The U.S. society for irrigation and drainage professionals
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Today’s irrigation and water districts face ever-increasing challenges in their daily operations. These include demands for flexible and efficient system operation, new regulatory and reporting requirements, the need to maintain and archive historical operations data, rising costs of energy, limited water supplies and more limited and costly labor resources. A further concern is the competition for water among the many water users, i.e., municipal and industrial, environmental, endangered species and recreational. To address these management concerns, many districts are pursuing modernization projects that will improve delivery and distribution system infrastructure and enhance operational monitoring and control capabilities utilizing Internet applications and state-of-the-art Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA). It has become apparent that agricultural water users must use technology to remain viable in managing their water resources.
USCID’s Second SCADA Conference will provide a forum to discuss the many issues relating to the application of technology to water management. The program is designed to provide ample opportunities for discussion among speakers and participants.
Participants in the multi-disciplinary Conference will be professionals from the U.S. and abroad with an interest in irrigation, drainage and water resources planning, including engineers, scientists and managers, representing academia, consulting firms, water districts and government agencies. In addition, representatives from private sector suppliers of irrigation equipment, sensors, flow measurement, SCADA hardware and software, and related technologies will be active participants in the Conference.
The Conference will begin with a field tour to the Bureau of Reclamation Hydraulics Laboratory, followed by lunch with a Keynote Speaker. Conference technical sessions will begin on Wednesday afternoon with the presentation of several papers relating to SCADA and general modernization issues. A Welcome Reception Wednesday evening will kick off the Exhibition.
Concurrent sessions on Thursday will allow participants to attend the presentations that best fit their interest and experiences in SCADA and related technologies. The SCADA 101 Session Thursday morning will be a thorough overview for those just beginning to incorporate SCADA technology in their operations, while the concurrent technical session will focus on more advanced applications. The Thursday afternoon concurrent sessions will feature Case Studies.
The Friday Field Technical Session will include stops at irrigation district facilities that feature SCADA applications, a tour of the Colorado State University Hydraulics Laboratory, and a visit to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, capped off by a barbecue at the District. The Conference concludes on Saturday, with a field tour through the Rocky Mountains west of Denver to visit several water resources projects.
This optional half-day workshop will give participants firsthand experience with conventional and modern, advanced methods for operating open channel irrigation delivery systems, utilizing a unique 5-pool model canal system in the Bureau of Reclamation hydraulic laboratory at the Denver Federal Center. The workshop will provide a condensed presentation of canal operations exercises used in Reclamation’s 5-day training program, offered annually to water managers and irrigation engineers since 1996.
he model canal used for the workshop simulates the operation of a main stem canal system, with undershot and overshot check gates, turnouts to farms and secondary canal systems, remote monitoring of system-wide conditions, and capabilities for local and remote supervisory operation of check gates in manual or automatic control modes. Participants will be given the chance to actively operate the model in conventional upstream and downstream control modes to illustrate advantages and disadvantages of these methods. Modern constant volume operations will also be demonstrated that allow canals to respond quickly to changing demands from water users. The need for instrumentation, real-time data, and remote operational capability to support these modern operational methods will be discussed.
To maximize the learning opportunity, the Workshop will be limited to the first 30 people to register for the Workshop. Transportation will be provided from the Conference hotel to and from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Many irrigation and water districts are just beginning the process to incorporate SCADA and related technologies to modernize their operations and delivery systems. Experts will present SCADA 101 to “bring novices up to speed” on terminology, technology and processes related to SCADA in irrigation. Charles Burt, Irrigation Training and Research Center, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, will develop and organize the half-day session. Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions as they arise, rather than waiting for a formal “discussion” section.
SCADA 101 will focus on the following:
SCADA Overview
The Role of the Integrator
Radio and Communications
Sensors and PLCs and Dataloggers
HMI (Human-Machine Interface)
Role of the engineer/reviewer
An Exhibition will take place on Wednesday evening and Thursday, June 6-7. To maximize opportunities for exhibitors to meet with the Conference participants, several functions will take place in the exhibition hall, including the opening reception on Wednesday, and continental breakfast, buffet lunch and coffee breaks on Thursday.
The Wednesday Plenary Session will end with Meet the Exhibitors, during which exhibitors will be introduced to the Conference participants, and given the opportunity to give a brief summary of their products and services. The Wednesday reception in the exhibit hall will immediately follow the Meet the Exhibitors Session.
Conference Exhibitors are listed below — additional Exhibitors will be listed as they commit to participation.
