The Vannet Group, LLC

SCADA Made Simple

SCADA Monitoring

SCADA Made Simple

SCADA Made Simple

What is SCADA? History of SCADA

Various types of SCADA systems
Differences between systems
Why the need for monitoring?
How SCADA applies to Water and Wastewater
The Mission monitoring RTU
Questions and Answers

WHO Am I?

Environmental Health Specialist

(US ARMY)
Private Industry Perdue Farms,
Inc
Small Town WATER and
WASTEWATER Operator
State Water System Inspector
State Capacity Development
Coordinator
EPA- Small Systems TA Grants
and Small System Tool
Development; Capacity Dev
Coordinator, Co-lead on Op
Cert Program, and all around
nice guy.
(PS- Checks in the mail)

Importance of Communication

Ability to exchange ideas/desires/needs

Express yourself
Send a message
Tower of Babel (Bible)

Communication- Imperative

What is SCADA?
SCADA systems were first used in the 1960s
The acronym SCADA means supervisory
control and data acquisition
SCADA systems are used to monitor and
control plant or equipment in industries such as:
Telecommunications
Energy, oil and gas refining
Transportation
Water and Wastewater monitoring and control

Concept:
MONITORS

INPUT SIGNALS
FROM A PROCESS
MANAGES THE DATA
PRODUCES OUTPUT SIGNALS
THAT INFLUENCE THE
PROCESS.

Old School Communications

Sampling Points

Pre-SCADA:
Telecommunication & Miss Jenkins

4 VOLUNTEERS

Physical Components
Remote data monitoring units,
Communications platform and a

Central host or master that manages

entire system.

First Generation SCADA

2nd Generation

3rd Generation

What is SCADA cont.

SCADA systems can be relatively simple,

such as ones that monitor environmental
conditions of a small office building, or
very complex, such as systems that monitor
the activity in a nuclear power plant or
control a municipalitys water system
through tank, pump, and well control.

What is SCADA cont.

SCADA systems gather information such as:

Pump Runtimes
Water Levels
Amperage

Flow
Pressure
Temperature

and transfers and stores the information back to

a central site (computer).

What is SCADA cont.

SCADA systems can monitor specific alarm
setups such as:
High or Low Level
Pump Failure
Intrusion
Power Loss
Generator Running

Phase Loss
High Temperature
Excess Pump Starts
Analog Thresholds

Types of Systems
Used in our industry

Auto Dialers

Private Radio

Wireless Data Network Based

Differences Between Systems

Method of transmitting data
How often the data is transmitted

Amount of data transmitted

Cost!!!

Auto Dialers

Good solution for basic alarms

Need a dedicated phone line

Limited RTU mobility if you want to move it
You have to deal with the phone company!

Limited features and functionality

Private Radio

Optimal for advanced applications, i.e. oil,

gas and storage plants
High number of inputs and outputs
Generally custom designed
Single database computer (control center)
Costly software
Setup is time-consuming
On going maintenance costs

National Wireless Data

Network System
The Newer Technology Options

Uses the public cellular network system

Low equipment and installation costs
No costly software
Internet based access
Mixed deployment/Roll out over time

National Wireless Data

Network System

Ease of installation
Scalable from 1 unit to X units
Compatible to existing HMI SCADA
software programming mods
Capable of meeting or exceeding homeland
security and AWWA standards with 128-bit
encryption

Is Cellular Reliable?
The short answer isYES!
Uses the data channel, not the voice
Each transmission is confirmed end to end
All transmissions are encrypted
After disasters, cell towers are brought in on
tractor trailers and communication is restored

Basic Components of Internet Enabled

Monitoring & SCADA Systems
4.

1.

3.

Field RTUThe Box

2.

National Wireless Data Networks

3.

Centralized Web Software

4.

Alarms To Virtually Anything

5.

Secure Customer Web Site

Alarms &
Data
Pagers

Centralized Web
Based Software

Fax
Email
Cell
Phones

Internet

1.

2.

RTU
Network Carriers

5.

Customer
Website

Why the need?

Why the need?

