Peter Rhodes on sewage, sensors and well-off toolsetters
When the BBC reports thousands of sewage spills during dry weather and the water companies say nonsense, one word springs to my mind: sensors.
They are little gizmos stuffed into almost everything we use, from cars to toasters and, I dare say, are also found in sewage-leak detectors. They may detect pressure, movement or proximity but they all have one thing in common. They break.
Consider our car which, like many others, has a sensor to detect punctures but sometimes lights up when there is no puncture. The makers must be aware of this problem which presumably explains the big button on the console that re-sets the sensor.
