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Wastewater, measured before it overflows.

Sewers overflow in storms, pumping stations fail at night and treatment plants must meet their discharge permits. Level sensors in the network, overflow monitors, pumping station data and effluent and river quality give operators the view they need to prevent spills, report the ones that happen and show regulators and the public what reaches their rivers and coasts.

Industry

Water

Measurements

5

Sources cited

5

1. Water · Wastewater and sewer networks

   What reaches the river

   Sewers and treatment plants protect public health, but in storms combined sewers overflow, and pumping stations or plants can fail. Regulators and the public increasingly expect every overflow to be measured and reported. Observation lets utilities prevent what they can and prove what happened.

2. What is measured

   Levels, pumps, effluent and rivers

   Level sensors over weirs and in manholes detect overflows and surcharge; pumping stations report wet well level, flow and status; effluent stations measure plant discharge; river and bathing water stations measure what reaches them; rain gauges explain why. Each reading carries its asset.

   Instruments

   Sewer levels · Pumping stations · Effluent quality · River quality · Rain gauges

3. The base node

   Endpoints under the covers

   Battery endpoints under manhole covers read level sensors and send short messages. The edge node signs every value, detects overflow start and end from levels and rainfall, and publishes event records without waiting for manual review. Every event keeps its raw levels.

4. Radio and links

   LoRaWAN under the street

   LoRaWAN reaches endpoints under covers from gateways on buildings and poles. Pumping and river stations use cellular, and treatment plants use the utility’s fibre. Each path is measured in the survey. Weak sites get an extra gateway nearby. Links are rechecked after street works.

   Links

   LoRaWAN · Public cellular · Fibre

5. How it works

   From a weir to a public notice

   A level rise above a weir is read under the cover, sent over LoRaWAN to a gateway and to the edge node. The node records the overflow start, checks rainfall, signs the event and sends notices to operations, the regulator and, where agreed, a public page.

6. From order to operation · Order

   Scope overflows and permits

   The scope reads the overflow inventory, the permits and the reporting duties. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a sensor plan per overflow, pumping station and outfall, the radio design, the event and reporting workflow and a price per site. Priority goes to overflows near bathing waters.

   Plan a deployment

7. From order to operation · Survey

   Survey chambers and outfalls

   Crews survey overflow chambers, critical manholes, pumping stations and outfalls with network staff, under confined-space procedures. They check geometry, weir levels, radio reach under covers and access, and record each site against the utility’s assets. Sites where signal under the cover is weak get a gateway placed nearer or a different antenna before installation.

8. From order to operation · Permits

   Confined spaces and street works

   Chamber work follows confined-space entry procedures and street works permits. Reporting arrangements are agreed with the environmental regulator, including what is published to the public and when. Every agreement and permit is kept with the site it covers, so the next crew knows the conditions before lifting a cover.

9. From order to operation · Build

   Build for sewers

   Level sensors, endpoints, pumping station gateways and river stations are built for corrosive, wet environments, configured with weir levels and enrolled with their identities and asset numbers. Each sensor is set for its chamber’s geometry and weir level, so an overflow is detected at the level where spilling actually begins.

   Open the Station Builder

10. From order to operation · Install

    Install under the covers

    Gateways go up first, then sensors over weirs and in manholes, endpoints under covers, gateways at pumping stations and stations at outfalls and receiving waters. Each installation is checked and photographed. Covers are refitted securely and traffic management removed promptly, so streets are disturbed as little as possible.

11. From order to operation · Commission

    Commission events end to end

    Each device proves its identity, then levels are checked against manual measurements and weir levels, and event detection runs against rainfall. Notices are tested to the operator, the regulator and the public page. Results are signed into each site’s record before reporting begins.

12. From order to operation · Operate

    Prevent, then report

    Operators see levels rising with rainfall, pumping stations at risk and overflows as they start. Events are recorded with start, end and duration, and notices go to the regulator and public as agreed. Pumping station alerts reach the on-call crew with the station’s data, so a failure is handled before it becomes a spill.

13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Clean, check and improve

    Sensors are cleaned of fouling, checked against manual levels and moved as the network changes. Overflow records guide investment, and every change is recorded. Sensors that drift or foul are visible in the record, and their readings are flagged until they are cleaned and checked again. Records feed the annual return to the regulator.

    Book field services

14. Data products

    For operators, regulators and the public

    Operators receive pumping alerts and overflow events; treatment managers see effluent compliance; regulators receive event records; environmental agencies and bathing water managers see receiving water quality; the public can see overflow notices. All from the same signed readings. Each carries its quality flags.

    See the data products

15. Evidence

    Overflow records that stand scrutiny

    Weir levels, sensor checks, every event with start, end and duration, and every change are signed and kept. Monitoring follows the wastewater and bathing water rules that apply, so regulators and the public can trust the overflow record. Every published event links to its readings.

    Drawn against

    Directive (EU) 2024/3019 · Directive 2006/7/EC · EPA combined sewer overflow programme

16. What you get

    Environmental and permit monitoring

    Emissions, water quality, noise and dust monitoring for permit conditions, with traceable calibration and evidence bundles. Delivered as managed service and data licence, for industrial operators, municipalities, regulators. Scale: Site to portfolio. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.

