6 By using custom alarm notifications based on the data collected by the WaterLOG Storm 3, Storm Central will provide early warning to let the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission know when the ph levels rise above or drop below the ph range set forth by regulators of 6.5 to 8.5 in the reservoir. Instrument Feedback With multiple employees using the equipment and viewing the data, they needed something that would be both easy to train employees on, and easy to use, stated Harmon. The Bluetooth options of the EXO2 Sonde and the user friendly web interface of the Storm 3 Data Logger allowed easy maintenance and calibrations during monthly maintenance trips. The Storm Central web platform makes data collection and viewing by multiple staff extremely user friendly. I feel San Francisco was very pleased with their choice of equipment and the quality of data. WaterLOG Storm 3 Data Logger shown inside the Buoy Ultimately, the water quality data collected with new Xylem brand technology, will assist the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in complying with prescribed standards, and will create a comprehensive analysis of the Crystal Springs Reservoir. By doing so, they will protect fish and the wildlife in the Reservoir. A special thanks to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Xylem Representative Sean Harmon for the information and pictures included in this application note. YSI Buoy comprised of an Exo2 Sonde and WaterLOG Storm 3 Data Logger on Crystal Springs Reservoir. WaterLOG 1700/1725 Brannum Lane Yellow Springs, Ohio USA 2014 WaterLOG sales@waterlog.com waterlog.com 5