Synchronous radio modem technology for affordable irrigation SCADA systems
Date
2005-10
Authors
Gill, Tom, author
Einhellig, Robert, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Engineers at Reclamation's Water Resources Research Laboratory, funded through Reclamation's Science and Technology program, and in cooperation with the Colorado Division of Water Resources (State Engineer's Office), the Lower South Platte Conservancy District (LSPWCD), and the South Platte Ditch Company (SPDC), have established a demonstration project to monitor and evaluate control equipment that features an innovative radio technology. Irrigation practices in the South Platte valley in Northeast Colorado include extensive conjunctive use of both surface diversions and pumped groundwater. As a result of extended drought conditions and court rulings that have altered the administration of groundwater pumping in Colorado, the region is currently facing a dramatic increase in the number of sites at which flow measurement is required. The State of Colorado is facing an associated exponential increase in the amount of data that needs to be acquired and processed. The control/communication equipment under evaluation is produced by Integrated Controls Technology Inc. (IC Tech) [Formerly Control Design Inc.] The primary objective of the field study is to assess the potential of the IC Tech equipment as a cost-effective means of collecting and transmitting flow measurement data. The equipment was put into service in early March, 2005, at two sites on the SPDC's artificial recharge system. One of the units was relocated in late April, 2005, to the SPDC main flume to continue performance observations through the irrigation season. Flow data from the demonstration sites is telemetered over distances extending up to twenty miles via signal pathways that do not provide clear line-of-sight transmission paths. The IC Tech units evaluated include both a radio modem for communication and a programmable logic control system capable of monitoring flow rates, recording data, and controlling canal gates. The cost of the IC Tech radio/controller units is competitive with other popular controller-only systems. Depending on the water-level sensor selected, a solar powered station with an IC Tech unit can be installed at a canal structure for a price in the range of the cost of paper-chart recorders which are currently used at most open channel flow recording stations in the region. This paper provides documentation of performance of the IC Tech equipment during 2005 in the Northeast Colorado demonstration study. General performance information supplied by the Lower Rio Grande Conservancy District - which has been using similar IC Tech equipment over multiple seasons - is also included.
Description
Presented at SCADA and related technologies for irrigation district modernization: a USCID water management conference on October 26-29, 2005 in Vancouver, Washington.