Applying Security to Water Facilities

Integration plays at major role at water supply sites worldwide.


DVTel Secures Texas Water District
Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) commissioned a central operations center using DVTel unified intelligent software solutions a s the command and control software. The installation features DVTel cameras and a video analytics solution. Maez Security Consultants oversaw system specification and design, and Access Technology Systems was in charge of project installation.


Site Information and Product Solutions
TRWD is one of the largest raw water suppliers in Texas, providing water to more than 1.7 million people. Operations span an 11-county area and include maintaining dams at the Water District's four reservoirs and more than 150 miles of water pipelines. TRWD has deployed the DVTel solution at 30 different facilities, with approximately 150 cameras and more than 200 access control points.


Fort Worth is home to TRWD's security department and the central operations center. The control room has a Winstead console with 12 monitoring stations. A Barco video wall projects DVTel and supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA), live TV and can pull up facility blueprints. DVTel's professional engineering services (PES) group worked closely with Barco to integrate the technologies for full functionality.


TRWD's original vision was to pull all sites together to a central location. "Our goal was to improve upon our previous system with a fully integrated solution and a single point of control," said Norman Ashton, Risk Manager at TRWD. "Previously, we had four different software packages running in isolation of each other, not even popping video on alarm. We needed a much smarter system. Now staff can access any camera, any data and pull that up in the central operations center."


Operations have grown so substantially over the last two years, TRWD has hired a full-time staff member to oversee security. "The overall system, with the DVTel software solution at the center, is providing us with the necessary tools to track down issues and improve security," Ashton said. "I like the fact that the solution allows us to integrate with third-party technologies we need to meet our security goals."


Since the inception of the project, Ashton has seen the evolution of improving technology. "With the flexibility of the solution, we've completely redone our access management," he said. "One recent innovation is with this new building, it is fully armed at all times, but upon authorized entry the building interior alarms automatically turn off as staff move around while the building exterior remains alarmed. We're going to retrofit other buildings in the same way, then we can drop our alarm monitoring service and save money."


With flexible, scalable open architecture, TRWD plans to continue to expand its security system to keep pace with new construction.


IQinVision Upgrades Water Security
Waterford Township, Michigan, utilized IQeye megapixel cameras as part of a comprehensive IP video solution to better protect its valuable water resources. Tallahassee, Floridabased Mainline Information Systems was selected to provide video surveillance consulting, solution design and integration.


As suggested by its name, water makes up 11 percent of Waterford Township's 36 square miles. The Township's Department of Public Works (DPW) Water and Sewer Division treats and distributes high-quality potable water to residential, commercial and industrial customers. It goes through a network of 18 wells, 11 water treatment plants, 355 miles of water main and 8.25 million gallons of storage.


To protect these critical resources, the DPW began implementation in 2003 of a multiphase broadband wireless system to provide the township with high-speed wireless connectivity, including links to remote water and sewer facilities.


This early project phase included VGA-quality video surveillance cameras located at various water treatment, storage and sewer facilities to stream real-time video back to DPW's main office for monitoring and recording purposes.


DPW Director Terry Biederman recently participated in an Oakland County Homeland Security Grant program to upgrade and augment the system with high-definition (HD) cameras and an advanced software viewing and recording package. Mainline designed a computerized monitoring system that includes IQinVision megapixel cameras, JDS Softsite32 Enterprise video management software and Mainline professional services. The IQeye 2-megapixel smart cameras combine video analytics with quality HD resolution.


JDS Softsite32 software is used to manage the cameras. Biederman said the IQeye 2-megapixel resolution cameras "provide higher quality recording, allowing us to zoom in on an area and get more detail even on recorded video."


The IQeye cameras can resolve minute detail while recording event-based situations. They can be controlled by a computer on which objects can be tracked semi-automatically.


The system is programmed to alert DPW personnel — through e-mail to a desktop or handheld device — an event has occurred by sending a series of IQeye images or a 15-second video clip within five seconds of the event. Combined with the DPW's advanced SCADA system, which provides intrusion and motion alarms at facilities, the system provides highly actionable information for a timely, specific response.


