At a glance

• 90% — Deployment Time Reduced
• 41 — Parameter Formulas
• 50%+ — Report Engineering Time Saved

About Cypress County

Cypress County is a municipal district located in southeastern Alberta, Canada, delivering essential water services to a large rural population through a mix of public infrastructure and regional cooperatives.

Headquarters: Dunmore, Alberta, Canada · Industry: Municipal Water Management

Introduction

Cypress County in Alberta, Canada, partnered with Itanta to modernize their water management operations at Seven Persons Booster Station and Water Treatment Plant. Facing challenges with manual data logging, limited real-time visibility, and time-intensive compliance reporting, the county needed a digital solution that could integrate with their existing VTSCADA system.

By cutting deployment time by almost 90%, Itanta's platform enabled a rapid shift from manual operations to intelligent automation, bringing real-time visibility and effortless regulatory compliance to this municipal water management.

Challenges and Requirements

• Manual Data Collection & Processing: Seven Persons facilities required manual logging of all water plant parameters, which increased logging hours and human error.
• VTSCADA Data Accessibility Limitations: Existing VTSCADA proprietary database format restricted data access and historical analysis capabilities for operational teams.
• Time-consuming Compliance Reporting: Monthly and annual regulatory reports required extensive manual compilation, calculation, and formatting.
• Lack of Real-Time Operational Visibility: No continuous monitoring capabilities for critical parameters like flow rates, chlorine levels, pressure, and turbidity across facilities.
• Need for Flexible Data Management: Required ability to modify data when necessary while maintaining complete audit trails and operator management capabilities.
• Web-Application Platform: Required HTML5-compatible platform accessible through standard browsers with filtering capabilities and manual entry forms.

Highlights

• VTSCADA Historical Values Connector v5.0.1
• 5-minute cyclic data transfers
• 41 specific parameter formulas
• HTML5 web application platform
• Real-time parameter monitoring
• Complete audit trails

Background

Cypress County, located in southeastern Alberta, delivers essential water services to a large rural population through a mix of public infrastructure and regional cooperatives. Given its vast geographical area and dispersed population, the county has adopted a flexible and resilient approach to water distribution. Water is supplied through multiple sources, including private groundwater wells, truck-fill stations, and regional water cooperatives. Many rural residents rely on cisterns that are filled by trucked water or connected to cooperative pipelines that deliver treated potable water. In specific hamlets like Elkwater and Bullshead, untreated raw water is also available for non-potable purposes. In response to environmental variability, Cypress County also follows a multi-stage Drought Management Plan aligned with the City of Medicine Hat's water supply strategy. This plan ensures sustainable usage through conservation measures and water restrictions during periods of drought.

Laying the Digital Foundation

System Overview

To address these challenges, rather than relying on manual processes, the solution called for a more integrated, scalable, and intelligent system. This led to the implementation of a robust architecture designed to streamline data flow, enable real-time monitoring, and support informed decision-making across operations.

How the System Works

• Lift Stations (on the left): These are physical locations where pumps are used to move water. Each lift station collects data like water levels, pump activity, and system status.
• PLCs (controllers): Each lift station sends its data to a small controller (called a PLC). This controller organizes the data and sends it onward.
• Network Switch: All the data from the controllers is gathered at a central point (like a data traffic hub) to be sent further up the system.
• Firewall and Security: Before the data reaches the main system, it passes through a security layer that protects it from unauthorized access.
• DMZ Switch: Another layer helps safely pass the information into the central monitoring area without exposing internal systems directly.
• VTScada Server with Itanta Dashboard: This is the control center where all the data is displayed in one place. Here, users can check current status, receive alerts and alarms, view detailed data and monitor the system in real time.

Solutions

• Automated Data Integration System: Itanta VTSCADA Historical Values Connector (v5.0.1) eliminates manual data logging with 5-minute cyclic transfers from VTSCADA to accessible Itanta-DB format.
• Automated Report Generation: Created 41 specific parameter formulas delivering automated monthly and annual SLS reports with regulatory formatting and compliance standards. This reduced the report engineering time by more than 50%.
• Real-Time Parameter Monitoring: Continuous tracking of gas meters, chlorine scales, flow rates, turbidity, and all critical water treatment parameters with instant visibility.
• Improved Data Management: Manual entry forms with right-click undo functionality, complete audit trails, and Excel connector integration for operator data management.
• HTML5 Web Application Platform: Browser-compatible interface with filtering capabilities, dynamic dropdowns, and cascade filtering accessible to all stakeholder groups.

Dashboard Images

• 1. Annual Report:
• 2. Water Report Summary:

Conclusion

Cypress County's partnership with Itanta Analytics successfully transformed their water management from manual processes to automated, real-time operations. The VTSCADA Historical Values Connector eliminated manual data logging while delivering automated compliance reporting that meets Canadian regulatory standards.

• Eliminated manual data entry across Seven Persons facilities.
• Enabled 24/7 real-time monitoring of critical water parameters.
• Automated regulatory reporting processes.
• Created scalable foundation for future expansion.

This transformation demonstrates how municipal water utilities can leverage proven analytics solutions to enhance operational efficiency, ensure compliance, and build proactive water management capabilities.

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