Opti will present its industry leading stormwater management software at the BlueTech Forum Innovation Showcase. Opti provides the only stormwater management solution on the market that is truly cloud-based and provides adaptive control of distributed infrastructure. By combining lightweight Internet of Things hardware and powerful cloud-computing platform, OptiNimbus is able to predictively and autonomously control stormwater based on the forecasted rainfall. In addition to improving facility performance, Opti’s continuous monitoring and adaptive control technology empowers stormwater managers to address changing weather patterns and utilities’ operational needs with radical data transparency. By connecting weather forecast information with on site sensor data, Opti lowers the cost and risk of managing stormwater.
Owen Cadwalader, Vice President of Operations and Co-Founder of Boston-based Opti, will explain to delegates how Opti’s software can improve water quality, drought resilience, and reduce flood risk. The Opti platform offers active forecast-based control and monitoring of distributed stormwater infrastructure to municipalities, utilities, and private landowners
Extreme weather
Cadwalader said: “Stormwater management infrastructure in the US has not kept pace with increasing urban development, regulations, and changes to weather patterns. Our platform, which integrates modern software and telemetry with industrial valves and sensors, enables stormwater management infrastructure to automatically react to current conditions and adapt over time. Our system allows municipalities and asset managers to meet their regulatory mandates with a lower risk and cost than traditional methods.”
“By using automatically controlled valves, robust sensors, and local weather forecasts, water levels in ponds and reservoirs can be lowered when rainfall is expected. In some cases this can double the effective capacity for stormwater storage.”
“Opti’s platform is fully automated, protects assets from damage, and reduces the risk of pollution. It can be used to improve and maintain water quality, can help prevent flooding, and can also maximise rainwater harvesting capacity in areas where water scarcity is an issue.”
Smart resource management
Opti was founded by a group of environmental engineers who were inspired by the potential to integrate modern technology with civil infrastructure to improve water quality and water management.
Opti has been deployed at over 130 sites in 20 states. The Opti platform has been used for watershed management around the Chesapeake Bay, the biggest estuary in the US. The system has also been used in Los Angeles to maximize local water availability, improve water quality, and reduce flooding.
Owen Cadwalader says: “The goal is to get the most out of existing and new infrastructure. Instead of designing passive systems for a hypothetical storm size, we can design systems that adapt to current and future conditions. Opti allows users to be storm and future ready without major retrofits.”
Forum for innovation
Dr Corinna Carpentier, a specialist in online sensors and real-time monitoring said, “Smart sensors working with cloud-based platforms have the potential to dramatically change the nature of water management.
“As extreme weather events become more common, utilities around the world are looking for ways to make existing systems more flexible and more resilient. This is a rapidly expanding area of the market.”
BlueTech Founder Paul O’Callaghan said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Opti to the BlueTech Forum in June. Twelve companies will be taking part, each representing a different aspect of innovation in water technology.
“In the United States the Opti Platform has been used to improve water quality and provide local water supply, in areas where water management has been a cause for concern. It is clear there is great potential for this technology to be used in other parts of the world.
“One of the great strengths of the Opti system is that it can easily be used alongside existing infrastructure. In this sense it is a truly green technology, which can help preserve, protect and maintain existing assets.”
Smart water agenda
Alongside the Innovation Showcase, BlueTech Forum 2016 is hosting eleven Roundtable Briefings including one directly relevant to smart control systems:
● On-line Sensors and Predictive Analytics, hosted by Dr Corina Carpentier, O2 Environmental team starts at 9.00am.
The conference will also include a panel discussion to explore how mega trends in the areas of the Internet of Things, big data, sensors and predictive analytics will affect the water industry. Assessing the impact of 4th Industrial Revolution on the Water Industry will take place at 16.00pm on 1st June.
BlueTech Forum is taking place on 1st June in San Francisco.
