Monitoring, early warning and sustainable management system for Lodz wastewater treatment plant as a water protection tool

Municipal wastewater treatment plants are exposed to the inflow of toxic substances, which may hamper or even preclude their proper functioning, especially of the biological part. In the case of combined or hybrid sewer systems, additionally, in wet weather, there may appear a rapid inflow of a mixture of domestic and industrial sewage, and stormwater in an amount exceeding the capacity of the devices, causing the need to discharge parts of not fully treated wastewater through the bypass channel, which may reduce overall treatment effects. In such situations, the receivers are exposed to an inflow of increased amounts of pollutants, which on the one hand causes a threat to the aquatic environment, on the other, may result in administrative fines for the treatment plant resulting from non-compliance with the conditions of the water permit, as well as costs of removing the effects of failure. The article presents the concept of a monitoring, early warning and sustainable management system for the Lodz wastewater treatment plant, which will allow minimizing pollutant emissions to the aquatic environment. The system will be based on data from the municipal pluviometer network, measurement of flows in combines sewer overflows and newly built sewage quality monitoring stations equipped with on-line probes. The resulting data will allow to predict quantity and quality of inflow to the treatment plant, which will allow for an early warning about the dangers. In consequence decision-making to improve the safety of its operation will be possible.