SCOPE supports Welsh Water response to severe storm

Discover how Ovarro’s upgraded SCOPE SCADA system helped Welsh Water respond to Storm Darragh. Handling four times the normal alarms, the system safeguarded water supplies, supported critical infrastructure, and enabled real-time operational decisions during extreme weather.

The Challenge

On December 7–8, 2024, Storm Darragh brought heavy rain and winds of 93 miles per hour to much of Wales, leaving 95,000 homes without power and communities severely impacted by flooding, fallen trees, infrastructure damage and major travel disruption. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) faced the challenge of keeping services running across critical sites. That’s why it turned to Ovarro’s newly upgraded SCOPE SCADA system, which managed four times the usual alarm load, enabling real-time decisions that safeguarded water supplies for communities across the region.

With a rare Met Office red warning in place, teams from DCWW worked to maintain and restore water supplies to many customers, working with energy companies, police and local authorities in a co-ordinated response.

During this period, the utility’s operations resource centre responded to more than 8,000 alarms – four times the usual number – with more than 80 operational assets losing power.

Two months prior, in September 2024, DCWW’s SCOPE SCADA telemetry system – from technology provider Ovarro – had undergone a major software upgrade to improve service and enhance stability.

The updated SCOPE system maintained strong performance throughout Storm Darragh, managing an unprecedented volume of alarms and data, while providing a reliable service to hundreds of additional users logged into the system.

Ovarro's SCOPE SCADA supports Welsh water during storm Darragh

Solution

Water

Monitoring & Control

The solution

Ovarro’s SCOPE - Secure Configurable Online Process Executive - is a supervisory system that allows companies to monitor a range of assets and track alarms in real-time and includes configuration tools for dataloggers and remote telemetry units (RTUs).

DCWW has been a SCOPE user for many years, with Ovarro also supplying the utility with a range of RTUs and loggers to feed data into the system. These devices collect data from thousands of assets across Wales, including treatment works, pumping stations, storage tanks and distribution networks.

The technology allows control rooms to track key parameters like water levels, pressure, flow rates, tank levels, pump performance and water quality, while flagging up potential issues in real time.

During a severe weather event, it is usual for a water company telemetry system to receive thousands more alarms and alerts than usual, flagging up critical events such as power loss, pump failures, flood and pollution risk and water quality issues.

In May 2024, DCWW and Ovarro began the process of updating its SCOPE system from version 1.32 to version 2.3 – a major task involving 600-700+ software changes. During the preparation period, a series of tests, risk assessments and governance checks were conducted by both organisations, before the new system was fully migrated in September.

While delivering overall stability, scalability and security improvements, the upgrade has allowed the bolt-on of additional software products and provided new features, such as enhanced API integration. API integration is the process of using APIs - application programme interfaces - to connect multiple software applications, to facilitate the secure transfer of data.

The upgrade also enabled an increased user load, meaning more individuals can be logged onto the system at any one time, without impacting overall performance. This is a key benefit, particularly felt during extreme weather events.

Success

On a normal day, some 200-300 people from business areas such as operations, central control rooms and customer services could be logged into SCOPE via a computer or mobile device. During an event such as Storm Darragh, user numbers could double or triple, as wider parts of the business access the system for status updates.

Throughout Storm Darragh, Welsh Water’s updated SCOPE system managed 8,000 alarms – four times the usual number. The system performed successfully under the significant load, enabling operational teams to manage the incident via the information it was relaying back.

Julian Booth, SCADA service delivery manager, Ovarro said: “We were pleased to receive Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s positive feedback on the performance of SCOPE during the immense pressure of Storm Darragh. The updated system managed significant numbers of events and alarms, with many more users than usual logged on, without experiencing any major performance issues.

“This capability allowed users to make operational decisions about critical assets with confidence, reliably supporting the wider co-ordinated response to the storm. The successful outcome is the result of a trusted partnership between Ovarro and Welsh Water, and close collaboration throughout the software update process, which took many weeks of careful planning.

“As a software product, SCOPE is under continual development to meet the changing demands of the sector. Significant rainfall is a key test of the system – and one that is becoming increasingly prevalent as climate change brings more weather extremes.”

“This was thanks to the development and support teams at Ovarro who helped deliver the recent upgrade, which had a significant and positive impact on the system.”

Find out for about SCOPE

Download the case study

We were pleased to receive Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s positive feedback on the performance of SCOPE during the immense pressure of Storm Darragh. The updated system managed significant numbers of events and alarms, with many more users than usual logged on, without experiencing any major performance issues.

Julian Booth

SCADA service delivery manager, Ovarro

Key deliverables

Managed 8,000+ alarms during Storm Darragh, ensuring service continuity.
Delivered greater stability, scalability, and security through the upgrade.

Enabled real-time decision-making to protect water supplies.
Strengthened the Ovarro–Welsh Water partnership with new features and integration.

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SCOPE supports Welsh Water response to severe storm

Discover how Ovarro’s upgraded SCOPE SCADA system helped Welsh Water respond to Storm Darragh. Handling four times the normal alarms, the system safeguarded water supplies, supported critical infrastructure, and enabled real-time operational decisions during extreme weather.