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- Lift Stations
Lift Station Monitoring: Remote SCADA That Prevents Overflows and Extends Equipment Life
Operators know about high water, pump failures, and power outages within minutes — not hours or days.
Why Lift Station Monitoring Reduces Overflow Risk
Unmonitored lift stations create reactive maintenance: sanitary sewer overflows, EPA enforcement, accelerated equipment wear, and emergency overtime. Remote monitoring eliminates the cycle. Operators know about high water, pump failures, and power outages within minutes — not hours or days.
Costs of an unmonitored lift station failure: EPA fines | Property Damage | Overtime | Accelerated Wear
What Mission Monitors at Every Lift Station
Mission’s RTUs are purpose-built for lift station monitoring and track every critical parameter:
High and Low Water Levels
Continuous wet well level via pressure transducer. Configurable thresholds for high and low water. Updates every 2 minutes or on any 5% level change.
Flow Measurement
Optional flow meter integration for tracking station throughput, identifying infiltration trends, and supporting capacity planning.
Power Monitoring
AC power failure detection with immediate alarm dispatch. The system distinguishes between momentary power blips and sustained outages so operators can prioritize their response.
Pump Overload and Failure
Detection of motor overload conditions, thermal faults, mechanical failures and other machinery like grinder etc through digital input monitoring from existing pump controllers and motor starters.
Pump Status and Performance
Real-time pump running status, runtime tracking, start counting, and state change logging. The system identifies pumps running too long, cycling too frequently, or failing to start when called.
Pattern Detection. Excessive pump starts flag failing check valves and grease buildup. Prolonged runtimes flag impeller wear or downstream blockages.
Daily Reports. Automated overnight summaries flag anomalies before your team starts the day
Variance Tracking. Compare runtime across stations to spot the ones that need attention now.
Emergency Backup Pump Control
Pump controllers can fail unexpectedly due to electrical faults, software glitches, lightning strikes, or aging hardware. When they do, replacing a controller can take days or even weeks, leaving a lift station vulnerable to overflows and costly emergency callouts.
Mission’s MyDro 150 and MyDro 850 RTUs offer optional Emergency Backup Pump Control (EBPC), allowing the RTU to automatically assume temporary control of up to two pumps based on wet well level. Because the control logic resides locally within the RTU, backup operation continues independently of the cloud, servers, or communications network.
The result is uninterrupted pump operation, continuous telemetry, and a seamless transition back to the primary controller once repairs are complete.
Key Benefits:
- Keeps lift stations operational during primary controller failures, reducing the risk of service interruptions.
- Minimizes operator intervention with automatic switchover to backup control and seamless return to the primary controller.
- Provides weeks of continuous backup operation, allowing ample time to repair or replace failed controllers.
- Operates independently of the cloud so backup control remains available even during communication or server outages.
- Maintains real-time SCADA visibility with uninterrupted alarms, telemetry, and pump status throughout backup operation.
- Reduces maintenance pressure by giving utilities time to schedule repairs instead of responding to emergency failures.
- Deploys with existing MyDro hardware, eliminating the need for dedicated backup controllers.
Real-Time Alarms and Notifications
Sub-minute alarm dispatch by phone, text, email, fax, or directly to your HMI. Operators acknowledge from any device. Complex routing by time-of-day, day-of-week, and escalation. Nuisance alarm filtering keeps the team focused on real issues. All events logged for compliance.
What You Will Need
Mission offers RTU options to match every lift station’s requirements:
MyDro 850
The full-featured, line-powered RTU with the most extensive I/O capacity. Ideal for larger stations requiring multiple analog and digital inputs, relay outputs for remote control, and expansion module support.
View MyDro 850MyDro 150
A compact, line-powered RTU that delivers core monitoring and alarm capabilities in a smaller form factor. Supports emergency backup pump control and is upgradeable to the M850’s feature set.
View MyDro 150MyDro 50
A battery-powered RTU for small stations without reliable power, using solar charging and ultra-low-power cellular communication for years of maintenance-free operation.
View MyDro 50All RTUs include cellular data charges in the annual subscription—there are no separate data overage fees or early termination penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be monitored at a lift station?
Lift stations should typically monitor wet well levels, pump run status, alarms, power conditions, and communication health. Those points help operators understand whether the station is functioning normally and whether immediate attention is needed.
How can lift station monitoring reduce overflow risk?
Lift station monitoring reduces overflow risk by alerting operators when wet well levels rise too high, pumps fail, or backup conditions develop. Faster visibility means faster action before wastewater reaches a critical level.
Can lift stations be managed remotely through SCADA?
Yes. SCADA allows lift stations to be monitored remotely and, depending on the setup, can also support remote control or acknowledgement of alarms. That helps utilities manage multiple stations without constant on-site presence.
Get Started with Lift Station Monitoring
Mission’s managed SCADA makes lift station monitoring simple and affordable. An RTU can be installed and operational in a single morning, with no radio networks, programming, or IT infrastructure required. Call 877.993.1911 or request a demo at 123mc.com/get-started.
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