Project Description:
A local County Water District had to upgrade one of its pumping stations due to lack of efficiency and high maintenance of its current pumping system. The project required that a new building to house all new VFDs, PLC controls and switchgear be installed.

Approach & Results:
Applied Sciences Group was hired to supply the material, labor, and services necessary to furnish, install, and commission the complete control and instrumentation system for the pump station upgrade. The system was designed such that operation could be performed locally at the pump station or via a radio telemetry system from the customer’s existing treatment plant. Applied Sciences Group was responsible for the design and programming of the main control panel for the station. An Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PLC was selected to perform execution of logic, analog signal processing, alarm generation, and PID control of station discharge pressure. The PLC was also used to communicate with the radio telemetry equipment and power monitoring unit (RS-485). The local HMI software was designed using General Electric Proficy iFIX SCADA package. The screens that were developed can be used to monitor overall system performance as well as individual pump/motor temperature and vibration status. The HMI is also used to locally display station alarms that were specified per the customer’s request. The project implementation was a success in that the pump station remained fully functional during the installation of the new pumps, drives, and control system. Field testing was conducted after each new pump was brought on line and made ready for operation. This project demonstrates Applied Sciences Group is a system integrator with a great deal of experience in pump station control and radio telemetry SCADA systems.