Release Notes
Derceto Ltd. | PO Box 6114 , Wellesley Street , Auckland, New Zealand | T:+64.9.373.7100 | F:+64.9.373.7101
Author:
Sarah Thorstensen
Date:
8 April 2013
Subject:
Aquadapt Developments to 5.15
Our Ref:
7710009
Derceto Aquadapt™ 5.15
Derceto Aquadapt™ version 5.15 was released in April 2013. This version builds on the
Aquadapt 5.14 platform, incorporating many of the new features requested by our clients.
These new features are detailed below.
User Interface Improvements




DB Query Tool Improvements – This tool for extracting data from the Aquadapt database has
been improved and now runs faster for large queries. It now also makes sure only date ranges
with valid data can be selected and does not require a reset before running additional queries.
Data can easily be copied to Excel for graphing and reporting.
DB Query Tool Improved Missing Data Handling – Added ability to fill in missing historical
data values with zero or null.
Smarter Missing Value Display – More accurate display of missing and modified transient data
on charts and in details list in Application Manager.
Solve Diagnostics – Where possible reduced the number of facilities listed as problem areas
when Aquadapt cannot find a better solution.
Operator Panel Visual Information







Multi Function Information Form – The Alerts, Solve Diagnostics and Operator Log have been
consolidated into one Information form for easier operator viewing.
Module Not Run Banner – Now also shows which site the module relates to.
Checklist Complete Button – A button can be added to record the daily checklist review and
related text information added to the Operators log.
Alerts now timed to the Minute – The Guardian module that monitors and issues alerts now
runs every minute to update operational alerts published to the Operator Panel.
Control and Availability Options in Operator Panel – Extended the capability of setting up
buttons in the Operator Panel for putting Water Treatment Plants and Pump Stations into / out of
Aquadapt Control. Adds to the existing capability for reading this information from SCADA.
Faulted Pumps F Indicator – An F indicator for faulted pumps similar to the T for pumps not in
service has been added to the physical pump display to make it easier for operators to identify
why a pump is not being selected or running..
Live Operations Simulator Visual Indication – The graphics indicating Simulation mode is
active have been changed to make it more obvious simulation mode is active.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 1
Networking and SCADA Interfaces

















Improved Tag Not Found Diagnosis – Added SCADA Read and Write event and exception
handling for Tag Not Found Events.
Improved Tag Bad Quality Diagnosis – Added SCADA Read and Write event and exception
handling for Tag Bad Quality Events.
String Format Tags – SCADA Read can read the value part of tags in string format e.g. ‘12.8 l/s’
Modify Tag Values before Write – Tag Values written to SCADA can be limited to configurable
min and max values.
Derceto Task Manager runs As Administrator by default – Prevents permission issues on
server restart.
Editable Email From Addresses – The support request from address can be modified if
required for network settings.
Schedule Export Resync Changes – Added function to reset commands sent to Scada during
long periods of status mis-match.
Aquadapt Tidy Up – Functionality added to automatically clean up specified temporary files on
the Aquadapt Servers improving HDD space management.
Iterative Replication – Replicator will now defer and iterate through changes that would
otherwise cause problems from being applied to the Historian database out of sequence.
Replication Robustness – Replicator will now delete any leftover rows in the destination
database that have higher primary keys once we have reached the end of source rows.
Multiple SCADA Server configuration – Allow different SCADA servers to be configured with
different Tag Prefix configuration option for SCADA Read and Write.
Multiple SCADA Server heartbeats – Added capability to write multiple heartbeat tags.
OPC Asynchronous Read – The reliability and speed of OPC communications to SCADA has
been improved with the addition of modern asynchronous read methods replacing our
synchronous approach to OPC. This allows the OPC driver more time and flexibility to respond
on busy SCADA servers. Options have also been added for COM Authentication, COM
Impersonation and COM Cloaking.
Faster, more robust OPC SCADA connections – The OPC server connection process has
been upgraded to use a tiered approach that follows industry standards and runs through a
hierarchy of connection methods specifically aimed at both modern and older OPC drivers. If
available a saved OPC server GUID from the config file is used, else the QueryInterfaces2 or the
QueryInterfaces method (now deprecated) is used.
Multiple SCADA Server connection order – Added additional options for SCADA server
connection order to enable pre selection of first server to try and option to try one server only.
Improved Derceto Task Manager Robustness – Improvements at server restart; set Windows
service Start-up type to Automatic(Delayed Start) and do not try to start Derceto service if
generator database is not available. Use Halt instead of re-raising exceptions as the Windows
service failure recovery does not recognize unhandled exceptions but it does recognize a halt.
Derceto Task Manager Sleep Option – Added option to allow Derceto Task Manager to use
sleep instead of windows messages when run as a service.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 2
Aquadapt Dashboard









