The solution Prev Leak is a smart waste water sensor installed inside sewer manholes to detects sewage buildup in a manhole using a wired water sensor which is triggered if sewage is detected; should this happen an email notification and SMS will be sent to the local plumber. The sewage unit (Prev leak) is fitted on a sewage manhole wall close to the opening where the monitoring sensor interfaces with the microcontroller using a RS 485 protocol. The system is able to detect sewage buildup in a manhole and send a notification email and SMS to a service provider/locals/Patrollers elected and paid by the community. The email and SMS notification includes the location of the unit and the system is powered by wired batteries. It uses GSM communication to send emails and SMSs. It monitors the battery level and sends email and SMS notifications to the service provider when maintenance is required.
In 2018, R 180,000 was raised by winning The Innovation award from The Innovation Hub; this covered product development and resulted in 4 ready-to-pilot prototype units.
Currently around 435 people visiting Zola clinic in Soweto on a daily basis are prevented from navigating around sewage to access health care, and another 1,200 primary school kids are prevented from coming into contact with raw overflowing sewage at the school gate. Additionally, 3 local employees responded to alerts of blockages at these venues.
Impact Measurement
The impact is thus measured by the number of issues detected and reported by the technology, the number of sewer manholes unblocked by local plumbers, and the number of people prevented from being exposed to sewer overflows per clinic, school, and/or street.
ALIGNMENT WITH Sustainable Development Goals
The activities of the Prev Leak project are directly relevant to SDG indicator 6, improved water source, piped % of urban population with access. The project positively contributes to this indicator by preventing raw sewage from overflowing into residential areas and the environment.
Comments