City’s Water Department Goes High Tech

State Of The Art System – Assistant Superintendent David Floyd of the Water and Wastewater Department monitors the SCADA system at the department’s headquarters on Blount Street. – Photo by Jack Gurner

By Jack Gurner
Reporter

WATER VALLEY – The City’s Water and Wastewater Department has completed another step into the future with the recent installation of a $118,000 SCADA system.

The SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system will monitor chlorine levels in the water as required by the EPA, according to Morris Surrette, Superintendent of the Water and Wastewater Depart-ment.

“The ground water rule mandated continuous monitoring of chlorine in water,” Surrette said. “To do that, you have to have chlorine analyzers at each of your treatment plants to analyze the chlorine every 15 minutes.”

EPA published the ground water rule in November 2006.  The purpose is to provide for increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water sources.

The SCADA gathers the data electronically and transmits it by radio to a computer located in the department’s facility on Blount Street, Surrette added. The system also monitors pH and will make sure wells and sewer pumping stations are functioning effectively.

It keeps track of the system’s wells and allows them to be controlled remotely in case of pump failures, added Surrette’s second in command, Assistant Superintendent David Floyd. “The system can be checked from a remote location by accessing the computer through the Internet.”

The SCADA even has the ability to send a cell phone text message to the two superintendents if something goes wrong.

“It is going to help us. We can basically control the whole system right here from this computer,” Floyd said, pointing to the visuals on the computer screen showing the current status of the City’s entire water system.

Both men agreed that having the ability to closely monitor what goes on in the system will save taxpayer money over time in areas such as pump efficiency and water loss. The system is being paid for with grants from the ARC and the state.

Age Of Replacement

The high-tech monitoring system is just one of the challenges facing water systems nationwide as they enter the 21st century with infrastructure that dates from the 19th century.

“The entire United States is more or less in a crisis with our infrastructure especially water and wastewater,” Surrette explained.  “Most of it was put in years ago, some of it in the late 1800’s. As with anything, it wears out and deteriorates.”

“It’s not like electricity or telephone. It’s underground and the saying is ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ People don’t tend to think about the importance of it because they don’t see it,” he said.

The department is always more or less in a repair mode, according to Surrette. “We do repair work practically every day of the week. We do some installation of new lines and manholes, but most of our work is repair work and it is a constant struggle to keep everything flowing the way it should be flowing.”

“Pumps wear out and fail; wells wear out after so many years. That is an expense to the taxpayer. There is constant expense and constant repair works that goes on,” Surrette said.

According to a study by the American Water Works, the world’s largest and oldest scientific and educational association representing drinking water supply professionals, the average replacement cost of water mains is about $6,300 per household in today’s dollars. If water treatment plants, pumps, etc., are included, the replacement cost value rises to just under $10,000 per household, on average.

High Tech Job  

For many years the perception of a waterworks employee was a man with a shovel. But, the job now requires the ability to run sophisticated equipment and handle dangerous chemicals, according to Surrette.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re always going to have to know how to use a shovel because that’s just part of it. Somebody’s got to dig that ditch. It can’t all be dug by a backhoe.”

“But, they’ve also got to know how to run this electronic equipment,” he added, “They’ve got to know how to measure the amount of chemicals. We’ve got to be able to kill any bacteria or viruses that are in the water.”

“It has come to the point now that we’ve got enough technology here that we can’t just have a crew to do the labor and then have enough folks to do the technology side. The people we hire have got to do both of them.”

Surrette explained that many times an employee will be working “on call” by himself and has to know how to operate the system. “It’s a very responsible job for all these guys.”

It is also a very dangerous job, according to Surrette. “They are exposed to every disease that everybody else it town is exposed to. It goes into the wastewater and then our guys are exposed to it.”

“We don’t pay as well as a lot of places,” he said. “It’s hard to convince somebody to come work for us unless we talk about the benefits and pension.”

Currently there are seven employees in the department including Surrette and Floyd, who are certified operators. Surrette has been with the department for 12 years and Floyd six-and-a-half years. Floyd also served for six years with the Grenada water system.

Surrette wants to start another employee in the wastewater certification process next year. Becoming a certified operator requires two years of hands on experience in the wastewater facility and attending a week-long school under the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Mississippi Water and Pollution Control Operators Association. And, once an operator is certified, they have to attend continuing education each year to keep up to date.

“It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if everybody was certified. The more they know the less I have to do,” joked Surrette, who can often be found working side-by-side with his employees.

Into The Future

Looking at the City’s future needs, Surrette said he would like to see another water tank on the northeast side of town to increase pressure in that area. “We’ve got areas in town that need bigger lines and more efficient service.”

He also wants to develop a mapping system within the next two to three years starting with water meters, manholes, and fire hydrants. From there he wants to map the lines and valves for the system’s 1600 active connections.

The department is also looking at automatic metering systems similar in function to those about to be installed by the electric department. “It’ll be a whole lot more efficient for us. We won’t have the expense of driving a truck around town several days a week burning fuel and polluting the environment.”

The automatic meters will also help detect leaks throughout the month, saving resources and money.

Surrette acknowledged that those kinds of improvements are expensive. “We’re always in need of money and we have a mayor who is good at developing grants,” he said, praising the work by Mayor Larry Hart to obtain money through state and federal sources.

“We have to put back enough money to grow the system.”