Water Treatment & Distribution Automation
Reliable control, SCADA, telemetry, and instrumentation for municipal water treatment and distribution systems.
Britton Electronics & Automation, Inc. designs, builds, programs, and supports automation systems for municipal water treatment and distribution facilities throughout Illinois and the Midwest. With more than 40 years of field experience, we understand the reliability, reporting, and operational demands placed on public water systems.
From individual well controls to complete plant-wide SCADA modernization, BEA delivers practical automation systems that help operators maintain treatment quality, respond to alarms, document operations, and keep water moving.
Water Treatment Plant Automation
Water treatment facilities depend on coordinated control of filtration, chemical feed, pumping, storage, and distribution equipment. BEA develops operator-focused PLC, HMI, and SCADA systems that provide clear process visibility without unnecessary complexity.
Our systems provide operators with real-time status, alarm management, historical trending, reporting, and remote access while maintaining the manual control and field functionality needed during service or emergency conditions.
Filtration, backwash, disinfection, chemical feed, pumping, and process sequencing.
Operator screens, alarm history, trending, reporting, remote access, and system diagnostics.
Historical process values, equipment runtime, chemical usage, alarm records, and operator activity.
Highlights: Filtration controls • Backwash sequencing • Chemical feed • Disinfection • SCADA reporting • Historical data
Wells, Pumping & Distribution
Distribution systems often include wells, booster stations, elevated tanks, pressure zones, and remote instrumentation spread across a wide geographic area. BEA connects these sites into one coordinated control and monitoring system.
Pump sequencing, tank level control, pressure regulation, flow monitoring, and remote alarming help operators maintain dependable service while reducing unnecessary equipment cycling and field travel.
Pump control, source selection, level response, flow monitoring, runtime balancing, and protection.
Pressure control, VFD sequencing, lead-lag operation, alarms, and remote equipment status.
Elevated tank monitoring, pressure-zone control, flow totals, distribution status, and system alarms.
Highlights: Wells • Booster stations • Elevated tanks • Pressure zones • Distribution telemetry • Pump sequencing
Chemical Feed, Disinfection & Process Control
Chemical feed and disinfection systems require accurate pacing, dependable permissives, and clear operator feedback. BEA integrates metering pumps, analyzers, scales, flowmeters, mixers, and safety interlocks into coordinated treatment controls.
Feed rates can be based on flow, residual, level, batch quantity, or operator-entered targets. Alarm limits, equipment status, calibration information, and chemical usage can be recorded through the SCADA system.
Feed Systems
Chlorine, hypochlorite, phosphate, fluoride, coagulant, polymer, and pH adjustment systems.
Permissives & Interlocks
Flow verification, low-level protection, analyzer alarms, pump status, and equipment shutdown logic.
Usage & Reporting
Feed rates, chemical totals, residual values, alarm history, calibration records, and operating trends.
Highlights: Flow pacing • Residual control • Chemical totals • Analyzer integration • Low-level protection • Alarm history
Remote Telemetry, Communications & Alarming
Remote water sites must remain visible even when they are miles away from the treatment plant. BEA designs telemetry systems using licensed radio, industrial cellular, Ethernet, fiber, and other communication methods selected for the site and operating environment.
Communications diagnostics, failed-site alarms, store-and-forward data, and secure remote access help operators identify problems quickly and reduce unnecessary trips to remote facilities.
Radio & Cellular
Licensed radio, Ethernet radio, industrial cellular, antenna systems, and communication diagnostics.
Alarm Management
Priority-based alarms, callout systems, acknowledgment records, escalation, and after-hours notification.
Remote Diagnostics
Communication health, PLC status, instrument faults, equipment alarms, and secure support access.
Highlights: Licensed radio • Cellular telemetry • Signal surveys • Remote alarms • Communications diagnostics • Secure access
Modernization & Core Engineering Capabilities
Aging controls do not always require replacing an entire facility at once. BEA can develop phased modernization plans that address obsolete PLCs, operator interfaces, telemetry equipment, control panels, and instrumentation while preserving plant operation.
PLC & HMI Programming
Treatment logic, pumping control, sequencing, diagnostics, alarm handling, and operator displays.
SCADA Development
VTScada, FactoryTalk, alarming, trending, historical storage, reports, and remote access.
Instrumentation
Flow, level, pressure, analytical instruments, calibration, startup, and troubleshooting.
Control Panel Design
Custom control panels, field wiring, documentation, installation, testing, and commissioning.
Highlights: Obsolete PLC replacement • SCADA upgrades • Control panels • Field commissioning • Instrument calibration • Emergency troubleshooting
Ready to modernize your water treatment or distribution system?
From one remote well to a complete plant-wide SCADA replacement, BEA can design, program, commission, and support the automation system your water facility depends on.