Most people don’t think about what happens to the water in their toilets when they flush.
However, Red Meters LLC Director of Operations Henry Moth and others at the Orlando-based company do.
Red Meters is working with the Mexican city of Acapulco — and talking with other governments around the world — to rehabilitate wastewater treatment infrastructure and outfit it with the company’s smart industrial measurement technology.
The firm’s density meters simultaneously measures multiple variables and provides real-time analytics for clients in mining, oil/gas and other industries.
While wastewater isn’t necessarily a topic at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, highlights why it’s essential to update the infrastructure with the latest tech, Moth told Orlando Inno.
The relatively new technology Red Meters and other companies are bringing to the wastewater industry can detect potential issues quicker, increasing the chances of finding and fixing problems before they turn into disasters, Moth said. “There is technology available — not just Red Meters, but a network of technology — that can help bring the system real-time data, rather than having crews on 24-hour standby for what we call a stinky mess emergency.”
In Mexico, Red Meters will help the government reopen a closed wastewater treatment plant. The project in Acapulco is a feasibility study, but Mexico is interested in deploying Red Meters' technology across the country, Sales Manager Tommy Dyer said.
Of course, inefficient wastewater systems aren’t confined to Mexico. They hinder governments and communities around the world, including in the U.S. Part of the issue is outdated systems that make it difficult to detect problems early enough to avoid emergencies, Dyer said. “These technologies that are available give you an idea of if there's an inconsistency… When you find out and it's too late, it's a disaster. Then it becomes really expensive to fix.”
Water and wastewater treatment is nearly a half-a-trillion-dollar industry. The global sector in 2021 was valued at $281 billion, and its value is projected to grow to $489 billion by 2029, according to New York-based market data firm Statista Inc.
Wastewater is a significant industry for Red Meters, and the firm is in talks with officials in countries ranging from Morocco to Kazakhstan to provide its tech and services for wastewater treatment.
“One of the reasons we’re so passionate about Acapulco and wastewater is it’s a big market, but also, water is life,” Moth said. “Without it, we can’t exist as a species. We have to use it in a sustainable way.”
Meanwhile, water system issues in Jackson go back years. They culminated last week when the residents of Mississippi’s capital on Aug. 29 lost reliable access to running water, leaving tens of thousands of people without water to bathe, brush their teeth or flush their toilets.
Pumps at a local water treatment plant were damaged in July, and heavy rains in August caused floods that affected the intake water for a drinking water treatment plant, CNN reported. Part of the plant was shut down, and water distribution pressure was lost.
The city of Jackson on Sept. 5 announced water pressure levels were back to normal and that the entire city should have regular water pressure. However, the city remains under a boil water notice.
The city aims to begin sampling water by the middle of the week, and will need two rounds of clear samples before it can lift the boil water notice, according to the city of Jackson website.
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