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waipa DC
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Waipa District Council Turnkey Migration

Modernising Telemetry and SCADA
Infrastructure for Waipa DC

About Waipa District Council

 Waipā District is located in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island, just south of Hamilton. It includes the towns of Cambridge and Te Awamutu and is known for its rich agricultural land, strong equine industry, and historic Māori and European heritage. The district is a hub for cycling and rowing, with Lake Karapiro hosting national and international events. Waipā combines rural charm with growing urban centres, making it a popular area for both residents and visitors.

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Project Overview

Waipa District Council partnered with ADR to replace its ageing analogue telemetry system with a modern, IP-based solution, delivered in just 11 months. The project involved upgrading more than 30 remote sites, installing over 120 new radios, and preparing for a future migration to the AVEVA SCADA platform. Despite COVID-related challenges, the project was completed on time, within budget, and with minimal disruption, delivering a more reliable and scalable network for the Council’s water and wastewater operations

 

The Challenge
Delivering Transformation in 11 months

In early 2021, amid the uncertainty of a global pandemic, Waipa District Council faced a major infrastructure challenge: replace a dated analogue telemetry network with a future-ready, digital solution—within just 11 months.

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This wasn’t a simple upgrade. The Council’s water and wastewater operations across Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Pirongia, Kakepuku, and Maungatautari relied on ageing Abbey RTUs and an analogue radio system. The plan was ambitious: overhaul the radio network, replace dozens of RTUs, and begin migrating SCADA operations to the modern AVEVA System Platform—all without disrupting essential services.


ADR was brought in to lead the charge, leveraging its long-standing relationship with Waipa DC as their trusted SCADA integrator and RF communications partner.


The Solution

The ADR Team

To address this multifaceted challenge, a dedicated project team swiftly assembled, comprising a Project Manager, Account Manager, Communications & SCADA Engineer, PLC Engineer/Electrician, and an RF Rigger/SCADA Tech. Regular reporting and a structured project meeting schedule ensured that the team and the customer's engineer remained well-informed about progress against predefined deliverables, fostering swift issue resolution when it was needed.

Step-by-step delivery

RF Design: Precision from the ground up
While finalising supply contracts, ADR began designing the radio frequency and IP networks. This included:

  • RF heat mapping and path profiling for all sites
  • Determining repeater locations and antenna setups
  • Identifying physical obstructions through on-site visits
  • Securing radio licenses via MBIE

Backhaul: NEC DMR Solution
To connect remote repeater sites with council offices, NEC digital microwave radios were deployed, supported by redundant 4RF SR+ full duplex base radios. These 4RF radios formed the backbone for carrying high-volume IP data between endpoints.

4RF IP Radios: Enabling the Transition
Despite pandemic restrictions, over 120 4RF SR+ UHF radios were installed in just six months. Each came with surge protection, yagi antenna, power system, and battery backup. Existing Abbey RTUs were reprogrammed for IP communication, and SCADA channels were updated from analogue to TCP/IP—laying the groundwork for future system upgrades.

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Intelligent control with Brodersen RTUs

ADR replaced more than 30 Abbey Swampfox RTUs with Brodersen RTU32M units—compact, modular, and scalable. As Brodersen’s NZ distributor since 2019, ADR used the Worksuite software to program and commission each site. DNP3/IP protocol updates allowed seamless integration with the existing Powerlink SCADA master.

Every upgrade came with certified electrical work, full documentation, and photos—building a robust asset history for each site.

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Integrating Aveva Archestra: Seamless HMI Integration

While Powerlink SCADA remained in place, ADR facilitated a smooth transition to AVEVA’s Archestra HMI by configuring secure OPC interfaces. This allowed for UI development and testing without disrupting live operations.

The Council has since moved to Win911 for alarm notifications and begun migrating Brodersen RTUs directly to Archestra, bypassing Powerlink—an important step toward a full platform shift.

Documentation: A comprehensive Record
Delivered on time, under pressure, and built to last

Comprehensive documentation supported every stage of this complex project. This included the original contract, health and safety plans, RF design reports, functional design specifications (FDS), as-built wiring diagrams, electrical safety certificates, radio test reports, configuration files, disaster recovery procedures for both radio and RTU systems, operations manuals, and a detailed maintenance plan.

The project concluded with two successful training sessions and was delivered on time, within budget, and to the full satisfaction of the Council.

ADR's RTUs can help improve the service and experience you offer to your commercial customers. Let's talk.

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