SCADA Upgrade - Phase 2

The introduction of the New Drinking Water Standards (2022) has prompted us to improve how our various monitoring systems communicate across the district’s water reticulation networks. Currently, these systems are fragmented and often incompatible, resulting in poor monitoring of our water and wastewater treatment plants. To address this, we’re moving to a unified SCADA system designed specifically for this purpose. This upgrade will create a reliable network linking all our treatment plants, allowing us to detect and respond to changes or emergencies quickly and accurately. It will also improve how we collect, store, share, and act on data.

At present, each treatment plant uses different monitoring and alert systems—some of which are outdated and in need of replacement. Moving to a single, modern platform will ensure faster, more accurate alerts when operating limits are reached or exceeded. It will also allow easier upgrades in the future and provide a consistent experience for our 3 Waters team.

What is SCADA?

SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. It’s a system used to monitor and control infrastructure such as water treatment plants, wastewater systems, and power networks.

In practical terms, SCADA allows our staff to:

  • See what’s happening at treatment plants in real-time (e.g. water levels, pressure, flow rates)
  • Control equipment remotely, like pumps and valves
  • Receive alerts when something isn’t working as it should
  • Record data over time to help with reporting, maintenance, and future planning
  • Store and send data for regulatory purposes to align with NZ Drinking Water Standards

By switching to a modern SCADA system across all our water and wastewater facilities, we’ll improve how we manage the network and respond to issues—keeping services safer and more reliable for our communities.

For more information, check out SCADA's role in getting drinking water standards there

Phase 1

Phase 1 of this project is now complete, and included completing a detailed review of all current monitoring and warning systems across our plants, identifying gaps and what’s required to bridge them. This groundwork ensures we’re well-prepared to seek the best technical solution from our vendors.

Phase 2

VPN Server Infrastructure upgrade. To achieve a more resilient and future proofed network, TDC will be adopting a ‘best practice approach’ via modern technology that will provide higher security, redundancy and flexibility in its SCADA network.

Water treatment, wastewater treatment, pump stations & flow meter Scada upgrades will be rolled out as deemed necessary over the following 18 months or as LTP budgets allow.

Timeline (subject to change)

  • February 2024-August 2024 - Phase 1
  • August 2025 - Test phase for VPN Server
  • October 2025 - VPN Server upgrade at the central server in Dannevirke
  • November 2025 - Remote VPN Server upgrades at all Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants
  • June 2027 - Estimated completion date

SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. It’s a system used to monitor and control infrastructure such as water treatment plants, wastewater systems, and power networks. For more information, check out SCADA's role in getting drinking water standards there

At present, each treatment plant uses different monitoring and alert systems—some of which are outdated and in need of replacement. Moving to a single, modern platform will ensure faster, more accurate alerts when operating limits are reached or exceeded. It will also allow easier upgrades in the future and provide a consistent experience for our 3 Waters team.

By switching to a modern SCADA system across all our water and wastewater facilities, we’ll improve how we manage the network and respond to issues—keeping services safer and more reliable for our communities.

Phase 1 of this project included completing a detailed review of all current monitoring and warning systems across our plants, identifying gaps and what’s required to bridge them.

We are now at Phase 2, and currently at the test phase for the VPN Server infrastructure upgrade.

VPN Server upgrade at the central server at the Dannevirke Admin Building. Then we will move onto upgrading the remote VPN infrastructure at all Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants.