Get Your Collection System Out of the Dark! A Cloud-based SCADA System Sheds Light on Wet Weather Operations

The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) has built and implemented an innovative, cloud-based supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system that is dedicated to wet weather operations. It enables the observation of the collection system in real-time, the control of remote wet weather facilities, and the optimization of the available treatment and storage capacity across the entire system. While SCADA systems are standard practice at treatment plants, the application to a collection system is very new. MSDGC has overcome security concerns and technological barriers that other utilities can learn from, and most importantly, has demonstrated the significant value in investing in such a system that integrates all assets that impact wet weather operations, due to the power it has in improving operations during wet weather.