Technical Papers

The ISA Water/Wastewater Division prides itself on generating premium technical content. Below is a listing of some of the white papers, presentations, webinars, and conference proceedings that the division has created.

The division also regularly publishes additional technical articles in its quarterly newsletter.

2022 technical webinars

See here: https://isaautomation.isa.org/virtual-events-program

June 14, 2022 – Cyber Security for Water/Wastewater Facilities

Tues, Aug 16, 2022Digital Transformation

Tues, Sept 27, 2022 Personnel Development, Standards & Certifications

2022 WWID newsletter technical articles

See newsletters

2021 technical webinars

June 30, 2021 – How to Get the Digital Transformation Right (This Time) – Lessons from Three Decades in the Oil and Gas Industry

Jul 20, 2021 – Optimizing the Industry Through Data Analytics, Emerging Technologies and Digital Transformation

Jul 22, 2021 – Successfully Implementing Digital Twin Technology

Aug 3, 2021 – Panel Discussion: Industrial Cybersecurity in the Power/Water Industries

2021 WWID Newsletter technical articles

Spring 2021 issue

The Five Steps of Troubleshooting
By Jeff Miller, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Cloud-Hosted Web-Based Dashboards How the Water & Wastewater Industry can use Self-Service Industrial Analytics to Improve Treatment Processes By Sam Vijay and Bob Monahan, TrendMiner

Winter 2021 issue

How Can We Improve Operator Trust in PID Controllers? – pdf
By Dan Warren, Michel Ruel, Peter Morgan, Nick Sands, Pat Dixon and Greg McMillan

Tips on Choosing Appropriate E-Stop Technology for your Machine Safety Applications – pdf
Pamela Horbacovsky, OMRON

Primer on Machine Safety E-Stop Categories –  pdf
By Graham Nasby, City of Guelph Water Services

Automated Mass-Conversion of Code when Migrating Industrial Controller Platforms – pdf
By James Redmond, Schneider Electric

ISA112 SCADA Systems Standard: The Document Begins to Take Shape – pdf
By Graham Nasby, ISA112 standards committee co-chair

2020 WWID Webinars

July 28, 2020 – Technical Webinar
Taking Action on Cyber Security Risks in the Water Sector – Kevin Morley, AWWA
more details & free registration

Sept 22, 2020 – Technical Webinar
Control System Cyber Security for Water/Power Utilities – Jon Grant, CDM Smith
more details & free registration

WEFTEC 2020 – Fall 2020
-joint ISA WWID & WEF AIT committee cybersecurity session cancelled due to global covid-19 pandemic

2020 ISA Energy & Water Automation Conference
San Antonio, Texas, USA – Aug 5-6, 2020

-cancelled due to global covid-19 pandemic

2020 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2020 issue

Trust and Care of SCADA Systems
By Jeff Miller, North East Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD)

Path to Situational Awareness HMI
By John Hacker, Signature Automation

Impact of ISA101 HMI Design Standard
By Maurice Wilkins, Yokogawa

Declare Freedom from Legacy Control Systems
By Don Dickinson, Phoenix Contact USA

New Control System and HMI Screens for a Municipal Well
By Graham Nasby, City of Guelph Water Services

Summer 2020 issue

SCADA System Development Block Diagrams A Tool for Visualizing SCADA Workflow
By Brian Mast, Copper Bell Consulting LLC

ISA112 SCADA Systems Lifecycle Released
By Graham Nasby, City of Guelph Water Services

Why Engineers are So Against Derivative Action in PID Tuning
By Gregory McMillan

Open Process Automation: From Concept to Reality
By Mohan Kalyanaraman, Don Bartusiak, Bradley G. Houk, Steve Bitar, David DeBari – ExxonMobil Research & Engineering

Spring 2020 issue

The Future of Automation is… OPEN! –  Introducing the OPAS 2.0 Standard
By Don Dickinson, Phoenix Contact USA

System Availability for SCADA Systems
By Jason Little, Regional Municipality of Peel and Graham Nasby, City of Guelph Water Services

 

2019 ISA Energy & Water Automation Conference
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 7-9, 2019

26 papers. Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2019 – Sept 21-25 in Chicago

“Cybersecurity – It’s more than just Compliance!  –  Part 1 (Hardware), 2 (software) and 3 (integration)”

The joint ISA-WEF collaboration consisted of three sessions:

