Case Study

SightLogix Smart Thermal Cameras Protect Water and Wastewater Facilities

SightLogix smart thermal cameras are being used to secure water utilities globally against unauthorized intrusions and potential sabotage. These sites select the SightLogix system for its ability to detect intruders over large outdoor areas with great accuracy and low costs, enabling the rapid, reliable, early-detection system that water utilities require.

“Water is one of our most precious resources,” said John Romanowich, President and CEO of SightLogix, “Safeguarding these sites from attacks is essential for protecting public health and security.”

According to the US Department of Homeland Security, more than 75% of the US population receives drinking water or has sanitary sewerage treated by the wastewater system. SightSensors offer a sound and effective security best practice to help water utilities reduce vulnerabilities and manage risk.

In a typical application, anywhere from five to twenty-five thermal SightSensors with integrated video analytics are positioned along the expansive water treatment perimeters, often paired with a SightTracker PTZ controller. When an intruder enters a secured area or even approaches a fence line, the SightSensor detects the breach, auto-steers a PTZ onto the source of the event and sends an alarm with video to security operators. Guards view the video in real time and make fast decisions to stop intruders before they can cause harm.

Because the SightLogix system protects large perimeters with minimal nuisance alerts, the water utilities can create a blanket of awareness around their entire site with fewer cameras and greatly reduced infrastructure when compared to alternatives, making the SightLogix system not only a reliable security solution but an affordable one as well.

Water utilities report additional benefits of the SightLogix system. For example, many water treatment plants are in residential areas where lighting is either not allowed or desired, making thermal cameras, which operate in complete darkness, a good choice. During working hours, these sites use SightSensor geo-spatial video analytic detection rules to help operators observe and analyze pedestrian and vehicular traffic, making them an excellent 24-hour solution. They are also a good tool to protect internal assets where physical or man-made boundaries would be costly and likely impede the flow of business operations. For these situations, customers are using thermal video to create a surveillance ‘buffer zone’ around areas of special concern to detect access based on time of day or other criteria, mitigating possible sabotage or theft from insiders.

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