The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) Water Production Division has a history of utilizing
technology, due in part to its diverse water supply. Water from a quarter-mile deep reservoir
(the Floridan Aquifer) is pumped to the surface through 33 deep wells, then to one of eight
nearby water treatment plants for treatment and distribution. OUC produces an average of 85
MGD for the City of Orlando and portions of Orange County, Florida. Because of the siting of the
wells, treatment facilities are scattered throughout the 244-square-mile area, leading the utility to
become an early user of remote operation control systems. In October 1995, continuing quality and growth issues were addressed with Water Project 2000,
the utility's most comprehensive program in half a century to upgrade, improve, and expand the
water system and its technology. OUC's new General Manager developed the concept for the
comprehensive Water Project 2000, which had a Millennium deadline promised to customers,
and allowed OUC to close five aging plants, build three new plants, and expand and improve
four others. The project included conversion to a new treatment technology, replacement of
existing automation and information management systems, and distribution system
improvements. One of OUC's technological advancements was to implement an ozone treatment process to
improve water quality and make treatment plants more neighborhood friendly by further
controlling plant odors. An open, integrated information system was envisioned that would
support all aspects of Water Production, including control and maintenance, supported by PC
applications running on a common network. This new open system is called the Facility
Automation and Information Management (FAIM) system. FAIM replaced the SCADA system
and also organizes every detail of every piece of equipment and operation. An integrated
Historical Data System provides reports needed by staff throughout the utility. All of the
information in this system that is not provided by the Intellution iFIX plant automation software
is commonly referred to as the FIM - Facilities Information Management system.
The FIM, a browser-based, highly flexible information system includes information such as plant
instrumentation data, on-line O&M manuals, equipment maintenance information, control
system technical information, graphical depictions of the actual processes and equipment, annual
Water Quality reports, and much, much more. The web browser at each facility has been
configured to open directly to the "homepage" for the facilities information management system. Includes figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 220 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 9 |
| Published : | 04/18/2004 |