More Pumps – Increased the number of pumps possible in a pump station, reformatted and
aligned Efficiency and EVH charts (Energy Usage and Savings: Pump Station Detail page).
New Online Help Documentation – Dashboard specific help is now accessible online from the
top right corner of Dashboard.
More Hints – All charts now have information ‘mouse over’ hints to display the value details.
Tank Elevation Offsets – Improved display of tank level charts where tanks have non zero base
elevation.
New Multi Facility Page – A new page has been added to allow the user to select multiple
charts of different demand, level and flow data types. The data is viewable in day, week, month
and year options.
Additional Date Range Options – Date range options of day, week, month, and year are now
available on more charts.
New Multiple Tank Group – A new tank group allows viewing of multiple tank levels on one
chart (zone level chart).
Fixed Supply chart type – Changed the Supply chart type from funnel to volumetrically accurate
pie.
Dashboard shortcut – A Dashboard desktop shortcut to the intranet page is now automatically
installed by default.
Solver Enhancements





Optional Level Control Modeling – Added option to model level control in the embedded
Epanet hydraulic model on a tank by tank basis.
Xpress Version 7.4 Support – The interface to the Xpress optimization library has been
upgraded to the latest version enabling faster solves and better utilization of multiprocessor
servers. The option to use the Dual Simplex algorithm has been added. Significant improvements
in speed have been observed to make the system even more responsive and lower cost
solutions produced.
Standardization of iteration algorithms – The algorithms used for making modifications during
a solve in cases of infeasibility have been standardized. Added reservoir groups for this purpose.
Optional Pump Speed Recalculation – Added option to recalculate VSD pump speeds after the
final Epanet simulation for closer convergence between simulation and speed settings.
Plant Power modeling options – Added power multiplier constructs to Plants with power cost
curve modeling. Allows modeling of a second level of power use and/or grouped Water
Treatment Plants.
Continuous Integration and Testing


Schedule Reporter – Added to automated regression testing process.
Automated Derceto Update Testing – The continuous integration process at the Derceto
development facility in Auckland improves the robustness of the software and upgrade process.
It now includes automated testing of upgrade scripts on a test version of all client databases
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 3
every day to detect any upgrade or script naming errors before clients are upgraded. Derceto
Update can run automatically as a console application on both the Live and Historian databases.




Anytown 24/7 Live Test System – The Anytown test system is a fully functioning Aquadapt
client running 24/7 at the Derceto development facility in Auckland using a Live and Historian
server and new daily demand generator module. Anytown contains most client features and
enables immediate testing of changes to improve robustness of the software and upgrade
process. It also receives Windows patches and updates, allowing us to detect any problems and
alert users before those patches are applied to live systems.
Real Time Tester Upgraded – This in-house module enables testing of all Aquadapt modules in
as close to the live operation as possible. RTT uses historical demand data to emulate values in
the SCADA system in real time. It does that by performing hydraulic simulations to calculate
current reservoir levels and flowmeter flows. The RTT has been upgraded to include:

A simplified database structure, Live DB and config, conversion to Derceto base objects

User Interface improvements, streamlined to assist configuration, new RTT parameter set

A quick copy last solve results function instead of previous slower method

Message and/or cancel process if first solve has failed

Before test back up log folder content, clear tblChanges and optionally parameter history

Pause Task Manager when RTT is paused or cancelled

Move time changing code to Task Manager

Upgraded tag processing functionality; pressure meter tags, Pump VSD setpoints in
alternative units, Valve setpoints in alternative units
SCADA Interface Tag Type Test Facility – Upgraded the simulated SCADA tag repository to
enable testing of variants, OPC quality and decimal point selection.
Multiple Automated Regression Tests – Added multiple test parameters for a single test
project.
Support

Email Report Static Text – Static text can be added to any section of the email report.

Email Report Chart Legends – Legends have been added to email report charts.





Email Report Custom Content – Section inclusion/exclusion can be customized for specific
recipients.
User Manuals Upgraded – All manuals have been upgraded to 5.15.
Derceto Debug Reader Optimization – In-house support tool upgraded to provide faster
validation of configuration changes and diagnosis of errors in assumptions between Epanet and
theoretical calculations.
Matrix Diagnosis tool upgrade – In-house support tool upgraded to provide faster diagnosis of
infeasible problems.
Database statistics alert messages – Derceto Guardian now includes information about server
and database statistics, connections, transactions, queries and transactions of interest in emails.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 4

Guardian Monitoring of Historian Task Manager – Guardian can now monitor the Historian
Derceto Task Manager and alert any errors.
Under the Hood – things we get excited about

Smarter Meter Sizing checks – Improved detection of meter sizing or roll over setting errors.

