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Technology Dollars And Sense: The Financial Case For Automation Advanced Automation Systems Allow Municipalities To Do Much More With Less by Doug Johnson hether it is dining out less often or putting off that new car purchase just a bit longer, it seems that doing more with less is something many of us have become accustomed to over the last few years. Consumers are not the only ones feeling the pinch. Corporate America has hunkered down, something that has been well chronicled in the news. But there are other organizations struggling to make ends meet: the municipalities and regional authorities respon- sible for keeping our water and wastewater infrastructure operating smoothly. W Population growth, increas- ingly complex regulations, aging infrastructure, and cyber-security threats are all straining the abil- ity of organizations to serve their communities. These challenges, complicated by tax base losses driven by the economic downturn and the retirement of experienced industry managers, engineers, and operators, are moving those in the industry to seek out creative solu- tions in their mission to maintain essential services. Extreme couponing is not an option. Automation is. Automation can have a profound impact — helping an organization meet today's competing opera- tional, environmental, and finan- cial objectives. Moving beyond the walls of a single facility, an integrated approach to automation allows for wide-area monitoring and control of district-wide assets from a single, centralized location. (image courtesy of Emerson) The majority of municipalities and regional authorities utilize automation to some degree. In some cases, control replacement is done to meet immediate needs — without a clear overall automation goal in mind. Consequently, over time these organizations may find themselves saddled with a patchwork of PLCs and/or outdated proprietary controls that don't easily "speak" to each other (if at all), are expensive to maintain due to the scarcity of spare parts, and do not lend themselves to system expansion to meet the needs of a growing population or the implementation of new treatment 16 Water Online The Magazine, Cleanwater Edition ■ wateronline.com processes and technologies. These disparate islands of auto- mation are part of the problem, not the solution. Conversely, unified plant controls and remote SCADA sys- tems, integrated on a district-wide basis, go far beyond the basic definition of process control. At the plant level, tighter overall control and process visibility made possible by an integrated control architecture can translate into improved management of treatment processes. The control system can constantly adjust chemical deployment based on flows, levels and other critical process measurements, resulting in better control over the amounts of chemicals used in a treatment process, as well as potential cost savings. Moving beyond the walls of a single facility, an integrated approach to auto- mation allows for wide-area monitor- ing and control of all assets — includ- ing remote pumping stations, treatment plants, wastewater collection systems, water distribution systems, storm water retention reservoirs, weather monitor- ing systems, etc. — from a single, cen- tralized location. Such district-wide vis- ibility enables operators to more quick- ly detect and isolate system leaks as well as better react to rapidly changing conditions such as storm water inflow. Adjusting operating parameters accord- ing to changing situations, advanced control technology helps prevent the overflow of untreated sewage into waterways during wet weather events thereby eliminating the subsequent health, environmental, and regulatory consequences. And by providing continuous, up-to-date information from remote facilities, it is possible to detect equipment failures early, helping to eliminate potential environmental problems while also improving process reli- ability and reducing operations and maintenance costs. Even greater efficiencies and potential cost and time sav- ings can be achieved by integrating process automation and plant management systems with other information sys- tems. These include maintenance management, laboratory