Sunapsys Client Earns VRWA Award

SUNAPSYS CLIENT EARNS the VIRGINIA RURAL ASSOCIATION'S 2007 SYSTEM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Congratulations to the team at High Knob Utilities, Inc. (HKUI) for being selected as the recipient of the Virginia Rural Water Association's (VRWA) 2007 System of the Year award. The outstanding achievements of High Knob Utilities in the areas of operational and fiscal management made it possible for them to rise above the field of 210 eligible water systems throughout the state, and be chosen as the recipient for the award. Sunapsys, Inc. (formerly Synchrony Industrial Controls) has continued to play a critical role in the operational improvements of the system since 2002.

Located in Front Royal Virginia, the community of High Knob began the transformation of its water system in 2000. Relying heavily on independent contractors to truck water in, and with the number of connections to the community system increasing, the residents of High Knob decided it was time to revamp their existing infrastructure to provide a constant, reliable residential water supply. The project was made possible in large part by a group of community volunteers who not only initiated the project, but also invested much of their time and resources to ensure the project's success.

After a lengthy proposal, interview, and qualification review process, Sunapsys was chosen to develop and implement a state of the art telemetry and SCADA system for both the existing and new portions of HKUI's water supply system. HKUI noted Sunapsys' proven track record and basic approach to delivering a custom system as primary reasons for being selected from a field of well qualified systems integrators.

Presently, the community of High Knob derives its water from five springs and six wells through a piping system, all spanning approximately 12 miles. With such a large area of collection and dispersal, it was the desire of High Knob Utilities Inc. to have accurate and reliable means of monitoring all points of the system as well as gathering data in the most efficient, worry free way possible. Sunapsys was contracted by High Knob Utilities to develop and implement a system that would allow a small, part time staff to control, monitor, and troubleshoot the water supply system as efficiently as possible. In effort to accommodate the needs of the community, Sunapsys worked closely with HKUI personnel to fine tune the system throughout the entire development and implementation process.

Along with the peace of mind the High Knob Utilities was looking for, the system put in place by Sunapsys offers many advantages over their previous system. Custom software developed by Sunapsys allows High Knob personnel to diagnose and repair any software problems that may arise with the SCADA system, further reducing if not eliminating the expense of service calls. The comprehensive monitoring and control system developed by Sunapsys is not only self supporting in this way, but it also has the capability to easily expand to meet future needs as the community of High Knob continues to grow.

Prior to the system overhaul, the community of High Knob was experiencing major leakage within the system. When compared with the current usage, they were actually using approximately 10,000 gallons more water in 2001 and had approximately 40% fewer connections than they have today. This is an indicator of just how much water was being lost as a result of an inadequate system and validates the efficiency of the customized system designed and implemented by Sunapsys.

High Knob Utilities has set a fine example for communities of the like to follow. When faced with the community wide problem of a failing water system, the residents of High Knob really pulled together to come up with a very effective solution that will benefit the community for years to come.