AWWA IMT61464

Due to vast improvements in technology, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have evolved to provide high levels of automation, data management and reporting that improve the operation and maintenance of water and wastewater facilities. As utilities spend large sums of money to implement state-of-the-art SCADA systems, the life of the system is always a concern. This is especially true for SCADA projects whose construction phases occur over a long period of time and over multiple construction contracts. Key components of the SCADA system such as PLCs, HMI software and other hardware components can become obsolete by the time the project is brought to successful completion. The open concept and compatibility of many of the software and hardware components used in SCADA technology have led to a furious competition between manufacturers, thereby resulting in new and improved components that appear and disappear in the market at a very rapid rate. This paper addresses the steps and methodologies in which the race against obsolescence can be won, and how to achieve a state of the art SCADA system at the completion of a long term project. Five SCADA components are discussed and include: instrumentation; programmable logic controller (PLC); networks; reporting (information processing/archiving; and, security. Includes 2 references, figure.