FASTguard System

• Early detection of contamination events
• Potable and pre-treated water protection
• Prompt reporting and assessment of the threat
• High sensitivity with minimal false alarm rate

Contaminant Detection
Water abstraction points may be affected by spills from farms or factories, and deliberate contamination. Early warning monitoring systems are required to alert operators to these contaminants and to changes in key water quality parameters. A timely response is necessary to prevent contamination and disruption of the public water supply. Chelsea Technologies has developed FASTguard to observe the natural trends in water quality parameters and rapidly detect and report anomalies.

FASTguard For Rapid Contaminant Detection  
FASTguard is a result of a development programme to assess the suitability of the Fast Repetition Rate Fluorescence  technology for detecting the effects of hostile contaminants. The ability of water borne algae to photosynthesize, and hence fluoresce, is significantly affected by toxic chemicals. FASTguard provides an instant response to range of contaminants including methylparathion (an organophosphate insecticide), potassium cyanide (which can result in nervous system and respiratory failure), diuron and paraquat.

FASTguard measures a time dependent fluorescence signal that arises solely from chlorophyll that is active in photosynthesis - a parameter directly related to the physiology of the algae. Therefore FASTguard is capable of discriminating between chlorophyll that is free in the water column, present in dead algae and present in physiologically active organisms. Importantly, the measurement is independent of algae concentration and changes in ambient light levels. The response time for FASTguard  to detect a contamination event can be a matter of seconds. When combined with historic time series, and other water quality parameters, the likelihood of a false alarm is minimized. This makes FASTguard ideally suited for deployments at critical points in water distribution systems to detect contamination of water pre- and post-treatment. 

The Challenges
Chelsea Technologies Group is addressing the new challenges of the Homeland Security threat with its proven capability in sensors and system design for operations in hostile environments. The systems are specifically designed to measure a wide range of physical, chemical, biological and optical properties. Analysis of this data enables threat detection against complex backgrounds in rivers and at abstraction points

Operational Monitoring Systems
An early-warning monitoring network can help to ensure abstraction point and water storage protection. The sensors must perform reliably when unattended for extended periods of time, typically many months. Any contamination events must be detected promptly and information passed efficiently to the monitoring station that maybe many miles away. Incorrect reporting of events, and false positives, are unacceptable.

As the design authority for a number of military environmental systems we understand the demands of operational systems and provide sensors with significantly extended calibration intervals, built in test circuitry and redundancy.