SCADA–Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition–has been the workhorse of large factories.  When SCADA is applied to Rural Water Systems, the limits of Old SCADA show.  The need for onsite technical support is costly and yet unpredictable.  Rather than taking more control of their [...]

From the time that SCADA systems became popular in the 1960s, the fundamental architecture has remained largely the same. Similar to the evolution of the automobile – from Henry Ford’s Model T to the 2018 Porsche Cayenne – the fundamental architecture of how a combustion engine [...]

                 –Including how a pot grower got nabbed stealing water! As I started writing this story, the embers were still hot.  More than 8,000 homes or buildings had been burned.  Nearly 50 people confirmed dead with many more missing.  Hundreds of thousands of acres of burning that [...]

A historian is an electronic record of data logged over time.  For Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, it typically describes the database that contains most or all values monitored over time.  Most SCADA software packages display a graphical representation of a water [...]

Large water systems employ Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) to monitor and control the flow of water through the system. Because SCADA is so expensive and complex to install, program and maintain, SCADA is rarely used by small water operators. However, when SCADA is used for [...]

This seemingly simple question leads to a discussion that concludes, “Because it is a surprisingly complex problem with some devilish details” Electrical Time-of-Use Electricity is generally in the highest demand during summer weekdays when industrial needs combine with air conditioning loads. [...]

California is in its fourth year of drought. As a water operator, you know that, and you have your coping strategy. Today, we’d like to share some of the strategies that our customers are using that might help you get through this difficult time by adopting some positive strategies. We are not [...]