Mustang is the largest special utility district (MSUD) in Texas, providing water and wastewater services to more than 120,000 residents, via 42 lift stations, seven pump stations, 24 well sites, and two wastewater treatment plants.
Located north of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Mustang covers one of the fastest growing areas in the USA, experiencing a 12.5% year-over-year population growth. This places enormous pressure on MSUD to be resilient.
THE CHALLENGES
In 2012 when Mustang SUD began working with Specific Energy, they only managed eight lift stations which were controlled by a complex variety of different control panel designs, instrumentation and traditional radio-based SCADA systems. Commands to the lift stations were sent via two-way radio, resulting in multi-minute delays between command and operation; there was minimal remote oversight and control of lift station operations.
Operators needed to visit each lift station daily, including weekends, to check wet wells for debris, check that the level was below the high float, turn on pumps to check the amperage, and check for clogs caused by grease, oil and debris. Operators would manually log everything in a book, and drive to the next site to start again. One of the problems that required regular site visits was the pump ‘clogging’ effect of grease and oil left on the water, which resulted in expensive pump repairs and replacements for Mustang.
THE SOLUTION
Specific Energy’s Lift Station Guardian (LSG) has been used by Mustang since 2012 to control its lift station operations. Recently, Mustang has been piloting the latest LSG upgraded features at its Salt Branch Lift Station. These new features include remote and automated maintenance options.
Mustang wanted a solution that could let the utility see what was happening in real-time, to handle the grease, oil and build up, and that could also meet regulations. Initially, Specific Energy focused on two things: redundant control, and providing insights into what was happening on site. Once these were up and running, a suite of remote maintenance controls were added, which can all be monitored via the LSG’s dashboard on a laptop or mobile device.
These maintenance controls included: Pump Snoring, Float Testing, and Force Main Scouring.
RESULTS
Key wins include:
- Cutting staff time needed in the field, already by 11%, with future forecasts predicting 30%.
- Scheduling automated maintenance reduces/prevents pump clogging, cuts down on regular maintenance cost ($26,000/year/lift station), and alerts operators to potential issues before they happen.
- Reducing overall maintenance costs by $570k/year across 42 stations.
- Preventing Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) by remotely monitoring sites and proactively scheduling maintenance/deploying resources.
- Standardising on LSG reduces confusion over intended operation, and reduces startup time.
– Aldo Zamora, Wastewater Operations Manager, Mustang Special Utility DistrictThe Lift Station Guardian is a standardised product that is easy to commission, scales with our growth, and makes sure our lift stations operate correctly. We are installing the Lift Station Guardian on every new lift station.
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