Water & Wastewater Data Management NTLAS Chapter Meeting July 21 st, 2009 Scott Dorner Hach Company

Water & Wastewater Data Management Water and Wastewater Utilities need to analyze and report on a wide range of data sets including: Lab (LIMS, outside Labs) Process (SCADA/Historians, data loggers) Field (Operator benchsheets and logs) Plant Maintenance (CMMS) Miscellaneous (USGS, Weather, EPA …)

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) Typically produces 20% - 40% of the data for the Utility Sample Scheduling Sample Login and Tracking (Chain of Custody) Enter/Verify Results Report Results (Certificate of Analysis) Instrument Interfacing QC Analysis

Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) LIMS Vendors ATL – SampleMaster, Bulldog Perkin Elmer – Labworks LabVantage – Sapphire Several others including Tribal, Labsoft, etc…

SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) Typically produces 20% - 30% of the data for the Utility Collects data from field/online devices such as PLC’s/RTU’s Allows Users to control pumps, blowers, etc…, change set points in PLC’s. Human Machine Interface (HMI) gives users a real time view of the process Alarms on real time conditions Logs data to Historians

SCADA HMI Example Collects data from field devices such as PLC’s/RTU’s Allows Users to control devices, change set points in PLC’s. Gives users a real time view of the process

SCADA Vendors GE Fanuc – iFix (formerly Intellution) Wonderware – InTouch Rockwell – RsView 32, RsView SE Systems are usually implemented by System Integrators who program the PLC’s, connect 4-20MA, and design the HMI Screens

Historians Logs Raw Data down to the millisecond from the SCADA system Offers “open” database for retrieval and analysis. Official record that cannot be changed. Buzzwords – SQL, ODBC, OLE DB, Data Compression Typically comes with the HMI software

Water Information Management Combining the data from other systems which are typically islands or silos of data Allow entry of operator log sheets % of data. Perform calculations – Loading, CT ratios, Weekly Averages, handle data qualifiers, 10%-15% of data Produce regulatory and process analysis reports Excel is often used to combine and calculate the data Users spend hours copying/reentering data, preparing reports, troubleshooting data Database management systems such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Access… are the better approach

Spreadsheets vs Databases Spreadsheets have no multiuser ability Spreadsheets have no audit trail. Difficult to perform calculations with data qualifiers, moving averages, etc… Databases have an unlimited capacity (analyzing years of data is easy) Hidden costs in spreadsheets. Users spend hours copying/reentering data, preparing reports, troubleshooting data, fixing broken links A spreadsheet is a great one-time analysis tool

WIMS Vendors Hach WIMS (formerly OPS SQL) Operator 10 by Allmax Microsoft Excel Custom Development by Consulting Engineers

Texas Wastewater Regulatory Reporting Texas eDMR and NetDMR NetDMR replaces eDMR (STEERS) program starting in July 2009 for all Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permittees. Allows users to electronically sign and submit water quality discharge-monitoring reports (DMRs) to the TCEQ. See for more information on the Texas eReporting system. A comma separated values (CSV) file that contains summary values similar to the DMR (NPDES Form):

Texas Wastewater Regulatory Reporting Enter data using the state’s web site Hach WIMS provides a straight forward way to produce the file.

Texas Drinking Water Regulatory Reporting Excel files provided by the state to be filled out: Surface Water Monthly Operating Report Total organic carbon monthly operating report etc… See User must fill out these forms and submit.

Texas Drinking Water Regulatory Reporting Hach WIMS provides a tool to map your data to the form.

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