Case Study: Gainesville Regional Utilities protects aquifer and automates wetland pond control with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL)

GRU Partners With SEL to Protect Florida Aquifer

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), a municipal utility in Florida, needed a better way to control water levels in a wetland pond at Kanapaha Middle School after its existing pump controller stopped communicating with the SCADA system. The pond was part of an aquifer replenishment and environmental education project, and GRU needed a reliable solution from SEL to maintain the pond’s 12- to 18-inch water depth while fitting into its existing infrastructure.

SEL provided the SEL-2411P Pump Automation Controller, which integrated with GRU’s radios, equipment, and SCADA system and used time-of-day operation to manage pumping around staff availability and competing water demand. With DNP3 time-stamped data, GRU could troubleshoot issues more effectively, and the system has reliably monitored and controlled the wetland pond since 2016, helping support approximately 600,000 gallons of high-quality water replenishment with minimal maintenance.

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)

Marcus Mitchell

Instrument Control and Electrical Technician