How Grundfos’ digital solutions have improved efficiency and day-to-day operations at Peachtree City WSA.

As the senior collections maintenance technician of the Peachtree City Water & Sewage Authority, Jonathan King is part of a team, that ensures safe and reliable wastewater services for more than 35,000 residential, industrial, and commercial customers in the small Georgia community. “Safe and responsible handling of wastewater is a critical part of everyday life,” King explains about the importance of his job that requires behind-the-scenes work like preventing spills or overflows to safely transport water to the Wastewater Treatment Plant . “Sewage (transport/treatment) is more important than power. For the most part, we can survive without power, but we would face serious health risks without the proper handling of sewage.”

The Peachtree City Water & Sewage Authority includes more than 200 miles of pipeline with 38 pumping stations. Its mission is to provide safe and affordable sewer collection and conveyance, as well as wastewater treatment services, for its residential, industrial, and commercial customers. It was created in 1987 and began operations as an independent sewer utility a decade later in 1997.

King strives to find the right equipment and digital tools to enable his team to do their jobs safely and efficiently. King says he relies heavily on the partnership that they have with Grundfos and their local distributor, Goforth Williamson INC. (GWI), to provide dependable pumps, controls, service, and a digital platform that keep their systems running smoothly. The upgrade to Grundfos Connect has completely changed the way the staff at Peachtree City operate for the better. With around-the-clock monitoring and control capabilities the staff can clock out at the end of the day knowing that their pump stations are protected and will be notified if any attention is required.

“Not only is Grundfos providing quality pumps, but their remote monitoring system has just been a complete game changer,” King says. “Our previous SCADA system was not as user friendly and did not provide the same level of data and visibility. It was very basic. We didn’t know exactly what was wrong when we got an alarm notification, and it was difficult to access the system.”

A cost-efficient digital solution

Grundfos Connect is a simple and cost-efficient alternative to a SCADA solution. By allowing customers to remotely monitor and control their equipment via an online platform, the digital solution helps reduce operating costs. Automatic notifications allow customers to act quickly and proactively when issues occur, ultimately minimizing downtime.

Peachtree City was on the hunt for an accessible system with detailed information and that’s when they contacted GWI for a better solution. Now with their current Grundfos solution they are able to monitor and manage their pumping systems from anywhere in the world. The system is ideal for monitoring a wide range of pumping applications from booster to sanitary lift station pumps and is easily integrated regardless of the brand of equipment being operated.

The automatic alarms notify operators immediately upon critical events via a mobile device or PC and requires no more than a web browser and internet connection to access live pump data. King says there are many more advantages, including:

• No more need for onsite 24/7 monitoring.
• It takes some of the load off the operator on call.
• The installation process is smooth, simple, and stress free.
• Learning the Grundfos digital system is much easier than the previous SCADA system with user-friendly navigation features.

King says that Grundfos’ platform has become a significant part of Peachtree’s training program for new hires. They now can grant various levels of access (view only, operator or administrator) to users based on their knowledge level, and once they are fully trained, they get full access to the complete remote control of the pumps.

Grundfos continues to update and improve their system based on advances in technology and growing customer needs. Grundfos Connect features enhanced security, faster data transmission, higher data resolution, and a user-friendly interface.