Hampton Roads Sanitation District

Background

The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, was established to prevent pollution, protect public health and support community development by providing wastewater collection, treatment and related services. HRSD provides wastewater treatment services in Southeast Virginia for a population of 1.5 million people.

Issue

The District wanted to replace aging SCADA technology and improve the control and monitoring capability of remote sites

Solution

HRSD contracted Westin Engineering to design a SCADA system upgrade and expansion to enhance the operation of their wastewater interceptor system, thereby protecting public health and safety. The project also includes the related design of a communication system used to coordinate alerts with automatic responses.

The design phase follows Westin’s work on HRSD’s overall plan and preliminary engineering report. Design will consume more than a year and include evaluation of candidate control systems, procurement, piloting proof of concept, and system configuration. HRSD will deploy system upgrades and expansion in a phased implementation.

Outcome

The new system will enable better event and equipment monitoring and provide supervisory control to coordinate and optimize processes throughout its interceptor system.

Improving information and control between local collection systems, interceptor pumping stations, and regional wastewater treatment plants means HRSD will enhance their ability to monitor processes; allow implementation of advanced sewer system control algorithms; provide anticipatory control; and improve overall system reliability. Together with other, related initiatives, this upgrade will help improve HRSD’s ability to protect the environment.