Albany, Georgia

Radio SCADA Network for 100 Wastewater & Storm Water Lift Stations

Albany, a city of 78,000 located on the Flint River in southwestern Georgia, sends about 20 million gallons of wastewater per day to a single treatment plant. The collection network incorporates 80 unattended lift stations scattered about the city. In addition, 18 similar stations are devoted to storm water. At each station, there are typically three or four electrically powered pumps. In 1996, the City of Albany selected Revere Control Systems to replace a failing radio SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) network dating back to about 1981. The purpose was to allow operators at the treatment plant to monitor alarm conditions at all lift stations. Revere's concept uses Motorola MOSCAD™ remote terminal units (RTUs) with two-way FM radio communication.

Competitive Proposals in Two Stages

To secure a variety of alternative concepts and preserve flexibility in selecting the source, Albany requested proposals on general requirements rather than going out for bids on tight specifications. Six contractors from Alabama, Florida, and Wisconsin were invited to send representatives to an initial joint meeting and tour of the facilities early in 1996. Based on the responses and on further meetings with all the competitors, Albany refined its requirements and requested a second round of proposals.

Revere was not the only contractor whose proposal centered on Motorola MOSCAD equipment. Reasons for the final selection included cost-effectiveness and good fit with requirements, as well as strong confidence in Revere's ability to perform. In particular, Albany was pleased with PLC-based controls provided by Revere for a recent upgrade and expansion of the wastewater plant. Work on the new SCADA system began in July of 1996 and was finished in about six months. Since then, more RTUs have been added as new lift stations were constructed.

According to Albany's Superintendent Larry Wert, "We did a sort of bare-bones installation to begin with, but we wanted the capability for expansion. The program and the units can do much more than what they are right now. We are happy with the way Revere has been responsive and taken care of the adjustments you run into with a new system."

A typical lift station showing the SCADA radio antenna. The Albany system has nearly 100 stations.

The Motorola MCP-M central communication processor located at the wastewater treatment plant.