AWWA IMTECH59620

This paper discusses how existing telemetry, engineering, and information technologies are now in a position to provide information throughout an organization that gives: increased ability to share and transfer knowledge about system operations; increased ability to communicate quickly and effectively with the public; increased system reliability; increased response time to system events; and, increased productivity. The paper also states that in the future a "smart" advisory and forecasting system could be added that predicts upcoming water demand, proactively alerts operators to suspicious/abnormal operating trends, and estimates upcoming pumping costs. Recent advances in computing power and corresponding advances in GIS/IT/Web technologies can make this happen by using technology that is already in place such as: Web (Intranet or Internet) technology for bringing together corporate information into a single "Dashboard" environment; extensions to Web technology that allow it to act as a data entry portal as well as a data analysis system and a proactive "Advisory" system; System Data (Maps, etc) about the distribution system available in spatially accurate digital formats; simulators like an all-mains distribution model, available in "near-real- time" configurations; and, Real-Time Operational Information available from Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems as well as other digital logs concerning the state of critical system equipment. Includes figures.