DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SMALL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS – A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY

Automation monitoring and control systems that are designed primarily to deliver high end solutions may not always be necessary for certain small to medium sized industrial wastewater treatment applications. Automation monitoring capabilities were added to a small groundwater treatment facility to enable real time data acquisition and limited control over the internet at minimal cost. The upgrade of the treatment system was implemented in two phases – (i) interfacing existing and new process sensors motor starters, and automatic valves to an existing auto dialer system, and (ii) integration of auto dialer to a web enabled software package for real time data acquisition, analysis and decision support. Once these features are installed, they can readily be interfaced with web based capability through a secure web portal. This portal then presents authorized users with real time data, alarms, trend charts and reports. Other O&M features such as task and event scheduling, document archives, data forms and other utilities are also available through the centralized portal services manager.