2019 Edelman Winner Louisville MSD and Tetra Tech

Protecting Community Waterways: Applying Analytics, Optimization, and Real Time Control for the Efficient Operation of Sewer Networks

With increasingly intense and more frequent rainfall, urban wastewater collection and treatment systems are often overwhelmed by large rainfall events, resulting in a greater risk to water environments and public health by contamination from overflows of untreated sewage and storm water.

As a pioneer in real-time control (RTC), Louisville MSD enlisted engineering services firm Tetra Tech to implement Csoft® as part of its Integrated Overflow Abatement Plan efforts. Csoft® is a RTC software solution developed by Tetra Tech to efficiently manage sewer networks in real-time based on rain forecasts and sensor readings. It has been successfully implemented in the U.S., Canada and France.

MSD’s fully automated RTC system responds to rainfall and actual system conditions by maximizing all available storage, conveyance and treatment capacities. Excess water is diverted and temporarily stored until it can be redirected toward the appropriate treatment plant. The system has saved MSD over $200 million in infrastructure costs, while improving the community waterways.