Demo Case 3

Val de Bagnes, Switzerland

Background

For more than 60 years, Altis is the water and energy utility owned by the city of Val de Bagnes of 10,000 inhabitants but during the peak ski season, population grow up to 50,000. Altis is managing the plus 300 km of potable water pipes, 153 km of irrigation water network, 77 water sources, 41 reservoirs. In its water treatment plant, Altis cleans 1,7 million m3 of water per year and delivers 2 billion litres of potable water per year. Size of the water infrastructures (pipes, treatment plants, water processing, etc) are designed for the peak season. Altis decided to move forward with the digitalisation of water and is installing water smart meters in each home, buildings, hotels and industries.

Key facts

For the water collected from the glaciers and snow, Altis operates 3 treatment plants with sand filters and ultrafiltration. For the 77 sources, no treatment is undertaken.
The major problems arose with the pollution in our sources as most of the time, they are in remote areas with no electricity and no visual supervision.

Expected impacts

Deploy novel bacteria sensors at selected locations to monitor the water quality.
Implement soft sensors and hard sensors to measure the bacteria pollution.
Develop modular platform on the SIG (geographical information system) to give information for operators to test and validate.

Challenges

The challenges related to the water quality monitoring project in the Val de Bagnes are numerous. First, the territory is vast, with over 150 sources, some of which are difficult to access in winter, complicating regular sampling efforts. Currently, checks are conducted every two weeks by field teams, but this frequency does not allow for rapid intervention in the event of contamination. The region is also sensitive to bacteria due to agricultural activities and the presence of wildlife. The main contaminants of concern are E. coli and enterococci. Therefore, the essential challenge is to establish a real-time water quality management system to immediately detect any anomalies and respond quickly to safeguard public health and the environment.

Expected impacts

As part of the ToDrinQ project, Altis installed the Bactosens from the company Benovate, a device that counts the number of viable and dead bacteria present in water samples. This autonomous device uses LoRa communication technology to transmit data remotely. Altis programmed the device to conduct analyses more frequently during periods of heavy rainfall and snow, times when contamination risks are heightened. The goal is to preserve the reagent cartridges to minimize operational costs. Connected to the SCADA system, the device also sends alerts when certain thresholds are exceeded, providing real-time monitoring in isolated areas. Following a year of on-site testing, Altis gained valuable insights into the sources and behavior of water. Additionally, Altis tested the UDetect from the company Orvion for six months. This device detects E. coli bacteria in 2 to 3 hours, compared to 2 to 3 days required by traditional laboratory methods. While portable, this system is not autonomous, but it has been tested with various water systems, adding significant value to the project.