Utilities – Bio Solids Compliance Management

Southern Water, Severn-Trent Water, Welsh Water

https://www.severn.com

Compass Informatics develop a platform to help water authorities biosolid management compliance

Biosolids are the residual material left over from sewage treatment processes and can be spread on land as a fertiliser for agriculture. Biosolids can contain heavy metals, pathogens and other harmful compounds so their use is strongly regulated by the Environment Agency.

Compass Informatics has worked with several water authorities to develop a cloud-based tool to replace the mainframe application to monitor the journey of biosolids from the time they leave the treatment plant to spreading on farmland.

The Challenge

In 2018, the Compass team was tasked by a utility company to design and configure an instance of our Biosolids Management System integrated into the business and technical environments as part of a larger Sampling Analysis Management (SAMs) programme which sees the replacement of the existing Quality Database System (QDB).

The client required a Bio-Solids Management solution that could be configured to interface with their existing solution.

The SAMs programme completed a detailed review of the market place and determined that only Compass Bio (a configurable web platform) meets our client’s requirements for Bio-solids Management.

The Solution

Compass’ Biosolids Management System (BIO) is a configurable web platform that provides utility companies with an end-to-end solution for managing their nutrient-rich sludge or biosolids.

The platform tracks and manages full operations and reporting for Biosolids. The implementation of the BIO solution for Welsh Water delivered the complete BIO system including;

Compliance with the UK’s Environmental Agency regulations.
- The Safe Sludge Matrix
- Biosolids Assurance Scheme (BAS)
- The Nitrate Regulations
- Nutrient Management Matrix
Soil sample results request; automated soil sample results updated in BIO.
Monitoring the journey of biosolids from the time they leave the treatment plant to the time they are spread on farmland.
Managing the documentation for all biosolids disposals accomplished either through transporting directly from the treatment works and spreading to land or via stockpiling of the biosolids and spreading later when required.
Managing the documentation produced at the end of the process and sent to the farmer.
Design, configuration and implementation of a Mobile Application that allows for Stockpile Inspection Reports being performed by Welsh Water staff in the field and synchronization of data with the main BIO system.
Integration with JRP weighbridges for input of treatment centre and delivery information.

The BIO solution was installed on-premises solution with user access internally via web browser and externally via Citrix VPN.

Testimonial

‘In the design & delivery of these services, the staff of Compass Informatics have displayed a high level of technical skill in & have engaged well with management in designing solutions that are fit for requirements.’

Transport Sector Data & Systems Manager - Utilities – Bio Solids Compliance Management