Delphi XE2 – The Derceto development environment has been upgraded to Delphi XE2.

Smart New Curves – New curves now default to valid date ranges.






Automatic detection and fixing of generator mismatches – Generator values are validated on
the fly when Application Manager connects to the Historian database. Automatic fixing by DB
Replicator.
Driveloss parameter discontinued – Removed all references and replaced with scaled curves.
Xpress CPU interface simplified – Discontinued parameters XPressNumMIPThreadsOnline,
XPressNumMIPThreadsOffline. Xpress now uses all available CPUs by default.
Improved Derceto Task exception logging – Improved Run Completed function to log
exceptions to file that might not otherwise be logged due to database transaction failures.
Consistent zero value storage – Forced storage of important zero values in database (all
SCADA Read, Data Cleaner and most Solver results).
Multi Threading Time Tracking – Added functions to Aquadapt tasks for real-time tracking of
multi-threaded applications to assist in timing error diagnosis.

Database Server Upgrade – Firebird database server upgraded to version 2.5.2.

Database documentation – Added database documentation of internal tables.


Consistent Volume Cleaning - Data Cleaner now checks tank volumes against a fixed volume
offset from predicted for more consistent volume cleaning.
Improved Demand Calculation data records – Data Cleaner now calculates and stores raw
demand values as well as clean to assist in investigating erroneous demand calculations.
Fixed in 5.15

Operator Panel - Fixed bug where flow chart bars sometimes displayed with a different width.

Operator Panel - Fixed bug in the determination of page controlled state.

Operator Panel - Fixed bug resulting in flickering of buttons in Windows 7 with Windows 7
Classic resolution settings.

Operator Panel - Fixed bug resulting in exception box when exiting at the same time as a
refresh occurs.



Data Cleaner – Fixed bug in Clean Flow procedure to set assessed flag after a rollover event
Operator Panel – Fixed bug in area login permission preventing view of other areas when set to
area zero.
Schedule Export – Improved the determination of schedule changes in the current period. If so
issue a change to SCADA regardless of if the status matches. Fixes bug causing stale Aquadapt
control tags when using control feedback.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 5




Task Server Registry Access - Changed saving of settings in registry to use
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE instead of HKEY_LOCAL_USER reducing permission errors.
Operator Panel – Fixed bug preventing changes to Step Period points on left of yellow bar.
Live Operations Simulator – Fixed bug in determination of current parameters from parameter
history.
Dashboard – Fixed standard demand value one day out; Water Supply and Demand: Demand.
Derceto Aquadapt™ 5.14
Derceto Aquadapt™ version 5.14 was released in November 2012. This version builds on the
Aquadapt 5.12 platform, incorporating many new features. These new features are detailed
below.
User Interface Improvements




Physical Pump Schedules on the Operator Panel – Operator Panel has the capability of
viewing schedules for each pump rather than pump combinations so that a complete list of
pumps at the station can be viewed in numerical order.
Alarm Messages on Operator Panel – Aquadapt alarms and messages have been updated
and separated into 3 categories in a list with ‘Acknowledged’ checkboxes

‘Aquadapt Alarms’ – Indicates any issues with Aquadapt itself

‘Operational Alarms’ – Alarms related to the water distribution network e.g. pump
performance (flow different from anticipated), tank flatline and the “pump not run” indicator to
allow periodic pump starts on infrequently used equipment.

‘System Mode/Info’ – This covers site specific settings such as peak energy demand
periods (known as Triad Events in the UK and PLC in the US), as well as special modes of
operation such as fire or storm warning days when tanks are filled to higher levels.
Solve Diagnostics – Improved reporting of problem areas when Aquadapt cannot find a better
solution. Assists both Operators and Engineers diagnose the likely problems in the network to
avoid prolonged periods of water deficiencies. Extended reporting time up to 48 hours in
advance.
Secure Data Access – A ‘view only’ user type has been added to permit external read-only
database access (for example a connection from Excel). Hour and half hour summary views
have been added to databases and are available to the view only user.
Operator Panel Visual Information


Fixed Speed Pumps - Clearer naming on the Operator Panel which allows you to identify all
pumps in priority order groups.
Schedule Changes page for all areas – All areas can now be shown on one page.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 6
Networking and SCADA Interfaces



