LIMS and SCADA Combine to Meet Regulatory Requirements for Direct Potable Reuse

The water/wastewater industry is facing increased regulation of greater complexity. Laboratories today must do more with fewer resources and are challenged to meet deadlines or issue alerts in a timely manner. They struggle to contact all required agencies and provide reports in different formats. There is more complexity around a public health safety notification, with both internal and external audiences.

One such regulation in the State of California is Draft Code to Title 22, Division 4, Chapter 17, Article 10 for Direct Potable Reuse (DPR). The Code requires multiple utilities and Public Health departments to coordinate monitoring, analysis, data sharing, and reporting in a timely manner. This will ensure the quality of drinking water, protecting the consumer.

The responsible agency, Direct Potable Reuse Responsible Agency (DiPRRA), needs a reliable method to gather and communicate information. The Code specifies SCADA–Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition– systems for monitoring and communication.

SCADA is a system of software and hardware elements that allows industrial organizations to control industrial processes locally or at remote locations; and monitor, gather, and process real-time data. However, SCADA is limited in its ability to track, compile, and analyze lab results, QA/QC, and health data imported from Public Health agencies.

While SCADA has its limitations, if it is linked with data sources to LIMS, many problems are solved. LIMS can eliminate error-inducing manual processes by automating data collection, reporting, and communication, allowing the agency to meet its communication goals in a timely manner. This will protect the consumer and facilitate the success of the DPR.