Enhancing Water Management: OCWA's Innovative Industrial IoT Solutions
Protecting Our Most Vital Resource
Water stands as one of the most valuable resources on our planet. Each person consumes around four liters daily, and water is essential not only for human consumption but also for agriculture, industry, and the very sustenance of life.
The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) positions itself as a "trusted water partner for life," focusing on providing water and wastewater services to ensure the health and sustainability of communities. OCWA manages the treatment of water and wastewater while offering a range of technical services to 750 client facilities across Ontario, Canada, which include municipalities, First Nations, and various commercial, industrial, governmental, and institutional clients.
OCWA’s municipal clients vary significantly in size, with populations ranging from 1.5 million in the Region of Peel to just 2,400 in Moose Factory, a community in Northern Ontario. This extensive experience allows the agency to effectively address any challenges that may arise, regardless of the scale or type of treatment process involved. Consequently, OCWA has expanded its municipal client base consistently over the past three decades.
Following the Walkerton crisis in May 2000, the Canadian government introduced stricter water quality monitoring requirements, prompting OCWA to develop a customized remote monitoring system. This solution served the agency well for over 20 years, but by the 2020s, modernization became necessary. OCWA established three key objectives: standardizing data from various equipment across different plants, streamlining compliance reporting to avoid labor-intensive processes during network disruptions, and expanding its service offerings to add more value for clients.
Achieving New Heights
To meet these objectives, OCWA implemented an industrial IoT solution utilizing Cisco industrial routers. Applications on these routers convert data from each facility into a standardized format for compliance and business reporting, eliminating the need for costly custom solutions—reports generated for one facility can now be applied across all facilities. Ciprian Panfilie, Director of Operational Systems at OCWA, stated, "Standardizing monitoring in this manner is powerful. Instead of having a specialist for each facility, we've created teams that provide specialized services to all facilities across the province, enhancing our efficiency."
This solution not only enables OCWA to meet regulatory standards but also reduces the risk of data gaps due to network outages. In instances where a facility's connection to OCWA's offices fails, the router stores the data locally, transferring it to the cloud once connectivity is restored. "We explored numerous solutions, but only Cisco’s worked flawlessly," Panfilie remarked.
Additionally, OCWA has introduced an advanced energy management solution to its services. The routers offer a standardized network and cybersecurity framework for energy management, facilitating baseline assessments, forecasts, and real-time energy oversight. Another focus of service enhancement is near real-time asset performance monitoring and predictive maintenance, leveraging LORAWAN sensors and gateways.
Looking to the Future
Currently, Cisco’s industrial IoT solution is operational in over 165 facilities monitored by OCWA, and the agency aims to implement this solution in the majority of its remotely monitored facilities by 2030. OCWA is also investigating further long-term possibilities, including the potential use of machine learning applications on Cisco routers to anticipate and address issues before they arise, such as unexpected changes in wastewater effluent quality.
Water stands as one of the most valuable resources on our planet. Each person consumes around four liters daily, and water is essential not only for human consumption but also for agriculture, industry, and the very sustenance of life.
The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) positions itself as a "trusted water partner for life," focusing on providing water and wastewater services to ensure the health and sustainability of communities. OCWA manages the treatment of water and wastewater while offering a range of technical services to 750 client facilities across Ontario, Canada, which include municipalities, First Nations, and various commercial, industrial, governmental, and institutional clients.
OCWA’s municipal clients vary significantly in size, with populations ranging from 1.5 million in the Region of Peel to just 2,400 in Moose Factory, a community in Northern Ontario. This extensive experience allows the agency to effectively address any challenges that may arise, regardless of the scale or type of treatment process involved. Consequently, OCWA has expanded its municipal client base consistently over the past three decades.
Following the Walkerton crisis in May 2000, the Canadian government introduced stricter water quality monitoring requirements, prompting OCWA to develop a customized remote monitoring system. This solution served the agency well for over 20 years, but by the 2020s, modernization became necessary. OCWA established three key objectives: standardizing data from various equipment across different plants, streamlining compliance reporting to avoid labor-intensive processes during network disruptions, and expanding its service offerings to add more value for clients.
Achieving New Heights
To meet these objectives, OCWA implemented an industrial IoT solution utilizing Cisco industrial routers. Applications on these routers convert data from each facility into a standardized format for compliance and business reporting, eliminating the need for costly custom solutions—reports generated for one facility can now be applied across all facilities. Ciprian Panfilie, Director of Operational Systems at OCWA, stated, "Standardizing monitoring in this manner is powerful. Instead of having a specialist for each facility, we've created teams that provide specialized services to all facilities across the province, enhancing our efficiency."
This solution not only enables OCWA to meet regulatory standards but also reduces the risk of data gaps due to network outages. In instances where a facility's connection to OCWA's offices fails, the router stores the data locally, transferring it to the cloud once connectivity is restored. "We explored numerous solutions, but only Cisco’s worked flawlessly," Panfilie remarked.
Additionally, OCWA has introduced an advanced energy management solution to its services. The routers offer a standardized network and cybersecurity framework for energy management, facilitating baseline assessments, forecasts, and real-time energy oversight. Another focus of service enhancement is near real-time asset performance monitoring and predictive maintenance, leveraging LORAWAN sensors and gateways.
Looking to the Future
Currently, Cisco’s industrial IoT solution is operational in over 165 facilities monitored by OCWA, and the agency aims to implement this solution in the majority of its remotely monitored facilities by 2030. OCWA is also investigating further long-term possibilities, including the potential use of machine learning applications on Cisco routers to anticipate and address issues before they arise, such as unexpected changes in wastewater effluent quality.
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