Digital sewage monitoring system in Japan

Tokyo: Excavators and drain pipes are the latest inventions in sewerage machinery. Japan's sewerage industry is facing to the turning point at the Japanese company DX, which is incorporating digital technology.

Shuhei Okuno, Official, Japan Sewage Works Association said, "We are currently developing various information to solve the major problems of the sewer industry. For example, there is the issue of climate change and then digital transformation related to information technology. In Japan, sewerage penetration is greater than 90 per cent."

"We are entering the age of maintenance and management of facilities, so we are exhibiting various technologies for renovating facilities. Many people from across the country and overseas come to see the sewerage exhibition," he added.

Surveying sewerage pipes and facilities consume a lot of time and effort from humans. Underwater drone for sewer research is attracting a lot of attention. The development of drones with updated technologies and improved image quality and operating performance in the dark is progressing.

Yusuke Inagaki, Nippon Jogesuido Sekkei (NJS Co. Ltd.) Director, Drone Development Dept. said, "We are focusing on developing drone to see if we can conduct fast, efficient, and high-quality inspections. If we take more than 2K images, we can make it into 3D model. In the future, I think it will be about how to connect the images to DX."

Sewerage is used in the case of flood accidents. The technology to understand water storage quickly is enabled by digitalization.

Mitsuhiro Nakashima, of Japanese company Meidensha stated, "Under the flood, the risk of city's sink is increasing, we have developed a device called a manhole antenna that allows user to check the water level in real-time and remotely. It is designed to upload water level data to the cloud using the mobile phone communication network and check the information in real-time on a personal computer or smartphone."

During the summer vacation in Japan, this event was held to help many people and children learn about sewer. The sewer system's structure, microorganisms in the water, and uniquely designed manholes in various locations were all introduced.
One of the visitors noted, "I learned a lot about the types of microorganisms that decompose sewage waste and about manholes."

Japan's new technology for the sewerage industry is evolving through major digital transformations that will contribute to the world's sewerage technology in the future.