GIS Application
In the recent years, there has been an enormous change in the way information is collected, stored, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed and displayed. The development in Information Technology (IT) has prompted both government and the non-government organizations to rethink their operational aspects. With the progress in information generation and dissemination technology, it is now possible to have spatial and non-spatial databases on digital domain. By suitably designing the analysis and query system, it becomes very easy to make accurate assessment and take decisions efficiently.
GIS is a systematic integration of computer hardware, software and data (spatial and non-spatial), for collecting, storing, displaying, manipulating and analyzing purpose, which can be used for solving management related issues. A GIS stores both spatial and non-spatial data in a database system which links the two types of data to provide flexible and powerful ways of querying.
GIS is a powerful tool, which can be used for the management and process planning of Wastewater Treatment Plant with the following advantages:
- Display of sewer network layout in the city and the various treatment plant components.
- Efficient planning and optimization of the complete sewage treatment process based on factors relating to influent sewage and the condition of the sewage treatment plant units and processes
- Detection of redundant units or processes and the spatial display of the same
- Easy and exhaustive information retrieval with respect to the spatial and non-spatial data relating to the sewer network and the sewage treatment plant
- Easy determination of variation in influent discharge (at Sewage Treatment Plant) due to breach in sewer, closing or opening of valve, etc. in the city sewer network
- Overcome of delay in decision making at various levels related to treatment process
- Network analysis of the flow of sewage in the Sewage Treatment Plant through various units and processes on the basis of the plant component condition, environmental factors (temperature, rainfall and humidity), manpower availability, degree of treatment desired, outfall requirements, sewage hydraulic flow characteristics, process cost, process time, etc.
- The expected sewage quality and hydraulic flow characteristic for a particular scheme of treatment involving a specific combination of plant components
- Various queries made possible which help in decision making related to the proper functioning of the Sewage Treatment Unit
- Keeping a log of plant operations and other related records for future consideration
Study and Development of Software Package
A pilot project was undertaken at Punjab Engineering College to study the various possibilities of GIS application in effective management of STP. This led to the development of a GIS enabled Information and Management System for STP catering to a fictitious city (having similarity to Chandigarh).
Project Objectives
- To develop a comprehensive GIS based Sewage Treatment Plant Management System.
- To generate a comprehensive and exhaustive display of sewer networks and other related features.
- To generate a comprehensive and exhaustive display of Sewage Treatment
- To create comprehensive GIS ready Database to supplement the STP Management System
- To perform various queries on spatial and non-spatial databases relating to Sewage Treatment Plan.
Methodology
The study and the package development was done using AutoCAD Map 2000i as GIS tool and MS Access was used for database creation. Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) was used to facilitate specific queries.
Since the project was organized for a fictitious city, mock data was used which was generated on the lines of the Chandigarh Sewage Treatment Plant.
Spatial database was prepared on the basis of the arrangement of sectors in the city, the provided sewer layout and the Sewage Treatment Plant layout. The same were generated in digital format using Auto CAD Map 2000i.
The following features were created in digital format:
- City map upto sector level
- Sewer network (location and spatial arrangement of sewers)
- Drain network (location and spatial arrangement of drains)
- Sewage Treatment Plant Layout (location and spatial arrangement of various plant components including interconnecting pipes and channels)