Integrated software platform streamlines compliance and protects data integrity

Problem

Riverside (California) Public Utilities was using different platforms to manage data, including programs for water-quality management, one to centralize data sourced from other business systems including SCADA, a GIS and an asset management/work order system. While the technology was current, the data was still siloed and isolated. 

Solution

The agency used the WaterTrax API from Aquatic Informatics to seamlessly integrate with third-party systems in a secure and automated manner, providing a holistic view of the distribution system, treatment plant process control and groundwater well samples. Having all the data funnel into a central system in real time means staff no longer needs to manually extract data before performing data manipulation.

Result: 

The integration has yielded other benefits, with visual displays and automatic updates. Dashboards are displayed on a secure site. This has improved efficiency in water-quality management. Having the big picture in one place allows the utility to improve performance. 877-870-2782; www.aquaticinformatics.com

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Centralized valve control reduces operating costs

Problem

At a metropolitan wastewater treatment facility on the West Coast, wind and rain exposure had degraded the performance of the 15-year-old pneumatic solenoid valve system used for piloting critical process valves for water flow control. The manifolds were near the exterior process valves, exposing the electronic components to harsh conditions. This configuration also complicated maintenance and hindered troubleshooting.

Solution

Emerson provided an automation architecture that integrates pilot valve manifolds and fieldbus electronics into a single easy-to-access, NEMA 4-rated enclosure networked with the facility’s control system, providing more centralized control and easier maintenance. The turnkey solution was engineered and optimized for the municipality’s requirements and arrived preassembled, tested and ready to install. It serves as a central valve control point that reduced upfront expense and operating costs.

Result: 

Centralized valve control simplified the connections for the pilot valve network, saving energy and reducing downtime. The improved reliability reduces the facility’s downtime, saving considerable water purchase costs. The centralized pilot valves run on just 0.8 watt, versus traditional valves that use up to 7 watts. 800-972-2726; www.emerson.com

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Analyzers enable plant to monitor continuously and adapt to changing conditions

Problem

The Plant City (Florida) Water Reclamation Facility uses only about half of its 10 mgd capacity. Fourteen percent of the flow comes from industries including metal treating, fiberboard construction, food processing and dairying. Given the diverse and variable loading, operators couldn’t collect grab samples often enough to control aeration and maintain compliance.  

Solution

To take the guesswork out of managing the process, the facility installed two UV-4100 process analyzers from ChemScan, an In-Situ Co., that were configured for analysis of ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphorous. An external sample sequence controller (also ChemScan) manages the sample flow from each sample location. The system is designed for continuous operation so that a new sample line flushes while the previous sample is analyzed. Each parameter at each sample location has its own calibration and sends a dedicated signal showing the results to the SCADA system, where the data is used to control aeration rates, recirculation rates and chemical feed.

Result: 

“Our analyzers are the heart of the plant, and our staff can operate them with minimal training,” says Pat Murphy, chief plant operator. “We needed a process that was operator friendly, durable and long lasting. The online analyzers have been the key to making this a reality.” 800-665-7133; www.chemscan.com

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City improves water treatment monitoring

Problem

The City of Haverhill (Massachusetts) Water Division serves 58,000 residents and businesses and produces 2 billion gallons of water per year. The plant is manned continuously. Water comes from three sources; the city needed to better monitor water treatment and maintain high quality.

Solution

GE Digital’s iFIX allowed the city to move to a computerized process environment, giving it a cohesive system to follow procedures and respond to events in a consistent and sequenced manner. Management went further by purchasing laptops for on-call operators, enabling them to control operations from any location.

Result: 

The move has given the plant more flexibility and reduced cost. “With iFIX, you can dial in the plant, get it set up and don’t have to watch it as closely,” says John D’Aoust, plant manager. “The team has all the features of the control room in their hands.” 800-433-2682; www.ge.com/digital

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Water company overcomes disinfection byproducts problem through collaboration

Problem

The Middlesex Water’s 60 mgd Carl J. Olsen Plant in Edison, New Jersey, saw high total organic carbon in the source water, causing high disinfection byproduct levels, mainly trihalomethanes, in parts of the distribution system where chlorine was used. The plant needed to quickly predict, identify and optimize organics removal to mitigate THM formation and ensure compliance with increasingly stringent regulations.

Solution

The plant teamed with HORIBA Scientific, which recommended its Aqualog spectrofluorimeter. It simultaneously measures absorbance-transmittance spectra and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (A-TEEM) within two to three minutes per sample, up to 100 times faster than conventional fluorimeters. HORIBA also supplied the Aqualog Datastream Dashboard using multivariate analysis to provide early warnings of TOC composition and concentration, which directly relates to DBP precursors, THM formation potential and key THM species’ concentration. 

