Water & Wastewater
At local, regional and national levels, water quality has become a critical issue. While the US has one of the safest water supplies in the world, environmental contamination and weather extremes of drought and flooding continue to put pressure on fresh water sources and underground aquafers. Parallel to the depletion of water sources, the water treatment and distribution infrastructure is severely aged, and nearing the end of its useful life. Estimates range into the trillions of dollars to bring the national water and wastewater infrastructure to the standards needed to meet the rising demand.
Small municipalities are fighting this battle with limited human, technology and capital resources. Burdensome regulatory requirements and increased resource demands continually escalate the cost of infrastructure replacement, remediation and repair. Older infrastructure systems with marginal technological capabilities limit both availability of and access to real time operating information. On top of this, public safety and cyber security issues have now become a major issue in the face of potential acts of terrorism targeted toward elements of the national critical infrastructure. The simultaneous convergence of all of these factors has created formidable financial and technological issues for local municipalities as they seek to address the full spectrum of complexity and risk inherent in the current and future environments.
BlackHawk Datacom provides a robust suite of products and services to address the full range of automation and control systems, security, and real time information required to optimize municipal water and waste water systems. These integrated products and services allow municipalities to have increased control and information capabilities while minimizing budgetary impacts.
Blackhawk Datacom’s SiteHawk Controller delivers a level of system control and operational capability that smaller municipalities could not afford in the past. Through its advanced ability to monitor, report and control key system elements, the SiteHawk Controller brings real time awareness and actionable intelligence to the fingertips of the operator through a patented process of precision pump control based on actual fluid levels. The unit provides VFD motor/pump control, precise automated chemical injection and all traditional SCADA capabilities including pump discharge pressure, levels and flow rates. All real time system information is presented in a user-defined dashboard, and recorded in a secure database that allows for customizable reports or graphs of key system parameters over operator established reporting periods exceeding a year in duration. The resulting cost savings and operational control capability delivers real value to the operator, and, more importantly, to the community at large.
Blackhawk Datacom’s products simultaneously address the threat of intervention from nefarious players and terrorist attacks. Through our SecureHawk platforms, BlackHawk Datacom is able to implement and integrate access control and video surveillance systems that can dramatically reduce the threat potential. Whether monitored and controlled through the BlackHawk Incident Command Center, or from the municipality/operator’s local resources, the SecureHawk systems serve as a force multiplier, allowing around the clock security without the extreme expense of added law enforcement or security personnel.
To further extend the power of these technology innovations, BlackHawk Datacom can bring all of this information and control capability together into one, seamless platform. The HawkView system is designed to deliver customized, role specific information and visibility to key players throughout the municipality’s organization. From the field maintenance personnel on the ground, to the department director making financial decisions, HawkView delivers real time, actionable information that will ensure efficiency and economy of effort. Ultimately, the goal of the HawkView and other systems is to maximize efficiency, reduce operating costs and maximize the useful life of both new and existing water and wastewater infrastructure elements.