Cert III in Water Industry Operations
Workbook
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution
systems
Learners Name:
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
Page 1 of 25
Instructions for use of Workbook
The workbook is designed to help you work through the Toolbox.
You can use the workbook in a number of ways – you may prefer to print it out and
write in it, alternatively you may prefer to use it electronically.
The sections in the workbook match those found in the Toolbox.
You will notice some sections have the statement – Attach print out. This is to remind
you to attach the printed document from the Toolbox to your answers. This can be
included in your workbook rather than writing information into your workbook.
If you prefer to write the information you will see a table in your workbook where the
information can be written.
Remember you don’t need to complete all learning tasks. It is important to check with
your trainer / assessor if there are specific learning tasks that need to be completed.
Use the checklist provided to ensure that you have completed all the required
learning tasks and project. Use it to track your progress as you work through the
Toolbox, then again on completion of the Toolbox to double-check that you have
done all the required learning tasks.
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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Learning tasks
Learning tasks give you background knowledge and information to complete your
project. Remember you can do learning tasks in any order. If you are confident you
can go straight to the project.
In this unit there are three sections: monitor, operate and report. In the context of
water operations, these terms mean:
Monitor
Choose appropriate information gathering methods and
equipment
Gather information about water distribution assets and
water usage over a period of time
Record information for reporting purposes
Operate
Regulate flow, pressure and volume of water in the
distribution system
Control distribution processes to maintain supply within
prescribed limits
Identify and address process faults
Report
Compile reports from data regarding system operations and
demand
Make recommendations regarding maintenance schedules
Project
Apply skills and knowledge to a workplace situation
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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Checklist
Section and notes
Tick
sections
completed
Date completed
Monitor
Monitor site
Test water quality
Use standards
Monitor with SCADA
Operate
Operator tasks
SCADA basics
SCADA pump times
SCADA flow control
SCADA trends
Report
Routine reports
Special reports
Project
Project
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Monitor - Monitor site: case study
Case study – Catchment fire impacts on Onyx township water supply
Onyx is a small town with a population of 600 people. A food processing factory is
the only major industry. Onyx township
derives its water from a mountainous
catchment some 50 km away. This water is
taken from the Opal River which connects the
town and the catchment. There is a one mega
litre storage to supply the town, and a small
disinfection plant and pumping station.
Telemetry connects Onyx plant to the Central
Water SCADA system.
Last summer, much of the mountainous
bushland that forms the catchment for Onyx’s
water supply was devastated by bushfire.
Subsequent rains washed a huge amount of
ash and debris into the Opal River. Here is senior operator Adrian Jones' verbal
account of the incident and how it was managed.
Adrian Jones' verbal report.
On April 21, the event that Central Water had been dreading occurred. A severe
thunderstorm struck the mountains and deposited 75 mm of rain in the catchment.
Over the three months since the bushfires in the upper catchment, we'd stocked up
on extra filtration and water treatment chemicals, knowing there was likely to be a
problem when the rain came.
We knew that a large amount of sediment and ash (called a 'slug') could be washed
into the Opal River from the denuded slopes of the catchment. This much sediment
generally causes fish kills and it also leads to a severe drop in the quality of the
town’s drinking water.
I'd been monitoring the situation
with Michelle Murphy, our
Environmental Officer, since
March, shortly after the bushfires.
There was some light rain in late
March, which resulted in
increased turbidity - we recorded
40 NTU’s, well above the Critical
Control Point of 0.5 NTU’s.
However as the rain wasn't
heavy, the quantity of sediment in
the water wasn't huge. We
estimated that it would pass in
two days. As Onyx's local storage is enough for about four days at medium
consumption levels, we simply stopped pumping from the river for 48 hours.
Everything was dry again for a few weeks, then in mid-April the deluge came. It was
a good way up the catchment, so we had a couple of weeks to get organised before
the 'slug' got down the pumping point.
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It was a huge 'slug', likely to take at least a couple of weeks to pass through. The
turbidity was very high - 3,000 NTU’s. The water was the colour of black coffee there's no way anyone was going to be drinking that stuff.
One of the first things we had to do was meet with the local council and the
emergency services people. We had people from the Department of Human Services
and the Primary Industries people come to check out the situation and how it was
being handled. The town went onto Stage 4 water restrictions straightaway.
We discussed various strategies for maintaining the town's water supply. One option
was to construct a temporary treatment plant using the local swimming pool as a
filtration and settling tank. Another was to buy bore water from local farmers to
augment the existing supply. In the end we decided on transferring water from Camp
Reservoir by pumping it back up the line to Onyx via Spinel. Normally, any excess
from the Onyx storage flows down into the main distribution system from the lower
part of the catchment. However it is possible to reroute water and to send it back up
the line to a higher reservoir.
We had to think about supply
needs downstream, as the 'slug'
of dirty water would move on
down the Opal River through
Spinel and out into Sapphire Bay.
However the Camp Reservoir
was pretty full and Central Water
holds 25 mega litres at the Spinel
treatment plant. We filled all the
local water towers around Spinel
first. Then we increased the
percentage of bore water going
into the mix.
We calculated that we could keep Spinel's supply up plus pump a few mega litres up
to Onyx to tide them over. So for a couple of weeks, they actually had fully treated
water instead of just disinfected water as they were used to.
To cope with the dirty water when it got down to Spinel, we increased the dosing of
alum and polymer. We were jar testing every half hour at the peak. It was tricky
because we had to bring in extra staff, and they weren't all familiar with the plant at
Spinel. What's more, the polymer we were using wasn't getting the results we
needed - the sediment just wasn't flocculating! We had to try out a whole range of
different flocculating agents before we found one that did the trick.
As you can probably imagine, there was masses of reporting to do from all the extra
testing and the changed dosing rates and chemicals. We had a swag of different
MSDS’s to file with all the new polymers we tested. Then we had to document
everything that was a variation from our standard operating procedures. The
customer relations people were flat out too, handling enquiries and calming worried
customers. We put out a lot of press releases, which turned out to be a very good
thing. People felt they knew what was going on.
In the end we came out of it pretty well. No one went without water and we were able
to deliver within our performance targets most of the time. When we were outside, it
wasn't by much and it was still within Australian Drinking Water Guidelines standards.
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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Monitor - Monitor site
Gathering information – Catchment fire
Use the table to record issues associated with each hotspot.
Hotspot
Your notes - why this hotspot is relevant
Operator
Personal protective
equipment
Dead fish
Water sample
Clipboard
Testing equipment
Fence
Vehicle
Burnt tree
Possum
Hillside erosion
Muddy water
Best website for effects of bushfires on water quality: _______________________
Comments:_____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Monitor - Test water quality
Look on the Central Water Intranet site for information about how to do different kinds
of tests. You should check the SOPs and the HACCP. Check the glossary for terms
you are uncertain about. Fill in the table below to indicate how these tests are done
at Central Water and how they are done at your workplace.
Test
Turbidity
- equipment
- parameters
- method
Central Water
My workplace
pH
- equipment
- parameters
- method
Chlorine
- equipment
- parameters
- method
BOD/SS
- equipment
- parameters
- method
E-coli
- equipment
- parameters
- method
Virus
- equipment
- parameters
- method
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Monitor - Use Standards
Match testing parameters and units to test types.
Use the table to record which test parameters and units go with which test types.
EPA parameters and units
Test type
10 orgs/100 mL
< 2 NTU (24 hour median value)
10 mg/L, 5 mg/L
6-9
> 1 mg/L Residual
< 1 per L
Check the parameters on your state or territory environmental protection agency or
authority website. Are they the same as the ones listed here? Note any differences in
the table above.
What other types of tests are used at your workplace? What units and parameters
does your workplace use? List them in the table below.
Workplace parameters and units
Test type
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Monitor - Monitor with SCADA
Record data you have gathered from the SCADA activity in this extract from the
Conorville Pumping Station Plant Log sheet. (You will need to use the interactive
version to see the pump times.)
Conorville PS Plant Log
Week ending __/__/____
PLANT
CONORVILLE
Pump 1
- Number of starts (total)
- Hours run (total)
- Start time
- Stop time
- Status (on/off)
- Control (Remote Auto / Manual / Auto)
Pump 2
- Number of starts (total)
- Hours run (total)
- Start time
- Stop time
- Status (on/off)
- Control (Remote Auto / Manual / Auto)
Conorville tank (Total volume:
ML )
- Water level (%)
- Water level (kL)
- Cut in level (%)
- Cut out level (%)
- Volume in today
- Volume out today
MON
TUES
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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Operate - Operator tasks
Show the photos in this activity to a workmate or fellow learner. Discuss what each
photo is showing and note beside each photo which assets and procedures are
similar to those in your workplace and which are different. Explain differences if
possible. (The images are high resolution. You can click on an image then drag the
corner ‘handle’ to resize it to see more detail.)
Image
Comments
Checking V notch at headwaters
Stream depth gauge
Checking headwater monitoring
equipment
Breather valve and stream
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Image
Comments
Checking valve in a box
Recording observations
Long distance main
Air valve
Bulk water storage inlet
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Image
Comments
Monitoring station
Treatment plant storage
Water quality metering
Turbidity meter close-up
Lab tests cross-reference electronic tests
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Image
Comments
Dosing pumps
Main pump
Pump controller
Fault location
Exposed leak
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Image
Comments
Sampling tap
Domestic sampling
Field water testing
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Operate - Operate SCADA basics – Conorville Pumping Station
If power to the pump fails, how long can the tank be used at the current outflow rate?
______________________________________________________________
What are the tank Mode Cut-in and Cut-out values in litres?
______________________________________________________________
What factors could require an operator to change the Mode Cut-in and Cut-out
values?________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What OHS concerns might there be in turning pumps on using a remote control
system? (Hint: maintenance)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Operate - Operate SCADA pump times – Tom’s Creek Pumping
Station
How long will it take to fill the tank, given the current situation?
__________________________________________________________
Why is Pump 1 currently off? (Hint: Look at the pump times)
__________________________________________________________
At what time did Pump 2 start operation?
__________________________________________________________
If current flow to town is 10 L/s, how long would the tank take to fill?
__________________________________________________________
Why is there zero volume to the tank today?
__________________________________________________________
Turn Pump 2 off and Pump 1 on (this is called changing duty).
How long will it take to fill the tank now (Pump 2 flow = 25 L/s)?
__________________________________________________________
How long will it take to fill the tank if current flow to town is 10 L/s?
__________________________________________________________
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What changes can be observed as a result of changing pump duty?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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Operate - Operate SCADA flow control – Pumping back up to
Onyx from Camp Reservoir
Reread the Case Study for this unit to refresh your memory about this situation.
What physical infrastructure is necessary in order to pump from one bulk water
storage to another?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What problems might you encounter in pumping from a lower location to a higher
location in the catchment?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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What other approaches to maintaining supply to a small town might you consider
using in a situation such as described in this case study?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What problems might you encounter using other approaches?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Discuss your findings with colleagues or fellow students. What problems have
previously been encountered when pumping water 'backwards' through a distribution
system? When does it work? When doesn't it work?
Summarise any new points that arise from your discussions here:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Operate – SCADA trends – Spinel Water Treatment Plant
Record pH, turbidity, chlorine residual and water levels for today and the previous
three weeks on the same day and time.
Day:_______________ Time:_______________
Parameter/Week
Treated water level
Chlorine residual
Turbidity
pH
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Current
Does each parameter fall within the acceptable range for your workplace?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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How would you describe the trend of each parameter?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
For each parameter, what are likely reasons for the changes?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What actions, if any, would you undertake to modify these trends?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Report - Routine reports
Routine reporting means being able to:
 identify appropriate forms or documents to use
 accurately record data from manual inspections and / or electronic systems
 write clear observations as required.
Written reports are usually a summary of readings from the routine performance of
the reticulation system. These reports might be summaries of:
 pump hours
 levels in storages
 flow rates
 water quality parameters.
The appropriate workplace form should be completed on a timely basis as required
by your water authority. These forms then become a permanent record of the
performance of the water distribution system.
Many water authorities have Intranets (internal websites) where all documentation
such as SOPs and forms are kept.
Examples of various forms can be found on the Central Water Intranet site.
Locate and read 'Form 181 - Weekly Operations' sheet in the Central Water Intranet
site.
Navigate to Spinel Water Treatment Plant in the SCADA activity.
Select the 'trends' button.
Drag the red pointer to view the data for different dates.
Record on 'Form 181' the readings for the last seven days for:
- storage level (treated water)
- chlorine residual (treated water)
- turbidity (raw water)
- pH (raw water)
Attach the form to this page.
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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Report - Special reports
Special reporting means being able to:

