Practical Experience with State-of-the-Art Technologies in SCADA Systems

A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is a powerful tool which, when implemented properly in irrigation districts, can lead to improved water delivery service to farms, more effective operations, reduced spill (and therefore reduced diversions), and in some cases a reduction in costs (less labor, less energy, etc.). However, widespread adoption of SCADA and automation technologies remains a technical and financial challenge for most irrigation districts. In spite of many good hardware and software products available on the market now, putting all the pieces together requires specialized expertise. Nevertheless, by following some straightforward strategies and rules of good practice, combined with advanced control techniques, even very complex automation systems have been successfully implemented. These implementation steps are briefly outlined with a focus on lessons learned. Updated implementation costs for typical system components are given to aid in project planning