Flowmeters are well known technologies and highly prevalent but not free of errors, the causes can be quite varied. These sensors installed in sewer systems can’t be in situ calibrate. A method of in situ verification of flow meters, used for pseudo-calibrations, is presented. Indeed, the injection of a tracer in a flow allows to calculate the flow and its uncertainty in a manner independent of probes in place. This methodology, in seven steps, provides results comparable to those provided by methods considered standards (tracer salts and electromagnetic flowmeter). The first applications in combined sewers were conducted for verification of flowmeters (along a main pipe of Greater Lyon) and for calibrations curves (the Syndicat Intercommunal Grand Sanitation Project). For qualitative measures of influents, many previous studies have shown good correlations between pollutant concentrations and the signals provided by turbidimeters and UV/visible spectrometers. A pilot and experimental samples taken during campaigns on the pretreated influent of the waste water treatment plant of Fontaines-sur-Saône, a bench was built to meet the following objectives: i) design and test a site measuring of a new generation, ii) seek regression models among different sensors (single and dual length(s)-wavelength(s) turbidimeters, conductivity meter, pH meter, UV/visible spectrometer, microwave sensors) and pollutant concentrations for samples of dry weather, wet weather and all, iii) characterize the performance of these models and iv) test the robustness of the proposed methods under atypical conditions but succeptibles to be encountered in sewers. The results confirm the good correlations between few parameters (turbidity, conductivity and UV/Vis fingerprint) and pollutant concentrations. No sensor is the most efficient for all pollutants. The majority of sensors deliver similar estimates to uncertainties but these estimates are little or no redundant with laboratory analysis. The design of the bench (and changes in wastewater matrices) and / or experimental conditions during the tests of robustness may be involved.
