The Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility’s (LRWWU) undertook over $25 million worth of projects aimed at improving reliability and performance at its Duck Island Wastewater Treatment Facility, a 30-year-old plant. We provided the design and implementation of SCADA upgrades for the LRWWU, which were a key component of bringing the facility up-to-date and ensuring it operates successfully.
The Duck Island WWTF did have an existing SCADA system in place, but it required significant upgrades, and the plant staff wanted to take full advantage of the additional information and control capabilities made possible with the new equipment being installed as part of the comprehensive upgrades to improve process performance.
We designed four new custom control panels and modified several existing panels, enabling them to communicate with the new, more intelligent equipment, and act as data concentrators for the rest of the network traffic. Another component of the project that was of critical importance to LRWWU was bringing data back from nine remote pump stations to the plant SCADA system. This data gave plant staff their first real-time understanding of flows in the collection system, a tool that is important for managing wastewater during wet-weather events.
We continued to assist LRWWU through startup and troubleshooting as the final pieces of equipment came on line, working collaboratively to solve any issues that arose. Plant staff now have a much greater level of understanding and control over operations at the WWTF, which allows them achieve their mission of protecting water quality more effectively.
