//background//
about jordan vally waterworks
Jordan Valley Waterworks (JVWA) began its service in 1930. It supplies drinking and irrigation water to the residents of the valley, utilizing water from the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee and the Yarmouk river.
JVWA is unique in Israel for supplying its owners and clients with full water and wastewater services. Because of the continuous water reduction in the Middle East, the JVWA is involved in innovative projects such as:
- Desalination of secondary and salt-water resources
- Water sharing with the neighboring kingdom of Jordan
- Water-management systems development
Right now, the company manages:
- 115 pumps in 30 pumping stations, output 15-1300HP
- 6 operative water reservoirs
- 45 sewage pumping plants
- 1 WW treatment plant
- Drinking water treatment plant
- A desalination plant
- 12 operational water reservoirs
//The problem//
A systematic escalation to disaster
It is a blend of old equipment working next to new-generation hardware & software in a challenging work environment:
- A 1976 substation with outdated equipment, controller and communication devices transmitted a small amount of data through Motorola’s Intrac system.
- In 1982 additional pumps were installed, as well as a Texas Instrument (TI) controller and a landline communication to the control center.
Eventually, the 43 years old substation crashed and stopped working.
//The challenges//
need a title
An important question arose: was it possible to fix the substation and integrate both types of equipment (new and outdated) without touching the existing hardware and software?
This is a poignant challenge to all SCADA systems…
In addition, the JVWA faced other challenges:
- Any installed equipment must work under extreme heat, as the measured temperature in the control cabinet during the summer reaches 60°C (140F)
- Diverse controllers and radio instruments share the installations: Schneider, TI, Koyo, Unitronics, Siemens, AB and others
- A minimalist control center is remotely operated with full responsibility
- Managing reliable data transmission over Radio Frequencies is a challenge in itself because the region is saturated with communications “mayhem” generated by:
-
- The armies of Israel, Jordan and Syria
- Rescue services
- Taxis
- Logistic systems
- Various companies
- Illegal radio stations, and more
Aerial view of sewage treatment plant in Poland. 
Aerial view of modern industrial sewage treatment plant 
Water treatment plant in Melbourne, Australia 
Water treatment plant near Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne Australia 
Aerial top view water treatment plant for environment concept.
//The solution //
Bring it back to life but don’t touch anything!
This was a critical situation for Jordan Valley Waterworks that required a hands-on solution to revive the substation immediately.
AGM was called for rescue operations and recommended using R-Win. R-Win upgrades DCS network performance and optimizes assets through “brain implants” in each remote station, using wireless MESH for real-time networking.
The R-Win unit was installed between the TI controller and the control center.
//The result //
Just 4 hours to full recovery
The system returned to full operation within FOUR HOURS. It included the original 1982 TI controller and a new IP radio-modem. No software changes were required for this resuscitation operation, and the system works as if brand new.
What is more, R-Win supplied added benefits to the Jordan Valley Waterworks SCADA:
- No hardware or software changes required – R-Win did not “touch” anything in the existing SCADA
- Independence from vendors and suppliers, enabling full flexibility for JVWA to mix and match system components
- Shorter and faster transmission duration with no downtime and 100% data transfer accuracy
- Multi spectrum parallel communication with direct communication between sites
- Complete data protection through a closed system and NO cloud tech
- Built for radio, so it doesn’t require a fast cellular network, while at the same time being extremely reliable over cellular network
Aerial view of sewage treatment plant in Poland. Aerial view of modern industrial sewage treatment plant Water treatment plant in Melbourne, Australia Water treatment plant near Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne Australia Aerial top view water treatment plant for environment concept.