A heavy rainstorm shouldn't cause pollution. But many cities
have combined sanitary and storm sewers, and that's precisely
what happens when a cloudburst strikes. The swamped system overflows,
forcing raw sewerage into rivers and lakes.
The conventional solution has been to build separate sanitary
and storm sewers. Unfortunately, that fix is costly and time-consuming.
In South Bend, for instance, the price tag has been estimated
at $200 million over 20 years. But Jeffrey Talley, Notre Dame
assistant professor of civil engineering, has a better idea: Make
the existing sewers smart.
In Talley's scheme, thousands of electronic sensors would be
placed throughout the sewer system. If sensors detect an overflow
developing, they activate valves to divert sewerage to underused
sections of the system, preventing pollution.
Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, which promotes
research with commercial promise, found the idea so hopeful that
it awarded Talley a $1 million grant.
(January 2005)