Ever increasing regulatory restrictions are

being imposed on Water and Wastewater
operators for efficient & safe system
operations such as Class 1 Reliability (EPA,
DEQ, etc)
Both current & historical data from
electronic databases greatly simplify the
regulatory reporting process
Redundancy to larger SCADA systems all
ready in place

The tank does

that all the
time. Its OK.

Applications
National Public Wireless Data Networks
combined with Internet Data Access are now a
permanent contender for automation in the
Water & Wastewater Industry.

How It Applies to
Water/Wastewater

Wireless Technology Can Be Applied In

A Variety of Remote Applications
Water Pumping Stations
Sewer Lift Stations
Level / Flow / Pressure Applications
Tank Storage Applications
Storm Water / Sewer Flow Applications
Meter Reading Applications
Water Well and Tank Control
Rainfall Monitoring

How It Applies to
Water/Wastewater cont

Profiling and understanding:

Flow Data

Rainfall Data

Level Data

Surcharge Data

Pump Activity

Other Parameters

is crucial for effective operations.

New wireless technologies are now

available for very remote sites.

Typical Lift Station

Rainfall Monitoring

Water Tower Monitoring

Water Plant Monitoring

Tank and Well Control

Very Remote
Location?

Solar Power is
the Answer!

Map location of your stations

Example Supplier Sell Points

Reliable Money Saving Features

Prepackaged Ease of Installation

Simple Very Affordable

M110 Full Monitoring System

M800 Full SCADA
M200 Solar Station
M81 CSO/SSO Monitoring
INCLUDES: Secure Website,
Graphics & Software, Alarms,
Mgmt. Reports, Runtime
Reports, Maintenance Logs

Bt wut r t costs?
A small SCADA
system cost on the
order of $1,400 to
$4,600

Data Loggers with

modems costs on the
order of $1,100 to
$1,800

SCADA Security

Security Terminology

1. Redundancy of the system. Redundancy refers to the

ability of certain components of a system to assume
functions of failed components without adversely affecting
the performance of the system itself.

2. Robustness of the system. Robustness refers to the

degree of insensitivity of a system design to errors in the
estimates of those parameters affecting design choice.
Robustness or those properties that make the system less
vulnerable to attack (stability).

3. Resilience of the system. Resilience is the ability of a

system to operate close to its closest possible design
technically and institutionally over a short run after an
attack, such that the losses are within manageable limits.

Ways to Prevent Attacks

Should My System Use SCADA?

Todays SCADA systems are able to take advantage of the evolution from mainframe
based to client/server architectures. These systems use common communications
protocols like Ethernet and TCP/IP to transmit data from the field to the central
master control unit.

SCADA protocols have also evolved from closed proprietary systems to an open
system, allowing designers to choose equipment that can help them monitor their
unique system using equipment from variety of vendors

SCADA systems are widely used to monitor and control U.S. critical infrastructure
utilities such as Electrical Power Plants and Water Distribution Centers

While SCADA protocols are more open today, there is no clear consensus of which
protocol is best. IEC 60870-5 series and DNP3 have many similarities but are not
100% compatible.

Should My System Use SCADA?

SCADA systems, like other computer systems, are subject to many common security
attacks such as viruses, denial of service, and hijacking of the system

Because SCADA systems use leased telephone lines, twisted pair cable, microwave
radio, and spread spectrum techniques, they have many of the same security
vulnerabilities

Should My System Use SCADA?

The Explosive Growth In National Wireless Networks, Personal
Communications, and the Internet Provide Great Flexibility and
Scalability For Automation Of Water and Wastewater
Applications
No Need For Large Capital Outlay for Proprietary Wireless
Network Build-out
Can Be Cost Effective and Deployed in a Variety Of
Applications
- Rural, Suburban, and Urban Sites
- High Cost Sites
- Applications that Require Redundancy
- New Installations, Upgrades, and Replacement Sites

Checklist

Section 1: SCADA General Questions

(functions, reliability, staff trained?)

Section 2: Communication Pathway

(Reliable: power failure, weather, hardware
to software)

Section 3: Security

Questions?

Think of
More than Just Operators

The Vannet Group

Steve Clark
866-616-8263
steve@vannetgroup.com
A Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
Visit Us At:
www.vannetgroup.com