SCADA Zone Extended To Include Cathodic Protection

Aging infrastructure, new state and federal regulations, unfriendly neighbors, an aging workforce and heightened security restricting site access are burdening company operations with increasing costs and deteriorating operational excellence.

Pipeline and utility operating managers look to extend their investment in high performance SCADA networks in the hope of gaining greater operational efficiencies and keeping costs in check.

Missions are getting bigger. Originally planned for integration to remote terminal units and programmable logic controllers, SCADA systems now are used for AMR/AMI applications, and operators are looking for even greater leverage of their existing systems.

A New Direction

A large municipal utility in Denver is experimenting with a new low-cost remote-monitoring solution specifically designed to monitor integrity management and corrosion prevention systems. Leveraging its existing SCADA infrastructure, it hopes to extend remote monitoring to critical cathodic protection (CP) systems as well.

CP systems for storage tanks, pipes and other buried infrastructure are often located in remote locations making them difficult to maintain and operate, let alone operate at peak performance. In some cases, unauthorized third parties strip the critical rectifiers and wiring and sell them for scrap, leaving tanks and miles of expensive metal unprotected. Theft results in an increased risk of damage or even total failure of a system from corrosion. Compounding operational difficulties of remote systems are site access issues stemming from land use disputes, Homeland Security and urban sprawl.

The cost of implementing properly installed and well-maintained CP remote-monitoring equipment pales in comparison to the annual costs required to repair even a single leak. Reports estimate corrosion is responsible for costing U.S. industries more than $270 billion per year, almost 3.1% of gross domestic product. The desire to rein in those costs has never been greater. Corrosion leading to leaks, lost revenue, groundwater contamination and other adverse scenarios affecting overall water quality, supply and/or public safety now can be prevented like never before through technological advances in the remote monitoring of critical tanks, pipes and casings.

As tank and pipeline operations grew throughout North America, so grew federal and state regulations governing the industry. Recent legislation passed by Congress further develops the legal implications of pipeline integrity management. At the heart of this growing legislative effort is the protection of public safety, the environment, irreplaceable national energy reserves and the U.S. economy.

Recent tragic events at the local, state, national and international levels place increasing focus on the protection and integrity of all U.S. pipeline operations.

Evidence of this increased national public awareness is demonstrated by the passage of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of December 2002, and the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006. Both Acts serve not only to illustrate growing awareness, but also to educate the industry on pipeline operation best practices.

The Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of December 2002 mandates significant changes and new requirements in the way the industry ensures the safety and integrity of its pipeline facilities, including: