Efficient operation at Italy's Calabria Water

For over 30 years, the Società Risorse Idriche Calabresi (So.Ri.Cal.) has supplied drinking water to the people in the Calabria Region of Italy.

The agency is responsible for a far-reaching system that covers approximately 6,000 kilometers and is comprised of 200 aqueduct systems, four dams, 10 derivation crossbars, 14 wastewater plants, 300 lifting stations and almost 1,000 tanks.

In this region, as in most of the world, water conservation is emphasized. But the challenge is compounded by the geography of Calabria and the remote location of much of So.Ri.Cal.’s system. This is the mountainous area that forms the “toe” of Italy, and most of it is covered by high peaks and thick forests. Travel and communication with outlying parts of the system can be difficult.

Remote Control and Automation Requirements

Each year, So.Ri.Cal. sells 270 million cubic meters of water to towns throughout the provinces of Calabria. And while this measurement is accurate, the agency realized that it wasn’t able to determine how much water was being produced by the system overall.

Sergio de Marco, the general director of So.Ri.Cal. recognized the tremendous opportunity to improve efficiency by eliminating waste.

“Since we didn’t have real-time data, it was impossible for us to accurately identify waste. But we knew it was mainly due to leaks in the aqueducts, poor connections and overfilled delivery tanks, as the pumps are controlled and managed manually.”

Sergio De Marco, General Director, So.Ri.Cal.

So. Ri. Cal. decided to use Wonderware.

More information

In the next series of posts, we will be talking about the Wonderware success at Società Risorse Idriche Calabresi (Calabria Water Resources Society, Ltd).