On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico rising to the level of Category 5. Residents endured 150 mph winds. The islands lost communications, power, and water. Main roads were washed out and residents started to suffer from water-borne illnesses due to breaches in the municipal water system. As the country continued to rebuild from that disaster, major widespread flooding occurred again on Feb. 5, 2022. Residents experienced more than 6 hours of rain over 6 hours. Waves pummelled the beach in some cases more than 13 feet.
Rebuilding the infrastructure
Some smaller systems are just beginning to come back online, and thousands of homes, some still covered with blue tarps are yet to be fixed. Residents still endure power outages. In 2020, FEMA announced an additional $365 million for permanent and emergency work on 1,822 projects to repair and upgrade water and sewer systems and other water control facilities.
BinMaster radar installed
As water treatment ramps up reaching more and more rural populations, local water plants are looking to BinMaster for accurate inventory management. At one facility, twelve liquid radar sensors (CNCR 210) are installed and working perfectly, said Luis Anton, BinMaster International Sales Manager. “The plant manager said he’s very happy with the radars,” Anton said. “They hope to upgrade another 20 plants with 200 radars to have one comprehensive view of their water supplies.”
- Why the CNCR-210 was the best choice in Puerto Rico?
• Compact, non-contact sensor never contacts clean drinking water
• The sensor’s 26-foot measuring range was ideal for the application
• 80 GHz frequency performs well despite overspray, humidity, and noise
• Accommodates full temperature range characteristic of climate
• PVDF enclosure and FKM seal brings high environmental protection
• Radar has no dead zone and measures to the sensor face if necessary
• Narrow 8° beam angle is easily focused around the structure in the plant
Mounting the sensors required simplicity
With a large number of sensors to install, simplicity was essential. A stainless steel wall mounting bracket designed to accommodate the 1.5” NPT threading was bolted to the cement structure of each holding tank to be measured. Wiring was completed via the .5” NPT wiring connection to send the 4-20 mA signal to the BinCloud software.
How do radars work for liquid measurement?
BinMaster’s CNCR compact radar level sensors are great for drinking and process water and wastewater applications. The continuous level sensors also reliably measure excessive humidity, steam, and vapor, and are unaffected by noise. The 80 GHz technology performs accurately if buildup or condensation occurs on the sensor face. Specifically, the compact 210 is a continuous liquid-level sensor with a measuring range of up to 26 feet. It features a two-wire 4-20 mA output and is offered with either a 1.5-inch threaded or straight NPT connection. It can be used for measuring liquid levels through the tank wall when used on a plastic storage tank or an IBC container. Sensors collect data and then move it to iCloud platforms like BinCloud which organizes it into real-time monitoring, automated alerts via text or email, and historical reporting. Software can be used to manage a single site or across multiple locations to measure hundreds of vessels.
