Chemists and Computers in the Corps of Engineers - ACS Symposium

Oct 5, 1984 - The chemists in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio River ... water quality data; and operating an automated water quality laboratory...
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Chemists and Computers in the Corps of Engineers RICHARD E. ENRIONE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio River Division, P.O. