The Pipeline Vol. 2, No. 1

Columbia Water recently completed improvements to 30 of the City’s pump stations as an  implementation of the Transmission System Operations and Maintenance Program (TSOMP) required by the Consent Decree. The improvements, which included upgrading or adding monitoring via Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), the city's system of monitoring, gathering, and processing real-time data from pump stations, provides operational and reliability enhancements to the affected pump stations.  Construction involved the addition of site-specific improvements to meet the TSOMP’s requirements for each pump station such as, the addition of signals, component backup power, live level readings and control, fail switches, and generator status indicators.  It also included much-needed equipment improvements like the transition from radio to cellular communications to improve SCADA monitoring at these sites, and the addition of minor equipment such as pressure gauges.  In some cases, new pump control panels were installed to meet the requirements due to limitations within the existing panels.  These improvements will enhance Columbia Water’s ability to recognize and respond to potential issues, manage operations related to these pump stations, and reduce the likelihood of sanitary sewer overflows related to pump station operation and failures.