Intelligent water systems challenge.

For the second year in a row, the International Society of Automation (ISA)—through its Water and Wastewater Industries Division (WWID)—is supporting an initiative designed to demonstrate the value of intelligent water systems, smart water technologies, and leveraging data for improved decision-making.

The 2019 LIFT Intelligent Water Systems Challenge is a competition that encourages students, professionals, and technology enthusiasts to develop innovative solutions, particularly those using advanced sensing and/or data technology, that can be applied to water and wastewater collection, treatment, and distribution.

The Challenge is a joint effort of The Water Research Foundation (WRF) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF). Serving as supporting organizations are: ISA, the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Cleveland Water Alliance, the Water Council, the WaterTap Technology Acceleration Project, and the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN).

Lisa McFadden

“We’re pleased to again welcome ISA, a technical association that works to advance the use of automation and technology in the water and wastewater treatment industry, as a supporting organization of the LIFT Intelligent Water Systems Challenge,” states Lisa McFadden, Director of Integrated Technical Programs and the Associate Director of the Water Science & Engineering Center at WEF. “Last year’s Challenge prompted a lot of interest and ideas around intelligent water systems and we’re expecting great things this year as well.”

The Challenge kicked off earlier this month and will run through 23 September 2019. Teams will have until 22 April 2019 to submit a Challenge Plan and until 2 August 2019 to submit a Challenge Solution. Judges will award a top prize of $10,000. Recognition will also be given to innovative approaches and to outstanding contributions from students or young professionals. Get more details by visiting the Challenge website.

Graham Nasby

“ISA’s Water and Wastewater Industries Division is pleased to be a supporter of the 2019 LIFT Intelligent Water Systems Challenge, as it is a flagship program that brings out the best of what people and automation technology can do in the municipal water/water sector,” emphasizes Graham Nasby, a long-time leader within ISA’s WWID and a widely recognized expert within the water/wastewater community. “ISA is committed to helping professionals in the water and wastewater industries improve safety, efficiency, and operational performance through automated controls, instrumentation, and other advanced technologies.”

Nasby says that for well over a decade ISA’s WWID has collaborated with WEF and other professional associations to conduct an annual symposium to showcase the value of automatic control applications, sensors and instrumentation, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and engineering best practices to the treatment and distribution of water, and the collection and treatment of wastewater.

In 2019, ISA will be rolling out an all-new event, the ISA Energy and Water Automation Conference,  as part of its goals to serve the needs of municipal water/wastewater community. This will be held 7-8 August 2019 in Orlando, (FL USA). The conference will combine ISA’s popular power and municipal water programs into a single, two-day gathering with additional content on industrial water applications. Topics of emphasis include data analytics, IIOT, Smart Cities Initiative, and cybersecurity.

“ISA has a strong history of supporting the needs of automation professionals in a wide variety of industries, including the municipal water/wastewater sector,” Nasby says. “With its new ISA Energy and Water Automation Conference in 2019, ISA hopes to further advance its goals of creating a better world through automation, by encouraging the sharing of information and ideas between the electric power and water/wastewater sectors. I encourage you to find out more about this event as details are released in the coming months.”

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