SEXTANG - EXPERT-SYSTEM FOR OPERATION OF TREATMENT STATIONS USING FACULTATIVE AERATED LAGOONS

When completed, the actual program of municipal wastewater abatment of Quebec will comprise, among many treatment stations, approximately 40 0 facultative aerated lagoons. This type of station needs some supervi sion to maintain a good performance. Failure to adequately supervise t he process could result in partly treated waters, not meeting environm ental regulations, being released. SEXTANG is a prototype of expert sy stem developed to assist operators of these stations in their every da y duties and to identify the causes of misfunctions and propose soluti ons. Four different functions are available: (i) diagnosis and solutio ns to identified problems, (ii) data record and processing of current parameters, (iii) sludge management, and (iv) information on environme ntal regulations. SEXTANG presents also a user friendly interface with functions like an explanation of questions asked by the system, a dic tionary of wastewater treatment terminology, and the access, at any ti me during a consultation, to the values and answers given by the opera tor since the beginning of the consultation.