  • Cybersecurity Part 1: Hardware Perspectives
    Mon Sept 22, 2019 – 5-6pm – Mobile Center Theater
    Speakers: Pavol Segedy (HDR Inc.), Rick Hidalgo (Signature Automation), David Brearley (HDR Inc.), Don Dickinson (Phoenix Contact USA)
  • Cybersecurity Part 2: Software Perspectives
    Tues Sept 23, 2019 – 5-6pm – Mobile Center Theater
    Speakers: Pavol Segedy (HDR Inc.), Rick Hidalgo (Signature Automation), David Brearley (HDR Inc.), Don Dickinson (Phoenix Contact USA)
  • Cybersecurity Part 3: Bringing it all together
    Wed, Sept 24, 2019 – 1-2pm – Innovation Pavilion
    Speakers: Pavol Segedy (HDR Inc.), Rick Hidalgo (Signature Automation), David Brearley (HDR Inc.), Don Dickinson (Phoenix Contact USA)

2019 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2019/Winter 2020 issue

Challenges of being an I&C Lead Engineer: One Man’s Opinion
By Mike Laspisa

Leadership Article – ISA Volunteering Lessons Learned
By Kim Keaveny, 2016 ISA Society President

Spring/Summer 2019 issue

ISA112 SCADA Systems standards committee holds meeting on May 17, 2019
By Graham Nasby, ISA112 committee co-chair

America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018: What does it mean for Water Utilities? How can Automation Professionals Help?
By Don Dickinson, Phoenix Contact

Winter 2019 issue

Training Your Staff on a Limited Budget
By Kevin Patel, PE, Signature Automation

ISA112 SCADA Standards Committee Releases draft SCADA System Workflows & Architecture Diagrams
By Graham Nasby, ISA112 Committee Co-chair

 

2018 Technical Webinars

June 8, 2018 – Webinar Topic: Control Room Design
Presenter: Ian Nimmo, MP4 File, Slides (PDF)info

June 20, 2018 – Webinar Topic: Alarms & Operator Intervention – A Flawed Safety Layer
Presenter: Steve Maddox, MP4 File, Slides (PDF)info

 

2018 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Washington DC (Bethesda, Maryland), USA – Aug 7-9, 2019

31 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2018 – Oct 1-3 in New Orleans

“Best of ISA: Operational Improvements Through Automation and Technology”
Monday, Oct 1, 2018 from 1:30-5:00pm

This year’s joint ISA-WEF technical session speakers were as follows:

  1. Extracting Value from Data in Real-time Oliver Schraa – inCTRL Solutions Inc.
    By Christian Hübner – ifak e.V., Nico Suchold – ifak e.V., Leiv Rieger, PhD, P.Eng. – inCTRL Solutions Inc., Ivan Miletic – inCTRL Solutions Inc.
  2. SCADA + Integrated Asset Management = Cost Savings
    By Alan Hudson – Trihedral Engineering
  3. Cloud-Based SCADA Solution to Monitor Storm Water Pumping
    By G. Mike Stoup, PE – McKim & Creed, Mark Jones, PE – Department of Public Works, City of Virginia Beach. Jason Davis, PE – McKim & Creed

2018 WWID Newsletters

Fall/December 2018 issue

Using Master Format Construction Specifications for SCADA Projects
By Graham Nasby, OWWA Automation Committee

Spring/Summer 2018 issue

Using DNP3 Protocol for Backup Store and Forward Data-Logging at Guelph Water
By Kelly Gribbons, Graham Nasby, and Daniel Leskovec

Winter 2018 issue

Rounding Errors & Flow Totalization: What PLC Programmers need to know about with Floating-Point arithmetic errors
By Francisco Alcala, PE, CDM Smith, and Inaki Zuloaga, IZI Technology LLC

 

2017 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 8-10, 2017

36 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

 

WEFTEC 2017 – Oct 2-4 in Chicago

Special Session “SCADA Systems: Protecting your Investment”
Tues, Oct 3, 2017 – Room S502a – 3:30 to5:00pm