Mobotix Watches German Waste Management Plants
The Waste Management Companies in Wiesbaden (ELW), Germany, have a clear mission. "We secure the quality of life in Wiesbaden — we're customer-oriented, present and competent," they said.


Some 760 employees make sure 340 miles of highways and 240 miles of sidewalks are cleaned, 1,600 waste receptacles and 13,000 garbage cans are emptied, 8,000 feet of channels are cleared and 3 million cubic feet of sewage water is purified. All duties are divided between four sewage plants in the city.


"Today, we use state-of-the-art technology to get our rivers and lakes clean and to make sure that they stay that way," said Michaela Kessler, head of the sewage plant. "This is how we help to ensure that we have water, life's elixir, in the highest possible quality."


Its technology includes 55 Mobotix cameras, which are installed at the sewage plant grounds for access control, grounds surveillance and observing the sewage purification process. "We have made extensive changes in the main sewage plant over the past eight years. Many things that were added to the plant cannot be effectively checked by a regular patrol today," said Hans-Peter Schranz, head of electrical engineering at ELW. "That's why we have installed Mobotix cameras at specific points to provide us with a good overview of the entire plant at any particular time."


"The robust, maintenance-free Mobotix network cameras beat the analog cameras by miles," said Herbert Hützen, head of the project at Passavant-Roediger Controls (PRC), a system integrator. "Thanks to the integrated combination of telephoto and wide-angle lens, they not only perform the same function, they are also very easy to install and integrate into the existing fiberglass network. And they also offer convenient recording features and event-controlled recording based on predefined motion fields."


"We should not forget that this special suggestion was considerably less expensive," Schranz said.


"What we needed was a flexible management system to conveniently control all the cameras," Schranz said. "The Mobotix system made it possible to manage several cameras using a standard Web browser. But with more than 50 cameras, we needed a special solution."


Uniserve Internet & Multimedia provided Winston camera management software that can be ergonomically operated quickly and intuitively. "They actually delivered a management solution that fits the cameras — and it really works," Schranz said. "We are very happy with this complete solution."


ELW is considering other projects. "The sewage plant in Biebrich is currently being expanded and is controlled by the main sewage plant at night," Schranz said. "That's why we plan to install cameras in Biebrich in the near future as well."


Since the ELW plans to centralize the night-shift staff, they may install cameras at the waste disposal site and works yard. "I am firmly convinced that we will be able to fulfill these expectations with the Mobotix cameras," Schranz said. "The system can be easily extended to meet future requirements."


Delta Scientific Barricades Protect Water Utilities
Delta Scientific announced the US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation will install its DSC7500 swing beam barricades. The barricades will protect the nation's water diversion, delivery, storage and hydroelectric generation projects. The bureau has already installed Delta's counterterrorist barricades at many of the nation's best-known dams.


The DSC7500 swing beam barricade closes off one or two lanes of a roadway and provides counterterrorist level protection against vehicle attack. Crash tested, the barricade stops a 15,000-pound vehicle traveling 50 mph with zero penetration, equivalent to 1.2-million foot pounds of kinetic energy. It meets the K12 crash certification standard set by the US Department of State.


"Water and hydropower are extremely important aspects of our nation's infrastructure," said David Dickinson, Delta Scientific Senior VP. "The DSC7500 is certified to stop truck bomb attackers dead in their tracks right at the barricade."


The DSC7500 is supplied as an easy to use manual gate or powered with full automation features. Other versions of the DSC7500 Series include a full swing gate with anti-climb features that can replace existing non-rated swing gates. A cantilevered sliding gate with Delta's DSC7000 series crash beam is also available with the full crash rating.


Delta's beam barricades are available in hydraulic and manually operated models. All models are crash rated with one version enhanced for applications at nuclear power plants. Their clear openings range is from 10.5 to 20 feet.


Delta builds seven broad classes of counterterrorist vehicle barricade systems, including beam barricades, wedge barricades, bollards, sliding gates, shallow foundation high security barricades, surface mounted barricades and portable barricades.