Leibnitzerfeld Wasserversorgung GmbH is responsible for supplying drinking water to 80,000 people in 28 municipalities in southern and southeastern Styria in Austria. The publicly owned non-profit company operates 12 well systems, 60 booster stations, and 40 elevated tanks with a total capacity of 10,000 cubic meters. It maintains approximately 340 kilometers of transport and supply lines, which transport some 3.3 million cubic meters of drinking water. Particularly in the recent summer months, heat waves and dry spells have been occurring more frequently followed by storms, making an intelligent distribution system and careful handling of our drinking water a necessity. Due to climate change, additional challenges for the water supply are to be expected.

The new telecontrol technology is used to transmit current operating data (pressure, flow measurements, meter readings, error data, etc.) and to control the systems in the remote stations (frequency converters, actuators, etc.) from the control room. The individual systems can also automatically communicate with one another in order to balance out water shortages or malfunctions, if necessary. The biggest challenge was the realization of radio communication between the control room and the substations that is always available. Along with extensive encryption options, DNP3 offers the security that no data packets will be lost even in the event of radio congestion. The data buffering on the controller of up to a week in the case of radio failure also benefits the user. A major economic and technical advantage is offered by the use of the compact S7-1500SP controller and the new Siemens CP1542SP-1 IRC communication processor, which provides a cost-effective communication solution in combination with complete PLC process automation capabilities. Leibnitzerfeld Wasserversorgung GmbH is now rolling out the new technology on a widespread basis and plans to equip around ten additional plants with Siemens technology per year.