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On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana with winds in excess of 125 mph, a strong Category 3. A tide gauge in Plaquemines Parish showed a storm surge of over 14 feet and in some places over 15 inches of rain fell.The storm became the costliest hurricane in our country’s history, with estimated property damages of over $89 billion.
In the following days, water from levee breeches began to inundate the city damaging and destroying critical infrastructure elements. It was estimated that at one time over 80% of New Orleans was under water. One piece of infrastructure that flooded is the critical Pontchartrain Pump Station at the Interstate 10 and 610 interchange.
When the area receives heavy rains, water floods the Mound Street railroad underpass, one of the lowest points in New Orleans. Interstate 10 is the primary egress route from the north area of the city, along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The Pontchartrain Pump Station helps dewater the underpass to assure that this transportation corridor remains clear not only for convenience, but for safety in the case of an evacuation.
Shortly after the storm the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) put the refurbishment project to bid. Tesco Controls was part of the successful contractor bid team.
Three 150 hp pumps and two smaller maintenance pumps are located in the basement of the pump house were submerged in over 30 feet of water. The pumps were removed, refurbished and reinstalled. The existing control equipment was removed completely and replaced with a stainless steel Tesco Controls motor control center including a Tesco Controls L2000 programmable logic controller (PLC).
Tesco engineers also recommended that the communication system be rebuilt to industry standards using Wonderware SCADA / HMI software and a new wireless communication scheme. There were problems inherent in building a new communication system. Many of the antenna masts, including the 220 foot communications tower that hosted the antennas for the previous system, were destroyed in the hurricane.
Once the communication tower was replaced, a Tesco Controls communications engineer installed new antennas and MDS iNet radios at six different locations in the city. This created a new SCADA network to monitor and control additional SCADA integrated assets and allow for future flexibility. This new SCADA network includes the Bridge City LADOTD office where the Wonderware SCADA server is located.
The LADOTD is pleased with the operation of the new pump control system, and even more so with the SCADA network. By choosing to standardize their wireless communications system with an industry-standard solution, the LADOTD can now easily and reliably communicate with additional SCADA assets and plan for future needs.
About Tesco Controls Inc. - Established in 1972, Tesco Controls Inc. was quickly able to relate a sophisticated knowledge of electronic and electrical control systems to the fundamental needs of our industry.
We address customer needs through ingenuity and dedicated excellence in engineering, manufacturing, development and customer service. We offer a wide variety of both standard products and custom engineered systems.
We pride ourselves in being able to design, manufacture and service the broadest line of control systems available.
Tesco Controls’ Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have been providing state-of-the-art control and monitoring of treatment plants, water distribution and waste water collection facilities since 1981.
We continue to move forward with the development of new products and services, providing solutions which our customers have come to expect from an industry leader.
TESCO and L2000 are trademarks of Tesco Controls Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
