Data solutions to make small-community water treatment assets more resilient
About the project
In 2015, the town of Dixon in Solano County celebrated the installation of three novel treatment plants removing contaminants like chromium-6 (Cr-6) from the local water supply. Just a year later, the nearby community of Willows followed suit with the installation of four similar systems. All these facilities were purpose-built for small communities by California Water Service (Cal Water), the third largest water utility in the US, servicing 489,600 customer connections throughout California.
The California Department of Water Resources provided a $5 million grant, while the Water Research Foundation committed $175,000. The funds were invested in innovative treatment technology and support services to help small communities access safe, healthy, and low-cost drinking water and address the state's new Cr-6 mandate.
Datumpin was selected as part of an “innovation ecosystem” along with equipment manufacturers and local maintenance experts to optimize the treatment process for maximum performance and cost-efficiency over long-term operation.
Challenges & Objectives
Implementing water treatment plants in small communities like Dixon presented Datumpin and its partners with unique challenges.
To achieve the overall objectives of optimizing the treatment process and ensuring cost-efficiency, it was critical to deploy effective water treatment technologies for each community's contaminant profile. This was all while factoring in tight budget constraints and regulatory standards for water quality and safety.
Evan Markey, District Manager of Cal Water’s Willows, Marysville and Redwood Valley service areas, outlined the challenges involved:
“Tackling contaminants like Cr-6 called for a fresh approach – not just to find the best technology to remove the contaminant, but to do so at the lowest possible cost to deliver safe drinking water while keeping customers’ bills as low as possible. For Cal Water, the imperative is to maintain and improve water treatment performance as equipment ages. Comprehensive performance tracking is critical to keep our equipment in the best possible condition within strict budgets.”
Markey added: “We selected datumpin for this piece. The company specializes in customized data solutions that optimize the performance of complex equipment installations like water treatment plants. Their particular expertise in creating tailored software to track and trace performance of our complex equipment allows Cal Water to focus with confidence on providing safe and high-quality water for the communities we serve.”
Results
The project proved to be a success for all involved, with Dixon and Willows’ systems remaining resilient after five years with minimal downtime and improving the cost-of-ownership budgets set out in 2015.
The “innovative ecosystem” model enabled 24/7 monitoring, meaning potential issues could be detected in real-time so that swift action could be taken to prevent serious issues resulting in process interruption. Continuous monitoring also enabled Cal Water to implement and validate treatment process optimizations to provide extra savings for residents.
Phil Chandler, datumpin CEO, commented on the use of a systems innovation approach to clean water standards:
“While ion exchange is a well-proven technology, it requires consistent operations and maintenance to ensure optimum performance at the lowest possible cost. The installations at Willows and Dixon show how this can be done with a local and engaged ecosystem of service partners that are driven by data. We’re proud to be part of this innovation solution for smaller communities.”
Partners & Stakeholders
Cal Water
“Comprehensive performance tracking is critical to keep our equipment in the best possible condition within strict budgets.”
Evan Markey, Cal Water