On February 3, 2006, Mayor Baker announced that Senators Carper and Biden, along with Congressman Castle, have been successful in securing another $1 million in federal funds for remediation of 40 Wilmington CSOs. Added to the over $1.9 million raised, the City now has a total of $2.9 million. In 1999, a 20-year remediation plan was estimated to cost $114 million. However, Mayor Baker has announced plans to move forward before the end of 2006 with a previously stated proposal to implement a new, less costly, and environmentally friendly method of dealing with CSOs, called “Real Time Control.” Both CSO #27 and the Real Time Control Program are being funded in large part through Federal dollars, along with appropriations from the State and City governments.
Real Time Control of CSOs
The City of Wilmington has proposed adding Real Time Control (RTC) technology to the City’s existing Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) infrastructure. Much like traffic lights control rush hour traffic, Real Time Control software manages a series of gauges, sensors and regulators to direct potential overflows to areas of the underground sewer system network that have the capacity to handle or store excess wastewater.
| Real Time Control: | |
| • | Saves money – dramatically cuts costs compared to traditional CSO controls |
| • | Saves time – provides rapid deployment, rapid results |
| • | Saves the environment – reduces sewer overflows |
Using existing facilities saves the time and expense of new construction, and satisfies three of the EPA’s nine minimum controls. Studies show that RTC could be useful in redirecting potential overflows from at least 5 CSO locations in Wilmington. For RTC to be implemented in Wilmington, information must be collected about the sewer network, modifications must be made to existing structures, and regulators will need to be added. Other requirements include:
| • | Collection system improvements |
| • | Hydrologic and wastewater monitoring system improvements |
| • | Implementation of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for the wastewater collection system |
| • | Instrumentation, control and automation of dynamic regulators and control gates |
| • | Siphons operating and hydraulic maintenance system improvements |
| • | Central control software configuration, programming and installation |
Real Time Control allows the City to balance traditional CSO capital investments with more innovative and affordable watershed management controls. RTC is also being used in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in Quebec, Canada.