  1. 1. Alarm Management and Reliable Architecture Needed for Utility-Wide SCADA Systems: Achieving Effectiveness, High Availability, Subsystem Autonomy, and Centralized Administration
    By Alan Hudson, VTScada by Trihedral Engineering
  2.  Cybersecurity: Going Beyond Protection
    By Don Dickinson, Phoenix Contact
  3. System-Wide SCADA Documentation To Prepare for Disaster Recovery
    By Mike Stoup, McKim & Creed
  4. Moderators:
    1. Kevin Patel (Signature Automation), Director, ISA Water/Wastewater Division, International Society of Automation
    2. Deborah Houdeshell (Hazen and Sawyer), WEF Automation and Information Technology (AIT) Committee, Water Environment Federation

2017 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2017 issue

Tricks of the Trade: SCADA Development Shortcuts: Always be on the lookout for Time-Saving techniques
By Shawn Hustins and Graham Nasby

Spring/Summer 2017 issue

Planning Spare I/O for Fieldbus Networks: Active spare in Fieldbus Network what does it mean?
By Francisco Alcala, CDM Smith

Winter 2017 issue

ISA112 SCADA Standards Committee
By Ryan Costello, NLS Engineering & ISA112 member

Best Practices – Cut Over Strategies
By Hunter Vegas and Marsha Wisely

 

2016 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 2-4, 2016

32 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2016 – Sept 24-28 in New Orleans

“Practical Cyber Security for SCADA and Operations”
Mon, Sept 26, 2016 – Room 244 – 1:30pm to 3:00pm

Three speakers (in order, 30 minutes each):

  1. Looking for Trouble on OT Networks: Tools and Techniques to Identify Threats to ICS Communications
    By Bryan L Singer, CISSP, CAP, Kenexis
  2. No compromises for secure SCADA Communications – even over 3rd Party Networks
    Norm Anderson, P.E., Polk County – Utilities Division, and Sokha Hay, Tempered Networks
  3. First – Make A Business Case For Cybersecurity
    By Don Dickinson, Phoenix Contact
  4. Moderators:
    1. Tom DeLaura, Past Chair, WEF Automation and Information Technology Committee
    2. Pavol Segedy, General Symposium Chair, ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium, International Society of Automation

2016 WWID Newsletters

Fall/December 2016

Quo Vadis Water Treatment – Where It Comes from, Where It Goes
By Matthias Kremer, JUMO GmbH & Co

Spring/Summer 20216

DNP3 Communications for Water and Wastewater Applications
By Philip Aubin, Schneider Electric

Winter 2016

Density Meters in Wastewater Treatment Challenges in Wastewater Treatment
By Zachary Wagner, MPV

 

2015 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 4-6, 2015

35 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2015 – Sept 28-30 in Chicago

“High Performance HMIs and Alarm Management Technical Session”

2015 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2015

Selecting the Right Fiber Optic Cable for Water/Wastewater Plant Applications
By Kyle Mrkva, Belden

Spring/Summer 2015

Profibus and ProfiNET Troubleshooting
By Carl Henning

Winter 2015

Sequential Function Chart Programming: Processing sequential and parallel operations based on time or events
By Charles M. Fialkowski, Siemens Process Automation

 

2014 Technical Webinars

March 24, 2014 webinar – “Cellular Telemetry – Yet another Communication Option in Our Toolbox.” – info

2014 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – 4-7, 2014

30 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2014 – Sept 29-Oct 1 in New Orleans

“Highlights from the ISA Water/Wastewater Symposium”

2014 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2014

Practical Cybersecurity Guidance for Water Utilities
By Don Dickinson, Phoenix Contact

Summer 2014

The Differences between VFDs and Soft Starts for Motor Control
Edited by Steve Batson, Rockwell Automation

Spring 2014

Protecting Water/Wastewater Systems with Deep Packet Inspection
By Eric Byres, Belden Inc.

Winter 2014

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Cyber Assets in Municipal Water Systems
Edited by Steve Batson, Rockwell Automation

 

2013 Technical Webinars

Mar 6, 2017 Webinar: Cyber Security – Application to the Water Sector –  slides/recording

2013 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 6-8, 2013

42 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2013 – Oct 5-9 in Chicago

“Highlights from the ISA Water/Wastewater Symposium”

2013 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2013

Grounding Introduction
By Derrick Stableford MIET, LCGI, EngTech, Associated Engineering

