City of Washburn purchases water system upgrade
May 1, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
At the regular Washburn City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 16, the council voted to allocate funding to a major update to the city’s water system. According to mayor John Tiedeman, these updates are crucial to helping the city’s water department effectively do its job.
The equipment that manages water flow in Washburn is managed by a software called SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). SCADA is a system that operates both hardware and software elements of industrial machinery. In the case of Washburn’s water department, SCADA is programmed to manage water flow from the town’s wells and water towers. The system also networks with the computers at City Hall to generate reports on water usage and flow.
Washburn has approximately 230 customers attached to the water system monitored by SCADA, which was installed in 2007.
During the council’s meeting, James Libertus, a representative of the city’s water department, addressed issues regarding the current system's ability to accurately read well levels and record data when there are rapidly changing water levels due to excess rain or other issues. Heeding this suggestion, the council opted to approve funding for the system update on the spot.
With this new upgrade, Washburn will receive an update to both their hardware and software systems. New monitoring devices will be placed in both wells. These new monitoring devices will feature instruments that will be able to more accurately read data.
“It monitors both of our wells, and, if there’s a problem, like if a pump doesn’t kick on or the water level is low, it will respond by calling our water technician on the phone,” said Tiedeman. “It will give him a message about the problem.”
The new system will also feature an updated reporting system that will contact a technician from the water department on their personal phone should it encounter an error or flow issues. According to representatives from the city, Libertus is on call 24 hours to respond to water flow issues, and, should he not be available, mayor Tiedeman will handle the issue personally.
These upgrades will not affect the sewers as the system only manages the water system and is not connected to the sewers.
The total cost for the new system is $8,238. This will come directly from the city’s water budget and will not require additional funding. These changes will not affect the city’s water billing moving forward, as the money for the upgrade already exists within the city’s budget.
Vinnie Roberts
At the regular Washburn City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 16, the council voted to allocate funding to a major update to the city’s water system. According to mayor John Tiedeman, these updates are crucial to helping the city’s water department effectively do its job.
The equipment that manages water flow in Washburn is managed by a software called SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). SCADA is a system that operates both hardware and software elements of industrial machinery. In the case of Washburn’s water department, SCADA is programmed to manage water flow from the town’s wells and water towers. The system also networks with the computers at City Hall to generate reports on water usage and flow.
Washburn has approximately 230 customers attached to the water system monitored by SCADA, which was installed in 2007.
During the council’s meeting, James Libertus, a representative of the city’s water department, addressed issues regarding the current system's ability to accurately read well levels and record data when there are rapidly changing water levels due to excess rain or other issues. Heeding this suggestion, the council opted to approve funding for the system update on the spot.
With this new upgrade, Washburn will receive an update to both their hardware and software systems. New monitoring devices will be placed in both wells. These new monitoring devices will feature instruments that will be able to more accurately read data.
“It monitors both of our wells, and, if there’s a problem, like if a pump doesn’t kick on or the water level is low, it will respond by calling our water technician on the phone,” said Tiedeman. “It will give him a message about the problem.”
The new system will also feature an updated reporting system that will contact a technician from the water department on their personal phone should it encounter an error or flow issues. According to representatives from the city, Libertus is on call 24 hours to respond to water flow issues, and, should he not be available, mayor Tiedeman will handle the issue personally.
These upgrades will not affect the sewers as the system only manages the water system and is not connected to the sewers.
The total cost for the new system is $8,238. This will come directly from the city’s water budget and will not require additional funding. These changes will not affect the city’s water billing moving forward, as the money for the upgrade already exists within the city’s budget.