The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is all set to take the technology path to monitor the water supply at various pumphouses with the implementation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.
While the board had earlier implemented SCADA to monitor sewage flow through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), the technology is now being extended to monitor water supply.
From the quantity of water supplied to every pumphouse to the number of pumps running, all the parameters can be monitored from a central control room.
“The system will record a large number of parameters, including the quantity of water being discharged, the water pressure and the number of hours each pumpset has run. This will help us get an overall picture in one place,” a senior BWSSB official said.
Discharge pressure, power consumption, individual pump discharge and individual pump power consumption are among the major parameters recorded.
Online data monitoring and recording will also help the officials make informed decisions and aid in better planning for future projects. That apart, the system will record the pumpset condition and the officials are hoping that this will help monitor the health of the pumpsets.
“Through the parameters recorded, we can determine if the pumpset is breaking down or has any problem. This will help us take preventive measures. Earlier, we had to inspect every pumpset and many times, we would not realise the state of the pumpset unless it broke down,” yet another official explained.
SCADA will also help improve the operating efficiency and performance of the pumpsets. “If monitored well, we can also cut down on water losses. Though the losses at pumping levels are as low as 1%, if we are able to monitor the system, we can eliminate those losses as well,” a BWSSB engineer said.
In course of time, officials plan to integrate many more parameters into the system. The SCADA implemented for the monitoring of the STPs and sewage flow records raw water inflow quantity, raw water turbidity, treated water quantity, residual chlorine, treated water turbidity and power consumption.