United States Environmental Protection Agency Guidance for Designing Communications Systems For Water Quality Surveillance and Response Systems Office of Water (AWBERC, MS 140) EPA 817-B-16-002 September 2016 Disclaimer The Water Security Division of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water has reviewed and approved this document for publication. This document does not impose legally binding requirements on any party. The information in this document is intended solely to recommend or suggest and does not imply any requirements. Neither the U.S. Government nor any of its employees, contractors or their employees make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for any third party’s use of any information, product or process discussed in this document, or represents that its use by such party would not infringe on privately owned rights. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Questions concerning this document should be addressed to [email protected] or one of the following contacts: Nelson Mix, PE, CHMM EPA Water Security Division 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Mail Code 4608T Washington, DC 20460 (202) 564-7951 [email protected] or Steven C. Allgeier EPA Water Security Division 26 West Martin Luther King Drive Mail Code 140 Cincinnati, OH 45268 (513) 569-7131 [email protected] i Acknowledgements The EPA Water Security Division would like to recognize the following individuals and organizations for their assistance, contributions, and review during the development of this document. • Alan Lai, CH2M • William H. Philips, CH2M • Kenneth Thompson, CH2M • Adam Haas, CSRA • Goeffrey Brock, Philadelphia Water Department • Ralph J. Rodgers, Philadelphia Water Department • Michal Koenig, Qualcomm ii Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................................................... VI ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................................... VII SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 SECTION 2: EVALUATION CRITERIA ........................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Extent of Use ................................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2 Data Transmission Rate ............................................................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 Data Generation Rate .............................................................................................................................. 3 2.2.2 Data Packet Size ...................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.3 Latency ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Security ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 2.4 Reliability ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.5 Distance ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 2.6 Lifecycle Cost .............................................................................................................................................. 5 2.6.1 Provider Fees ........................................................................................................................................... 5 2.6.2 Maintenance ............................................................................................................................................ 5 2.7 Coverage ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 SECTION 3: COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES ........................................................................................................ 7 3.1 Wired Technologies ..................................................................................................................................... 7 3.1.1 Plain Old Telephone Service ................................................................................................................... 9 3.1.2 Digital Subscriber Line ............................................................................................................................ 9 3.1.3 T-Carrier 1 Line .................................................................................................................................... 10 3.1.4 Frame Relay........................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.5 Multi-Protocol Label Switching ............................................................................................................. 12 3.1.6 Transparent LAN Service ....................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.7 Utility-Owned Fiber Optic ..................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Wireless Technologies ............................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.1 Digital Cellular ...................................................................................................................................... 15 3.2.2 Utility-Owned Wireless .......................................................................................................................... 16 SECTION 4: SRS COMPONENT REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS ............................................... 22 4.1 Enhanced Security Monitoring................................................................................................................... 22 4.2 Online Water Quality Monitoring .............................................................................................................. 23 4.3 Automated Metering Infrastructure ............................................................................................................ 24 4.4 Component Summary................................................................................................................................. 25 SECTION 5: SELECTING A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM ............................................................................................ 27 5.1 Identifying Communications Options ........................................................................................................ 27 5.2 Alternatives Evaluation and Selection ....................................................................................................... 27 SECTION 6: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................. 28 6.1 Document System Requirements ............................................................................................................... 28 6.2 Review with Provider ................................................................................................................................. 28 6.3 Conduct Field Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 29 6.4 Develop Detailed Design ........................................................................................................................... 29 6.4.1 Security .................................................................................................................................................. 29 6.4.2 Data Directionality ................................................................................................................................ 30 6.4.3 Data Transmission Rate Limits .............................................................................................................. 30 6.4.4 Redundancy............................................................................................................................................ 30 6.4.5 Topology ................................................................................................................................................ 30 6.4.6 Data Usage ............................................................................................................................................ 34 6.4.7 Detailed Communications Architecture Diagrams ................................................................................ 34 6.4.8 Contract Documents .............................................................................................................................