Ontario Clean Water Agency

The Ontario Clean Water Agency relies on staff experience and continuous IT investment to service more than 500 utility locations in the Province of Ontario. Linda Seid Frembes finds out moreWater ÔÇöit sustains life and plays an important role in our environment, but most people take it for granted. No matter what time of day, it is expected that clean, clear water will pour from the faucet every time the tap is turned on. The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) has offices and work sites located throughout the Province of Ontario, servicing more than 500 utility locations to ensure that their water and wastewater treatment facilities meet the high regulatory standards of the Province.┬á A Crown Agency of the Province of Ontario, OCWA was formed in 1993 to operate, maintain and manage water and wastewater facilities. The Agency works with municipalities, industries and other partners to ensure safe and reliable water services. It annually produces over 800 million liters of drinking water and treats more than 1.1 billion liters of wastewater. OCWA participates in open Requests for Proposal (RFPs) from utilities looking for new service providers. They offer an analysis for service based on the RFP. Staff members operate facilities ranging from small well systems and lagoons to large water and wastewater systems serving over a million people. To support the business, corporate and area office staff provide support services including staff training and a wide range of IT tools. Providing high-level information systems is critical to further support and expand current projects and develop new areas of emphasis.ÔÇ£While we are a government agency, we also compete on the open market with other companies,ÔÇØ says George Terry, vice president. Terry oversees OCWAÔÇÖs Northern Ontario operations and maintenance division and the Agency-wide development and implementation of asset management and integrated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. ÔÇ£We share the responsibility for clean water services with our partnering clients. We work to provide them with the best experience and supports for their water and wastewater systems,ÔÇØ says Terry, who brings over 30 years of experience in the industry and who has been with OCWA since its formation. Staying competitive on the open market means a constant investment in information technology and in employee training for the AgencyÔÇÖs more than 700 staff members. All employees are required to complete at least 50 hours of training per year, depending on their certification and their specific job function. Training prepares employees to encounter the various collection and distribution environments at each utility, everything from municipal wastewater lagoons and pumping stations to large urban water treatment and regional water distribution systems. The Agency also offers its operational training services externally to Ontario water and wastewater operators for a fee.To capitalize on the Agency knowledge base, the employees work in a ÔÇ£hub and spokeÔÇØ structure. ÔÇ£In many situations, our people are pooled resources that are shared among clients. Specialists are shared amongst a myriad of utilities,ÔÇØ says Terry. ÔÇ£There are specialists in process management, capital planning, instrumentation and maintenance. We have them on staff, and they are dispatched according to need.ÔÇØTo help manage the information flow, OCWA has invested in an integrated set of operational tools including wide-area remote monitoring. OCWAÔÇÖs hub remote monitoring system allows for process optimization and data logging, process trending, remote alarming and optimization of staff time, which translates into reduced operating costs. The SCADA system is based on a Wonderware platform that is integrated into OCWAÔÇÖs Outpost 5 system, which allows for the real-time flow of information from the field to the hub and corporate office and vice versa. OCWAÔÇÖs Outpost 5 program is a proprietary integration of scripts and objects that enhances the Wonderware IAS software to create a technologically advanced SCADA system specifically designed for water and wastewater management. ÔÇ£Our SCADA system can monitor and control any client utility at any time. Everything is recorded, and the many years of data storage is based on regulatory requirements. And that historical data can also be used to show what operational decisions weÔÇÖve made, if need be,ÔÇØ says Terry.According to Terry, the Agency makes a constant IT investment using a holistic approach. He explains, ÔÇ£SCADA is a tool that is integrated in the same manner as Microsoft Office, in that one program must work seamlessly with the others. This integrated systems approach helps in our role of stewards to our clientsÔÇÖ assets, providing essential information for both daily operations and maintenance activities, as well as asset management and capital planning.ÔÇØOutpost 5 consists of remote monitoring units that are installed at various metering stations, water towers, pumping stations and plants in the water and wastewater systems. These units transfer data via wireless connection to a central collection point where it is reviewed by an operator. The 24/7 support from OCWA means that a problem can be reviewed and fixed remotely at any time of the day or night. In emergency situations, the Agency notes that the Outpost 5 system ÔÇ£includes alarming, trending, data acquisition and management tools that notify operations staff of any dramatic changes in the system.ÔÇØIntegration and refinement efforts are ongoing across OCWA facilities in Ontario. It is expected that, as the system continues to be refined, it will assist with improving operational efficiency and more effective decision making using real-time data. ÔÇ£Using the Outpost 5ÔÇôWonderware SCADA system, we can transfer information in real time from the operator to management, using anything from a handheld device to a PC,ÔÇØ says Terry.In addition to Wonderware, OCWA relies on Infor, another IT partner, for customer relationship management, supply chain management and enterprise asset management services. When asked what makes OCWA the best in its industry, Terry quickly replies, ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs our forward thinking, dedication to research and development, and the great team of employees.ÔÇØOCWA recently won two awards at the 2008 worldwide Wonderware Open ceremony. The first was the Best SCADA Application Award, recognizing the innovative use of Wonderware in the Outpost 5 system. The second was the Pinnacle Award, voted by peer companies as the best overall application of Wonderware. ÔÇô Editorial research by Joe Louis┬á