Car enthusiasts love a classic piece of tech. Vintage radios, retro arcade machines, old-school technology all have charm. But when it comes to water and wastewater SCADA systems, “classic” can quickly turn into catastrophic.
We hear it all the time: “This lift station was working without any issues for the last 30 years, and then it stopped all of a sudden.” Now the customer is in crisis mode as they try to recover.
Control systems rarely fail with a polite warning. They fail when you need them most, during a storm surge, when inflow spikes, or when replacement parts are weeks away. That’s when utilities call Mission Communications, looking for answers.
Why Old SCADA Systems Are Like Driving a Classic Car Daily
Mechanical equipment often gives clues before it quits. SCADA and control systems? Not so much.
Problems appear suddenly:
- Pumps faulting under load with no prior history
- PLCs freezing after a routine power cycle
- Telemetry dropping intermittently and then disappearing entirely
- Time drift creating alarms that don’t match what operators see in the wet well
On paper, everything looks fine. In reality, the margin for error is gone, like taking a ’67 Mustang on a cross-country trip without checking the brakes.
“Old Fatithful” Doesn’t Mean Safe
The biggest risk with older lift station controls isn’t just failure, it’s recovery.
When a PLC, drive, or HMI fails and the model is discontinued, firmware is unavailable, or the spare doesn’t match, troubleshooting quickly becomes redesign under pressure. Temporary fixes turn permanent. Costs rise. Downtime stretches longer than anyone expected.
It’s like trying to find parts for a classic car in the middle of nowhere. You’ll pay more, wait longer, and hope the workaround holds.
Protect yourself by going With Proven Industry Standard Solutions
By going with a standard solution that has been trusted by over 6,000 smaller municipalities and rural water systems over the last 30 years, customers can significantly reduce the risk of having their SCADA system fail and being unable to get back to operational capabilities. Choosing a widely adopted, supported platform means parts availability, consistent updates, and proven reliability when it matters most.
Mission Communications: Modern Reliability for Water & Wastewater Utilities
Instead of waiting for failure, Mission Communications helps utilities stay ahead with:
- Cloud-Based SCADA Monitoring for real-time visibility of lift stations and pump stations
- Secure Remote Telemetry with private VPN connectivity
- Defense-in-Depth Cybersecurity to protect critical water infrastructure
- Proactive Alerts that prevent small issues from becoming big problems
We work with utilities to identify single points of failure, standardize on supported hardware, and phase improvements to fit budgets and operational realities.
Because classics belong in garages, not in your wastewater lift station.
Ready to modernize your monitoring? Find your local Mission distributor or contact Sales@123mc.com.