find, identify and fill in appropriate forms or documents

give an accurate account of what happened.
Special reports are usually a summary of facts about an unscheduled repair or
maintenance activity.

Locate and read the 'Central Water Operations and Maintenance Report' in
the ‘Forms’ section of the Central Water Intranet.

Locate the corresponding form at your workplace.

Complete a copy of the form from your workplace using the information from
one of the scenarios from the Central Water Intranet or use an incident from
your own experience.

Attach the form to this page.
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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PROJECT
This project is designed to let you demonstrate and apply your knowledge to a
workplace situation.
In this project you are required to actually demonstrate that you can monitor and
operate a water distribution system using a SCADA and / or manual control.
Part A - Operate
Undertake at least three of the following tasks using your organisation's SCADA or
manual control system.

fill or empty a tank or other storage

divert water from one storage to another location

operate valves

start a pump

shut down a pump.
All tasks must be done according your organisation's procedures. Your supervisor
may suggest other tasks.
Part B - Monitor
Demonstrate that you can monitor water quality parameters:

turbidity

pH

chlorine residual.
Part C - Report
While completing tasks you need to complete any relevant reports and documents.
Hint
To help you collect evidence you might find it useful to screen dump SCADA screens
or take photos. Include copies of any reports or forms that you complete.

Download the workbook from the Central Water Intranet 'Training' page.

Print a copy of the workbook for your handwritten notes.

Attach completed Central Water workbook here.
NWP310B – Monitor and operate water distribution systems
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