Valve Stagger Position Setpoints – Position valve can now have a staggered setpoint (e.g.
incrementally increase the % open by 5% every 2 minutes).
SCADA Write Delay – Added write delay time functionality to read (similar to delay used
between loading and reading tags in SCADA Read).
SCADA Read Variant types – Fixed error resulting from reading variant types that cannot be
converted to a string or number (e.g. blank).
Solver Enhancements


Best Efficiency Priority Order – Aquadapt software has the ability to calculate and set pump
long term priorities for pumps of equal size according to best efficiency. The most efficient pumps
are always run ahead of less efficient pumps when duty pumps need to be specified if this
method is selected.
Handling of Tanks Breaching Maximum or Minimum – Aquadapt Software can now
incorporate additional measures to bring tanks back within operating limits when they have been
breached.
Energy Market Enhancements

Improved Handling of Tiered Tariffs – The Aquadapt Software can handle situations where
energy is provided at a set price for the first x kWh and another price for the next x kWh in a
billing month instead of or in addition to traditional Time-Of-Use pricing.
Under the Hood – things we get excited about


Continuous Integration Solver Regression Tests – In house software to ensure changes
made to the solver only affect the intended areas leaving everything else intact. I.e. make sure
we don’t break anything in an update, we test changes on our copy of your implementation
before we deliver.
Database Interface Optimization of Transient Data – Faster loading, modification and saving
of Date Time stamped data through Derceto base objects constructs.
Derceto Aquadapt™ 5.12
Derceto Aquadapt™ version 5.12 was released in July 2011. This version builds on the
Aquadapt 5.9 platform, incorporating many of the new features requested by our clients. These
new features are detailed below.
User Interface Improvements

Aquadapt Dashboard – Enhancements to this user friendly reporting and management package
with extra information and upgrade analysis on pump performance data.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 7

Multi Language / Currency Client Applications – Operator Panel, Application Manager and
reporting tools such as Solver Diagnostics, Energy Page and Pump Changes page are available
to be viewed in multiple languages and currencies, including multi-byte character e.g. Korean.
Operator Panel Visual Information





Variable Speed Drives – Show the setpoint (RPM, Flow, Percentage, Pressure, or even vane
pitch) that will be written to SCADA using ‘mouse-over’.
Control and Availability Options in Operator Panel – Capability of setting up buttons in the
Operator Panel for putting pumps and valves into / out of Aquadapt Control and In / Out of
Service. Adds to the existing capability for reading this information from SCADA.
Application Manager User Friendliness – Application Manager has smarter calculations inbuilt
such as converting volumes to levels when different viewing / editing options are selected.
Operator Panel Permissions – Operator Panel can display separate areas of control based on
the user log-in. The common summary pages such as the energy page and pump changes page
only show relevant information for the current logged in operator.
Exporting Information – Operator logs and Event Logs can be copied to the clipboard and
pasted into an external document for ease of viewing and analyzing.
Operations Simulator

Engineers' Operations Simulator – This is our largest single new package replacing the
previous simulator. The simulator now allows multiple scenarios to be run, compared and saved.

Sub-scenario modeling allows subset comparisons between different options being tested
against a major scenario, for example, new pumps compared with additional storage, or
both.

Vastly enhanced reporting so that you can keep a printed record of various scenarios tested.

The user interface has gone through a major revision to allow easier display of comparative
results.
Networking and SCADA Interfaces



Write To SCADA – SCADA Write has been extensively modified to be far more flexible. For
example it can now write to SCADA only on change of setpoint. This minimizes traffic requests
from the Aquadapt servers across the SCADA network. We have improved initialization of
SCADA points at the start of the day which now only writes to the tags which are required to
change.
SCADA Write pulsed operation – Aquadapt can write to the SCADA system almost any format
or timing of signals, e.g. “Start bit on for 5 seconds, then Reset bit on for 1 second repeated five
times 1 second apart”.
TCP/IP Messaging Protocol – Another major change from “broadcast” traffic on the network to
now using point-to-point direct communications between server and client. This leads to less
Aquadapt traffic across the entire network, and much simpler security setup, especially across
Wide Area Networks.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 8









Compare before writing – Capability of adding a control feedback SCADA Tag for any pump or
valve so that Aquadapt compares to the actual status with the schedule state and writes to the
SCADA only if the two do not match. This greatly enhances synchronization while minimizing
data traffic on the SCADA network.
Additional Alert Messages – Derceto Guardian recognizes Client Applications that are
connected to the database. Alert messages are now received when these applications are out
date and not upgraded with the rest of the software. Derceto Guardian can also report back on
Windows system information on the Aquadapt servers such as low disk space or requiring a
reboot.
Operational High and Lows – The Aquadapt Database has the capability of storing SCADA
tags relating to reading the operational highs and lows for each tank / reservoir in the system
which allows for better synchronization with SCADA.
Pump Fault handling – The Aquadapt Solver can handle both short term (fault) and long term
(out of service) unavailability per pump more effectively with flexible measures for outage
duration of each.
Pump Priority – Improved handling to ensure the most appropriate pump is run including auto
rotation based on maximizing efficiency while handling pump faults.

