Claims
- 1. In a water supply system including a plurality of conduits comprising a network of main water supply lines feeding laterals that deliver water from a treatment source to discrete user locations served by a lateral, a monitoring system for detecting the presence in the supply system of hazardous contaminant injected downstream of the treatment source, said monitoring system comprising a series of monitoring stations distributed broadly throughout the entire water supply system network, each station including direct access to a continuous flow of water, and means for detecting the presence of multiple types of hazardous contaminants; and,
means for transmitting a signal based on detection of a contaminants to enable all or a portion of the system to be shut down as quickly as possible regardless of where in the system the contaminant is injected.
- 2. The monitoring system as set forth in claim 1 including means for concentrating the contaminant in the flow of water to a given detection concentration level.
- 3. In a water supply system including a plurality of mains and laterals comprising a network of water supply lines delivering water from a treatment source to discrete user locations served by laterals, a monitoring system for detecting the presence in the supply system of hazardous material injected downstream of the treatment source, said monitoring system comprising a series of monitoring stations distributed broadly throughout the entire water supply system network, each station including direct access to a continuous flow of water, and detectors for detecting the presence of multiple types of hazardous materials; and,
a communication link connecting each station to a central control to transmit a signal based on detection of a hazardous material to enable al or a portion of the system to be shut down immediately regardless of where in the system the hazardous material is injected.
- 4. The monitoring system as set forth in claim 3 wherein said hazardous materials are selected from the group consisting of chemical, biological and radioactive contaminants.
- 5. The system as set forth n claim 3 including a sampling device for capturing a water sample in response to detection of a hazardous material.
- 6. A method for monitoring a water supply system including a network of main and lateral water supply lines delivering water from a treatment source to detect the presence of hazardous material injected downstream of the treatment source, said method comprising the steps of:
(1) broadly distributing a series of monitoring stations in supply lines throughout the water supply system; (2) providing direct access to a continuous flow of water in the system at each of said monitoring stations; (3) operating the monitoring stations to detect the presence of a hazardous material in the water supply system; (4) transmitting a signal based on detection of a hazardous material and (5) utilizing the signal to enable authorities to take immediate action including shutting down all or a portion of the system.
- 7. A method as set forth in claim 6 including the step of capturing a water sample in response to detection of a hazardous material.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present invention is based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/387,722, filed on Jun. 7, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60387722 |
Jun 2002 |
US |