News
New Westernport Water computer to 'ping' the pong
A new computer control system will help Westernport Water control smelly sewer pipes.
The virtual eye on the pipes and pumps of the water corporation network will also help overcome sewer spills and blockages.The $750,000 SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system will be a 24/7 ‘Big Brother’ overseeing all the water and sewer operations across nearly 700km of pipe hardware.
Ongoing monitoring should mean fewer emergency call-outs, improved asset management, more timely maintenance and lower costs for customers, said project co-ordinator Chris Buck.
“We will be able to measure in real time what’s going through the pipes and the pumping stations. “We believe this system will help to reduce odour at vulnerable spots such as Smiths Beach and Summerland,” he added.
“Odours are created when sewerage is left to pool in the pipes. With this new system we can monitor and control the rates of flow.
“If we have a blockage we can re-set the pumps by remote control and this should also prevent the sewer spills of the past, especially in the Dalyston and Kilcunda areas.”
The ongoing record will help with ongoing maintenance, he added. It will automatically notify staff when a pump is due for repairs or a regular inspection.
The new technology replaces an outmoded system which in some cases relied on flashing lights to indicate when the system malfunctioned.
The new SCADA system allows field crews to zoom in via screen link-up to see exactly what is wrong, and where.
The system will be housed at Westernport Water’s Newhaven headquarters but will be fully operational from remote sites by radio control.and via the internet.
“It means we’re not relying on the phone network,” Chris said. “And the telemetry has battery backup of five to six hours in case of power outages.”
Radio-controlled repeater stations are being established across the Westernport Water network.
The water corporation has commissioned a radio-frequency survey across its area to ensure the system has no black spots.
Acting managing director Keith Gregory said Westernport Water studied similar systems across other water corporations before committing to the SCADA set-up.
“We saw other water corporations using a patchwork of systems that did not always talk to each other. We wanted to avoid those problems and have opted for a fully integrated system that truly is state-of-the-art.” Fluctuating demand from Westernport Water’s seasonal customers was a unique challenge for the water corporation, he added.
“We can now program flow to cope with increased demand over the Christmas/New Year and other holiday periods,” he said.
“It allows us to fine-tune our water supply and sewer systems.”