Collecting and moving wastewater at sea level, surrounded by protected aquatic ecosystems, leaves little room for error. In Southern California, a small community services district found itself between a rock and a hard place, like thousands of agencies with aging infrastructure and outdated SCADA technology used to support critical functions. The district needed a solution that worked for their budget while giving them the information and control they needed to maintain compliance.
In an effort to gain more control over their system and reduce the burden of false alarms on their staff, the district pursued a multi-pronged approach to upgrade their SCADA technology. Phase 1 involved installing ultrasonic level sensors on numerous manhole covers to monitor flows through underground pipes. Phase 2 involved installation of XiO’s Cloud SCADA® Lift Station Control System at their lift stations. The preconfigured system was installed by a local electrician in less than a day. District staff were able to view wet well levels, determine if a pump was ragged up, and turn pumps on and off remotely. The system allowed operators to receive alarms on their mobile phones and view enough relevant information to know if the alarm was valid or not.
XiO’s new SCADA system included wastewater level sensors and resulted in an immediate reduction in the number of false alarms. Viewing the system’s analytics, operators began to notice a trend of increased pump run time during and following wet weather events. As they tracked the trends, it became clear that their system was more strongly impacted by infiltration and inflow (I&I) than previously understood. The inflow from the groundwater and stormwater led to increased pump run times and filled the lift stations during storms, leaving the district vulnerable to overflows.
Based on the insights gained from the XiO Cloud SCADA® System, the district embarked on a full inspection of their collection system and developed a capital improvement project (CIP) to fund repairs to their underground infrastructure.
Since upgrading to the XiO Cloud SCADA® System, the district has reduced overtime call out costs by 75%. As management of collection systems becomes more complicated, XiO’s Cloud SCADA® System has proven to be a reliable tool, providing system insights, alerts, and control.
Editor's Note: Scranton Gillette Communications and the SGC Water Group are not liable for the accuracy, efficacy and validity of the claims made in this piece. The views expressed in this content do not reflect the position of the editorial teams of Water & Wastes Digest, Water Quality Products and Storm Water Solutions.