Several organizations and companies will support USCID by sponsoring Conference activities and products. Exhibition and Sponsorship details.
Conference Sponsors are listed below — additional Sponsors will be listed as they commit to participation.
The Friday Field Technical Session will take participants north of Denver to visit irrigation districts and view SCADA installations in the field. This Session will provide a “hands on” demonstrations of the use of SCADA technology in a variety of applications, including canal control, flood management and reservoir operations.
The Session will begin with a visit to the facilities of Riverside Irrigation District. Next, participants will go to the New Cache la Poudre Irrigating Company near Lucerne. Following lunch with technical presentations, the Field Technical Session will continue with a stop at the Larimer & Weld Irrigation Company and the Dry Creek Flood Control SCADA System. Another afternoon highlight will be a tour of the Hydraulics Laboratory at Colorado State University west of Fort Collins. The final stop will be the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District headquarters in Berthoud for a flow monitoring demonstration and a review of District SCADA operations. The day will conclude with a barbecue dinner and entertainment, and a 45 minute return to the Doubletree Hotel.
Wednesday, June 5
Participants will visit the Bureau of Reclamation laboratories at the Denver Federal Center. The 54,000- square-foot indoor hydraulic laboratory contains specialized fixed facilities, site-specific scale model studies, and applied research experiments related to water management and conservation, environmental and fisheries hydraulics, dam safety, and rehabilitation and improvement of hydraulic infrastructure. The materials engineering laboratory includes facilities for testing concrete, soil, rock, and other materials, including a 5,000,000 pound universal (compression and tension) testing machine.
Saturday, June 9
This interesting and scenic field tour will begin with a drive into the beautiful Rocky Mountains west of Denver. The first stop, in the heart of Colorado ski country, will be Dillon Reservoir, a storage facility for Denver Water. Continue the mountain journey to visit facilities of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado-Big Thompson Project, a trans-mountain diversion project that provides water for agricultural and municipal uses in eastern Colorado and along the Front Range. The C-BT Project is operated by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.
Following lunch in Grand Lake, participants will travel through Rocky Mountain National Park via Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the U.S. Following a stop in Estes Park, the tour will return to Denver via Boulder.
CEUs offered through Colorado State University will be available for participants of the Conference. Information will be available at the Conference.
The Conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Denver, 3203 Quebec Street, Denver, CO 80207; telephone 303-321-3333, fax: 303-329-5233. The Doubletree Hotel Denver, next to the new Quebec Square regional retail center, is a full service hotel centrally located just south of I-70 and provides scheduled, complimentary shuttle service to and from Denver International Airport and downtown Denver, as well as free parking at the hotel.
The rate for Conference participants is $109 single, $119 double, plus tax. To make reservations, call the Doubletree at 303-321-3333 or 800-HILTONS, and ask for the special USCID rate. The room block at this rate is guaranteed only through May 18, 2007. Reservations made after May 18 will be on a space available basis.
In addition to the Conference Technical Sessions and Exhibition, and the Field Technical Session, the Participant Registration Fee includes the field tours on Wednesday morning and Saturday. Also included are lunches on Wednesday through Saturday; reception Wednesday evening; continental breakfasts on Thursday and Friday; receptions and dinners on Thursday and Friday; and the Proceedings. The cost of the optional Canal Operations Workshop is $25, including transportation from the Doubletree Hotel and coffee break.
To receive the Early Registration Rate, you must register by May 25. The Late Registration Fee applies to registrations received after May 25 and on-site registrations. The Registration Fee can be pre-paid by check or credit card (VISA/MasterCard) or purchase order. Reduced registration fees are offered to USCID Members and to authors. Register online.
Cancellation Policy: To receive a refund, USCID must receive notice of cancellation by the end of business on June 1. All refunds are subject to a $25 processing fee. After June 1, the registration fee is not refundable, but substitutions are acceptable.
Please note: USCID can not waive the Conference registration fee, nor provide funding or scholarships for participants to attend the Conference. USCID will not seek funding from donors or other sources for participants.
The Guest Registration Fee includes the welcome reception Wednesday evening, the reception and dinner on Thursday and the Rocky Mountain tour on Saturday. Guests are welcome to attend the Wednesday morning tour and the Friday Field Technical Session for an additional fee of $85. Information on optional guest activities, such as Grayline city tours and other excursions will be available at the USCID Registration Desk in the Doubletree.
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Please send any comments to or Larry Stephens (stephens@uscid.org).
Last revised June 4, 2007
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