Chicago District Awards Automation Contract to Emerson
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) will modernize its facilities' automation and control with the help of Emerson Process Management.
The company will install its Ovation® expert control technology to monitor and control solids processes at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, Mainstream Pumping Station, and associated remote pumping stations and reservoirs that are part of the wastewater collection system. Hardware, software, programming, factory testing, training and on-site startup and testing, as well as extended maintenance and service are included in the contract.
The Stickney plant is the largest secondary treatment wastewater facility in the world, with a capacity to process 1.44 billion gallons per day. It serves 2.4 million people in a 260-square-mile area, including downtown Chicago and 43 suburban communities. The Mainstream Pumping Station, the largest underground sewage pumping station in the world, lifts sewage from a deep tunnel system approximately 300 feet below grade to the Stickney plant.
The automation technology will collect and integrate information about surrounding pumping stations and stormwater retention reservoirs, providing operators at a central location with vital information about influent and other variables from these remote facilities. In all, the systems will monitor and control approximately 24,000 input and output points.
The most recent contract, for phases two and three, is scheduled for completion in May 2011.