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Case Study: Oil Spill Detection

River Faughan (N. Ireland)

The River Faughan is a renowned salmon and sea trout fishery
with approximately 20 km of prime angling water, rising on the
north-western slopes of the Sperrin Mountains above Claudy
in County Londonderry. Approximately 40 km long, the river
has a catchment area of just under 300km2.
The Carmony Water Treatment Works uses water from the river
to provide drinking water for the town.
About OilSpy
OilSpy detects floating hydocarbons using a patented
polymer membrane. The membrane dissolves in the
presence of a pollutant and triggers an alarm which
can be transmitted by cable, radio or phone link.

The river also supports a significant brown trout fishery. Some
13,000 salmon were recorded entering the system in 1996.
The Problem
The River Faughan is designated salmonid under the
Freshwater Fish Directive and its chemical quality is good
to fairly good. Biological quality is highly variable due to
intermittent localised pollution.
The Solution
In 2000 the DOE (WaterExecutive) NI installed MeasurIT OilSpy
units on all water intakes to treatment works throughout the
Western region. This included the intake at Carmony on the
River Faughan as well.
Standard OilSpy is very simple to set up with fixed or
floating system, which can automatically follow the
water level variations and does not drift or require
any calibration or adjustment.
Membrane response times:
Crude oil 2 - 13 min.
Gasoil & domestic fuel oil 2 - 3 min.
Premium grade petrol 4 sec
Kerosene 26 sec
Chloric solvents 8 - 10 sec
Acetone 10 sec
New lubricant oil does not dissolve
Heavy fuel oil Nº2 does not dissolve
read more at www.measurIT.com / OilSpy

The Result
In 2001 a household oil tank started to leak and traces of the
oil went into the River Faughan.

The MeasurIT Oil Spill detection system stopped the inlet

pumps and no oil entered the Carmony Water Treatment
Works. The sand filters were undamaged and after the leak
was traced, the plant resumed operation.

The system is now on line to the Environment and Health

Services (N.I.) as a first warning of oil pollution, protecting the
health of all water drinkers who rely on the river.

Discover our Impressive Performance Advantages.

MeasurIT Technologies Ltd.

Craan, Craanford, email: info@measurIT.com Phone: +353 (0) 53 942 8962
Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland www.measurIT.com Fax: +353 (0) 53 942 8963