Improving Reliability of Wireless SCADA Systems
By Joel J. John, CDM Smith

Spring/Summer 2013

Defining Security in the World of Water
By Grant Van Hemert, Schneider Electric

Interview with Celine Hyer, Last year’s WWAC2012 keynote speaker
By Graham Nasby

Winter 2013

Where the Acronym “PLC” Originate?
By Jeremy Pollard, Guest Columnist

Energy Savings with VFDs and Pumps
Edited by Steve Batson, Rockwell Automation

 

2012 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 7-9, 2012

30 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

WEFTEC 2012 –  Sept 29-Oct 1 in New Orleans

“Highlights of the ISA Water/Wastewater Symposium”

2012 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2012

Q&A Spotlight Interview with Jon DiPietro
By Graham Nasby

Energy Optimization for Water Treatment and Distribution
By Norman Anderson, PE and P.Y. Keskar, PhD, PE

Motion Detection Means Protection
By Vijay Acharya, Siemens Americas

Summer 2012

Allowing Your HMI to Provide Insight Instead of Data
By Kevin Patel, Signature Automation

Overview ISA100 Wireless Systems for Automation and its First Standard – ISA100.11a for Wireless Sensor Network
Penny Chen, Ph.D. Yokogawa Corporate of America

Oakville South West Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade
By Graham Nasby, Mike Di Iorio, Pete Samson and Stan Spencer

What Becomes a Leader?
By Henry DeVries

Spring 2012

Q&A Spotlight Interview with Steve Valdez
By Graham Nasby

Challenges When Designing an Effective Harmonic Mitigation System for your Variable Frequency Drive
By Al Archambault, Mirus International

Tips on Integrating Packaged Equipment into Plant SCADA Systems
By Todd Nydam, JWC Environmental LLC & Graham Nasby, Eramosa Engineering Inc.

Winter 2012

Q&A Spotlight Interview with Joe Provenzano
By Graham Nasby

Lowell, MA – Wastewater Plant Upgrades
By Jon Grant, PE, Woodard & Curran

Can IT strategies solve the Automation Cyber Security problem?
By Grant Van Hemert PE, Schneider Electric

Municipal Challenges and the Importance of Advanced Automation Solutions
By Doug Johnson, Emerson Process Management

United Water New Jersey -SCADA Project
By Keith Kolkebeck

 

2011 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
St. Louis, Missouri, USA – June 22-23, 2011

13 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

2011 WWID Newsletters

Fall 2011

Q&A Spotlight Interview with Wally Ingham
By Graham Nasby

Plant Automation Spotlight:  Thunder Bay Waterworks
By Ellen Fussell Policastro

Reducing Fluid Surges (“Hammering”) in a Pipe System using Pump Control
Edited by Steve D. Batson, Rockwell Automation

TOP TEN Reasons for Unsuccessful SCADA System Integrations.
By Glenn Corvigno, PE, Aaron Associates

Summer 2011

Q&A Spot Light Interview with Henry “Hank” Hegner
By Graham Nasby

Establishing a Successful Water/Wastewater Commissioning Program
Richard Birdsell, PE and Mike Puccio, PE, Orange County Sanitation District

Whitecourt Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
By Wally Ingham, P.Eng., Stantec

2010 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 4-6, 2010

18 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

 

2010 Newsletters

Summer 2010

Build Your Own Current Simulator
by Michael Fedenyszen

Whitecourt Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
By Wally Ingham, P.Eng., Stantec

Winter 2010

Unique Flow Measurement Challenges for Large UV Systems
By Phil Sanders – Clark County Water Reclamation District, Guy Miller & John Trofatter – Accusonic Technologies

2009 ISA Water/Wastewater & Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 4-6, 2009

16 papers.  Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

 

2009 Newsletters

Summer 2009

Economy Pumping: Asset Management for Energy Savings
By Valentine Sonnier

 

3rd Annual ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 4-6, 2008

Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

 

2nd ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA – Aug 4-7, 2007

Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

 

Note: There was no water/wastewater symposiums held in 2004, 2005 or 2006.

 

1st ISA Water/Wastewater Instrumentation Symposium
Orlando, Florida, USA  – Aug 20-21, 2003

Refer to ISA Technical Paper Archive

2002 Newsletter

Spring 2002

Understanding Flowmeter Specifications
By John Davis

A PC-based SCAD System for a Wastewater Treatment Plant
By Robert J. Dusza, Jr, Town of Manchester Water and Sewer Division

2021 Newsletter

Summer 2001

Application Considerations for Radar Level Devices
by Steve J Marrano, Hazen and Sawyer