Result: 

The Datastream Dashboard-validated THM model yielded an adjusted R2 = 0.980 with a slope = 0.956, and it reported close correspondence to each THM species concentration. This allowed for a reagent-free method that rapidly predicts THM and species concentrations. The plant staff uses the information to adjust treatment and minimize THM formation. 732-494-8660; www.aqualog.com

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Process turbidimeters helps water utility save an entire shift’s worth of operator’s time weekly

Problem

Central Arkansas Water’s Jack H. Wilson Plant has collected data and conducted a self-assessment and is working toward system optimization. During this process, the staff identified inefficiencies in the process turbidity workflow. One operator would spend six to eight hours per week (an entire shift) cleaning the turbidimeters. In addition to cleaning, the plant had a standard operating procedure to collect a manual grab sample every four hours.

Solution

The utility selected Lovibond PTV Series Process Turbidimeters. “This is the only turbidity meter I have ever seen that worked correctly right out of the box,” says Alan Dickey, instrument technician. The instruments were easy to install and use and require little maintenance. The instruments are now cleaned quarterly along with scheduled calibrations. This freed six to eight hours per week for other operating duties.

RESULT:

The plant continues to run monthly dry verifications on the turbidimeters. The PTV Series instruments deliver such consistent and reliable data that the every-four-hours grab sample procedure has been abandoned. Operators appreciate the hands-off dependability of the instruments and the time savings. 800-922-5242; www.lovibond.com

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County takes a proactive stance toward climate change

Problem

Expecting more flooding due to changing climate, Maryland’s Baltimore County has been revamping sewerage lift stations to be flood-resistant. One at a time, conventional below-grade electric pumps are being replaced with submersible dry/wet pumps. During a flood, these pumps provide uninterrupted service, even underwater. The county sought to monitor pump performance and prevent pressure switches from shorting out during floods, and it aims to make sure pressure instruments wouldn’t become clogged with debris.

Solution

The county combined an SOR 805PT submersible transmitter with an Onyx Valve Isolator Ring. The transmitter, designed for continuous submergence, sends an analog signal to a control station above maximum flood elevation. The Isolator Ring protects the transmitter and is guaranteed never to clog or plug.

Result: 

During floods, the Isolator Ring and transmitter continue sending pressure signals to the control panel, even when submerged for days or weeks at a time. 856-829-2888; www.onyxvalve.com

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PC-based HART communicator saves cost and increases functionality

Problem

Evoqua Water Technologies builds water and wastewater treatment systems controlled by industrial automation using HART-based instrumentation. Commissioning and servicing of these systems requires a staff of field service engineers, each needing tools to configure HART devices. Hand-held communicators for each engineer are costly, require frequent battery charging and require engineers to carry an additional device.

Solution

The ProComSol DevCom2000 Smart Device Communicator PC application with a ProComSol USB HART modem was selected. DevCom2000 uses standard HART DD files to communicate with HART devices, allowing the engineers to use the laptops they are already carrying to configure HART devices.

RESULT:

Steve Bachechi manages eight field service engineers serving the Colorado area. In addition to the cost savings, the DevCom2000 communicator can cover the engineers with only five licenses using the flexibility of the DevCom2000 licensing manager. This combination saved Evoqua $16,000 to $32,000 in equipment costs. An additional benefit is the ability to save configurations to PC files for cloning devices, share device configuration and archive configurations for future device replacement. 877-221-1551; www.procomsol.com   

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Instrumentation allows plant to make quick corrections 

Problem

At Bucklin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, an advanced BNR facility in Providence, Rhode Island, the loss of a recirculation pump in one of their trains caused SCADA to show significant changes in ammonia, nitrate and ORP.

Solution 

Bucklin Point monitors its nitrogen removal process with the YSI IQ SensorNet online instrumentation system. In regular operation, the YSI VARiON (ammonium and nitrate) and SensoLyt (ORP) sensors provide trending to adjust swing zones and recirculation pumps. These sensors also offer assurance that the process is operating correctly, and alert the operators of any process issues. The sensors were able to alert the operators of the process issue, and document the drastic process changes with one pump malfunction.

Result: 

Sharp changes occurred in both anoxic and aerobic zones. Anoxic ammonia doubled from 7 to 14 mg/L, while the aerobic ammonia reduced from 2.5 mg/L to 0.5 mg/L, and aerobic nitrate decreased from 7 mg/L to 4.5 mg/L. The ORP trends in each zone suggest significant changes to biological activity with the anoxic zone dropping by 50 mV and the aerobic ORP decreasing by 30 mV. The operators were quick to react to the malfunctioning recirculation pump and returned to regular operation in only three hours. 937-688-4255; www.ysi.com