Long Term Order – For clients that do not indicate pump priority within SCADA, Aquadapt
has built into its modules the ability to modify the long term priority on a specified basis (Run
hours, Rotate Up/Down, Pump Efficiency) at a specified frequency (Daily, Weekly,
Monthly). This ensures rotation of similar sized pumps within a station.

Short Term Order – Every 10 minutes pump priority is reordered based on current
availability, running status, Aquadapt control status and the Long Term Order to decipher
which is the next pump it should run.
SCADA Read Flexibility – Contains the option to ignore the status of the tags so that if the tag
is bad quality it can still read the value and save it into the database.
SCADA Interface Testing – In house software enabling the testing of SCADA Read and Write
modules without the full Client SCADA system present.
ODBC SCADA Interface – Both SCADA Read and Write can be configured to interface to
multiple ODBC data sources as a communication method.
Pump Control By Amps – SCADA Write can send an Amp setpoint to control pumps.
Solver Enhancements



Treatment Plant energy optimization – Aquadapt can pre-determine the optimal strategy for
each Water Treatment Plant as to when it should change production rates and how much it
should change by, set by the operational limits and constraints of the process and plant. This is
very beneficial for plants on Real Time Price structures as the optimal changes are different
every day.
Modeling of VSDs – Improved Aquadapt Solver modeling of VSDs including settings and
feedback from the hydraulic simulation.
Constraining Flows – Configuration set up to allow restricting flow rates between chosen sets of
facilities like treatment plants or pump stations.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 9

Average Flow Following – Configuration set up to allow calculation of average treatment plant
flow as the expected future flow.
Energy Market Enhancements



Real-Time Energy Pricing Data Acquisition

Extended the portfolio of interfacing with energy providers for Spot Market Pricing. COMIT
web services in New Zealand has been added to the US PJM and Canadian IESO market
interfaces.

Alarm information is now generated for unreasonably high prices that could cause issues
with Aquadapt Solver.

Capability of reading at multiple times over the course of the day as new prices become
available.
Triad and STORR Events (UK) or Auto Demand Response and Peak Load Contribution
(US) – The Aquadapt Solver can minimize energy consumption over specified parts or all of the
water network in response to signals from the energy market. Participating in these energy
reduction programs can provide significant revenue for a water utility, with Aquadapt minimizing
the risk to security of supply when responding to requests to drop electrical load.
Tariff Information on Operator Panel – Demand charges are now displayed as a background
color on the tariff charts for each station. Tariff key automatically adjusts its range on new price
inputs (especially relevant to real time prices) to accurately display a suitable range of colors for
the day.
Under the Hood – things we get excited about







Smarter Data Cleaning – Better predictions are made when there is missing or erroneous data.
Operator Panel Connections – Elegantly handles a lost connection to the database by
displaying a holding message. Faster refresh times by more efficiency choosing what to reload.
Bulk loading of certain information.
Improved Schedule Export – Scheduled pump / valve starts and stops are now more efficient in
fitting in all the required changes in a half hour period. This can be very challenging when a lot of
changes are required across the network to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
Parallel Xpress Licenses – Aquadapt is compatible with Xpress solver utilizing multi-core
processors for faster and better quality optimization. We now regularly use quad core hyperthreaded CPUs meaning 8 parallel cores run the optimization.
Multisite Solution – Aquadapt Solver allows for multiple sites to run either in parallel or
sequentially including passing back and forward site specific time parameters allowing flexibility
and improving the solutions generated. This allows for truly huge implementations of Aquadapt.
Smarter Curve Entries – Pump curves and efficiency curves are automatically generated on
creation of a new element in the database through Application Manager.
Compatibility with Windows Server 2008 – Installer packages set up to deal with Windows
Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2.
7710009 Document1
Derceto® and Aquadapt® are registered trademarks of Derceto Ltd, Reg. USPTO, Reg. IPONZ, Reg. OHIM
8 April 2013
Page 10