Improving communication and control

The Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection (WEP) maintains and operates six wastewater treatment plants, 140 pump stations and lift stations, and 3000 miles of piping. The largest facility in this system is the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro).

A treatment plant is not a stand-alone entity. It relies on many pump stations and a collection system to operate properly. A computer system monitors and controls these facilities.

A new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system was installed to expand and improve WEP's ability to monitor and control treatment at all of its sewage treatment plants. Planning for the new computer system began in 1998.

The new SCADA system was installed at six wastewater treatment plants and twenty-eight pump stations in 2001. It enhances the efficiency of the collection system and treatment processes, saving money by automating some previously manual systems and by better identifying the nature of problems for repair technicians before they are dispatched.

The system was designed with back-up capabilities. In normal mode, the system runs from two locations: North Area (Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant) and South Area (Metro). If either the North or South Area computers go down, the entire system can be monitored from one location.