At a recent El Paso, Texas, Water Utilities Public Service Board meeting, local firm Kendrick Electric Corp. was selected to install equipment needed for SCADA at 12 storm water pump stations. The $214,000 project will automate six facilities in the Mission Valley, four in central El Paso and two in the Upper Valley.
Pump stations are essential to storm water drainage in many areas of El Paso. Runoff from upstream reservoirs and retention basins flows through conduits into the pump stations. The water is then lifted by pumps so it can flow to the Rio Grande.
With the SCADA system, operators use radio telemetry and automatic controls to monitor water levels from a remote location. The system starts pumps automatically when water rises, which is essential to public safety and the prevention of property damage during storms.
The SCADA system was not previously used at El Paso’s storm water pump stations, so workers traveled to the site to assess conditions and manually activate pumps. Bids were previously awarded to automate four of the 16 pump stations, and now the bid for the remaining facilities has been awarded.
This is one of the projects undertaken by the new storm water utility to modernize and improve the reliability of El Paso’s storm water system.
