It takes roughly 75,000 gallons of water to produce a single ton of steel, making water supply management just as critical as the furnaces themselves.
At a major steel mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana, five remotely controlled wells — fed through 10 miles of pipeline — keep an onsite lagoon supplied and production running without interruption. The challenge was coordinating pump operations across those wells in real time, preventing pipeline overpressure, and giving operators full visibility into a system spread across miles of infrastructure.
Here’s how the team solved it with managed SCADA.
Crawfordsville Water System at a Glance
| Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Facility | Steel mill — Crawfordsville, IN |
| Water requirement | ~75,000 gallons per ton of steel produced |
| Water source | 5 remotely controlled wells via 10-mile pipeline |
| Storage | Onsite lagoon |
| SCADA hardware | RTUs with managed SCADA platform |
| Control features | Digital Interconnect |
| Monitoring interface | Central SCADA dashboard + local operator display |
| Max concurrent pumps | 2–3 due to pipeline pressure restrictions |
The Challenge
The facility draws water from wells located miles from the plant, which creates a real operating constraint: if too many pumps run at once, waterline pressure limits can be exceeded.
“We only want two pumps running at the same time — three at the most — because there are pressure restrictions on the waterline,” says facilities electrician Steve Long. Before the SCADA upgrade, coordinating pump activity across remote wells required more manual oversight and provided far less transparency into system status.
The Solution
The mill deployed Mission Communications RTUs with digital interconnect capabilities to automate lagoon replenishment. Analog readings at the lagoon trigger commands that start and stop well pumps through onboard relay outputs, reducing the need for manual intervention.
Digital interconnect enables coordinated pump control by using a digital input state change at one RTU to open or close an output relay at another RTU. In practice, when one well pump starts running, it automatically triggers a lockout at another well so both pumps do not exceed pipeline pressure limits.
How Pump Lockout Works
| Well 1 pump | Well 2 pump | System action |
|---|---|---|
| Running | idle | Digital input closes, activating a lockout relay at Well 2 and preventing startup |
| Idle | Running | Digital input closes, activating a lockout relay at Well 1 and preventing startup |
| Idle | Idle | Both available; lagoon level determines the next pump cycle |
| Running | Running | Not permitted under normal operation; interconnect prevents concurrent runs beyond the pressure threshold |
Monitoring and Visibility
Operators monitor the system through the 123SCADA interface and a local real-time display mounted on an industrial touchscreen PC. The display presents live RTU data in a familiar control-room-style format, including animated pump status and automatically updating trend graphs.
The screen layout was customized to match the previous control system, which made the transition easier for plant personnel. As Long notes, the team now has much more visibility into what is happening at remote wells than they had before.
Monitoring Capabilities
| Feature | What it does | How it’s used |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time operator display | Shows live RTU data in a control-room-style interface | Operators monitor pump status, lagoon levels, and well activity |
| SCADA dashboard access | Provides browser-based or network-based system visibility | Teams check system health without being physically at each site |
| Flow reports | Tracks metered flow across all wells | Used to detect leaks, monitor loss, and analyze usage |
| Custom display layouts | Saves preferred screen arrangements | Helps match prior workflows and simplify adoption |
| Graphical and tabular trends | Presents historical data in visual and data-table formats | Supports spreadsheet export and comparative analysis |
Leak Detection and Utility Relevance
Each well is equipped with a flow meter monitored through the SCADA system, and personnel use flow reporting to identify discrepancies and catch leaks before they become costly problems. This visibility has helped shift operations from reactive maintenance to proactive water management, improving uptime and reducing waste.
The same SCADA principles used here — remote pump coordination, pressure management, real-time visibility, and leak detection — also apply directly to rural water systems, wastewater facilities, and other utilities managing distributed assets across long distances.
Before and After
| Capability | Before managed SCADA | After managed SCADA |
|---|---|---|
| Pump coordination | Manual oversight needed to prevent concurrent pump runs | Automated interconnect lockout maintains pressure limits |
| System visibility | Limited insight into remote well status | Real-time data through central SCADA screens and local displays |
| Leak detection | Reactive; leaks found after significant water loss | Proactive; flow reports flag discrepancies early |
| Data access | Mostly on-site with minimal historical records | Accessible data with exportable flow history for trending | Operator interface | Previous system with limited transparency | Familiar, customizable display layout |
| Maintenance approach | Reactive | Proactive and data driven |
Key Takeaways
- Automated pump lockout helps prevent pipeline overpressure without manual coordination.
- Real-time SCADA visibility replaces guesswork with live operating data.
- Flow reporting supports proactive leak detection and water loss management.
- Familiar screen design can reduce training time and operator resistance.
- Managed SCADA can improve control without requiring extensive in-house IT infrastructure.
Ready to improve pump coordination, protect your pipelines, and spot leaks sooner? Contact our sales team at sales@123mc.com, call us at (877) 993-1911, or contact your local Mission Distributor.
Mission Communications | 123SCADA | Managed SCADA for Rural Water & Wastewater Utilities