    Talk to sales

17. Next step

    Plan wastewater and sewer networks with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for wastewater and sewer networks. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextWastewater systems collect sewage and, in combined systems, rainwater through sewers and pumping stations to treatment plants that discharge to rivers and seas under permits. In heavy rain, combined sewers overflow by design at outfalls, and regulators increasingly require overflows to be monitored and reported. Treatment performance and receiving water quality are monitored under discharge rules.

Hazards

• Combined sewer overflows in storms
• Pumping station failures and spills
• Blockages and flooding from sewers
• Treatment failures and permit breaches
• Harm to bathing waters and ecosystems downstream

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A chamber endpoint: a level sensor read by a battery LPWAN device under a manhole cover.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A sewer catchment: overflow and manhole sensors, pumping stations, rain gauges and the receiving water stations.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   Every catchment, pumping station and plant run as one fleet, with one overflow and compliance record.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Network

   Utilities, environmental regulators and bathing water managers share federated records and public overflow notices.

   The open protocol →

• 01Water level gauge
• 02Flow meter
• 03Water quality sonde
• 04LPWAN endpoint
• 05LoRaWAN gateway
• 06Edge node (Wedge)
• 07Cellular modem/router
• 08Battery case
• 09Pole

Radio and links

LoRaWAN

Sensors under manhole covers have no power and weak signal; LoRaWAN reaches them from gateways on buildings and poles.

Radio and links

Public cellular

Pumping stations and river stations report over cellular.

Radio and links

Fibre

Treatment plants join the utility’s network over fibre.

Edge computeAn edge node detects overflow start and end from chamber levels, checks them against rainfall and publishes event notices without waiting for manual review.

PowerChamber endpoints run on batteries; pumping and river stations use site power or solar with battery backup.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope overflows and permits

   The scope reads the overflow inventory, the permits and the reporting duties. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a sensor plan per overflow, pumping station and outfall, the radio design, the event and reporting workflow and a price per site. Priority goes to overflows near bathing waters. 21

2. 02 Survey

   Survey chambers and outfalls

   Crews survey overflow chambers, critical manholes, pumping stations and outfalls with network staff, under confined-space procedures. They check geometry, weir levels, radio reach under covers and access, and record each site against the utility’s assets. Sites where signal under the cover is weak get a gateway placed nearer or a different antenna before installation.

3. 03 Permits

   Confined spaces and street works

   Chamber work follows confined-space entry procedures and street works permits. Reporting arrangements are agreed with the environmental regulator, including what is published to the public and when. Every agreement and permit is kept with the site it covers, so the next crew knows the conditions before lifting a cover.

4. 04 Build

   Build for sewers

   Level sensors, endpoints, pumping station gateways and river stations are built for corrosive, wet environments, configured with weir levels and enrolled with their identities and asset numbers. Each sensor is set for its chamber’s geometry and weir level, so an overflow is detected at the level where spilling actually begins.

5. 05 Install

   Install under the covers

   Gateways go up first, then sensors over weirs and in manholes, endpoints under covers, gateways at pumping stations and stations at outfalls and receiving waters. Each installation is checked and photographed. Covers are refitted securely and traffic management removed promptly, so streets are disturbed as little as possible.

6. 06 Commission

   Commission events end to end

   Each device proves its identity, then levels are checked against manual measurements and weir levels, and event detection runs against rainfall. Notices are tested to the operator, the regulator and the public page. Results are signed into each site’s record before reporting begins.

7. 07 Operate

   Prevent, then report

   Operators see levels rising with rainfall, pumping stations at risk and overflows as they start. Events are recorded with start, end and duration, and notices go to the regulator and public as agreed. Pumping station alerts reach the on-call crew with the station’s data, so a failure is handled before it becomes a spill.

8. 08 Maintain

   Clean, check and improve

   Sensors are cleaned of fouling, checked against manual levels and moved as the network changes. Overflow records guide investment, and every change is recorded. Sensors that drift or foul are visible in the record, and their readings are flagged until they are cleaned and checked again. Records feed the annual return to the regulator.

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

• Overflow events with start, end and durationOperators, regulators and the public
• Pumping station alertsNetwork operations
• Effluent compliance recordsTreatment managers and regulators
• Receiving water qualityEnvironmental agencies and bathing water managers

Integration

• Control system and historianPumping and plant data reach the historian over OPC UA.
• Regulatory reportingEvent records export in the formats the regulator requires.
• Public noticesAn agreed public page shows recent overflow events.

Exchanged through OGC SensorThings API, OPC UA (IEC 62541), LoRaWAN.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Can you monitor every overflow?

The plan covers the overflows your permits and regulator require, prioritised by impact.

Do sensors work under manhole covers?

Yes. LoRaWAN is chosen because it reaches under covers; the survey measures each location.

Can the public see overflows?

If you choose to publish, an agreed public page shows events as they are recorded.

Does this help reduce overflows?

Seeing levels rise with rainfall lets operators act earlier and shows where investment has the most effect.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

1. 1Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)US Environmental Protection Agency
2. 2Directive (EU) 2024/3019 concerning urban wastewater treatmentEuropean Union · 2024
3. 3Directive 2006/7/EC concerning the management of bathing water qualityEuropean Union · 2006
4. 4Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policyEuropean Union · 2000
5. 5Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8)World Meteorological Organization

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Water: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.