SCADA Upgrade Helps Community Services District Gain Control of I&I While Reducing False Alarms

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district found itself between a rock and a hard place, like thousands of agencies with aging infrastructure and outdated SCADA technology used to support critical functions.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.