AVEVA Data Hub keeps the City of Salem a step ahead of environmental disaster

Posted: February 15, 2022

For the first time in Oregon’s history, late in the May of 2018, dangerous cyanotoxins from an algae bloom in Detroit Reservoir made it past the City of Salem’s filtration plant and all the way into the city’s tap water. The contamination triggered an immediate state of emergency and a month-long drinking-water advisory.

After the advisory finally lifted, one thing was abundantly clear: The cyanotoxin scare of 2018 was not a piece of state history anyone wanted to endure a second time. The city decided it needed to learn to forecast algae blooms well in advance so that it could address the issue proactively. The city hired systems integrator, Casne Engineering, and, using AVEVA Data Hub, the team devised a new system to keep ahead of future catastrophes.

AVEVA Data Hub allows the City of Salem to aggregate various sources of data—like algae levels, for instance, and water depth, weather data, water turbidity, satellite imagery, and lab samples—into one central, cloud-based hub of information. And, because all this information is accessible from a web browser, the city can easily and securely share pre-formatted data and its related context with mathematicians, ecologists, and other analysts in real time. With this new system in place, the City of Salem has crystal clear insights into the state of its reservoirs.

AVEVA Data Hub gives analysts the detailed data they need to run predictive analysis for a head start on water treatment. These advanced models alert operators a week in advance of any algae blooms and potential cyanotoxin hazards. And that one week makes all the difference. It gives operators the time they need to spot algae blooms and take corrective action—change a pump, add a filter, change a filter, redirect the water flow, etcetera—to ensure that the residents of Salem always have reliable access to clean, safe drinking water.

With AVEVA Data Hub, the most efficient and affordable way to handle an environmental disaster is simply to prevent it from happening in the first place.