Masterton District Council Brodersen Pilot Project 

Project Overview

Masterton District Council (MDC) embarked on a vital infrastructure upgrade to futureproof their Water and Wastewater SCADA systems. The objective: replace an ageing analogue telemetry network with a modern IP radio solution that improves connectivity, enhances remote access, and enables faster, more efficient support.

The Challenge

MDC’s legacy SCADA system operated on an analogue repeater network used by Abbey Systems’ Swampfox RTUs. As technology moved forward, the system’s limitations became more apparent—most notably, the lack of remote IP connectivity for operational access and support.

Complicating matters, the Water and Wastewater SCADA Masters were housed at two separate treatment plants—Kaituna (Water Treatment) and Homebush (Wastewater Treatment)—located on opposite sides of Masterton. The new IP telemetry network needed to serve both Masters and provide seamless communication to all remote sites, regardless of their location.

The Solution

To solve the coverage and connectivity challenge, ADR’s RF and Communications Engineer conducted a detailed radio design analysis. Two key sites were evaluated for repeater installation: the existing site and a less-utilised MDC-owned site at Weizenberg.

Despite its remote location and exposure to extreme wind speeds (recorded at over 200 km/h), Weizenberg offered a major strategic advantage—it had line-of-sight coverage to both Kaituna and Homebush, along with MDC’s remote assets. This made it the ideal repeater site, but it needed a significant upgrade to be viable.

Weizenberg Repeater

• Installed and commissioned a 4RF SR+ 1+1 protected station.
• Upgraded solar PV infrastructure with dual panels, new mounting, regulator, and high-capacity battery system.
• Designed the full IP network architecture, integrating both SCADA Masters into the new system.
  

Kaituna Water Treatment Plant

• Installed a 4RF SR+ Full Duplex radio with antenna and feeder system.
• Routed coaxial feeder from the tower-mounted antenna into the SCADA communications cabinet across the site.

Homebush Wastewater Treatment Plant

• Installed a 4RF Full Duplex SR+ IP radio and antenna atop a 30-metre mast.
• Included feeder cabling and lightning protection measures.

Brodersen RTUs

As part of the network upgrade, selected Swampfox RTUs were replaced with Brodersen DNP3 RTUs. One RTU was upgraded at an existing site, and another installed at a new location. These were integrated back into the Abbey Powerlink Master, now upgraded to support DNP3 over IP.

The success of this initial migration has laid the groundwork for further rollouts, bringing more remote sites into the upgraded network and strengthening MDC’s SCADA capabilities across the district.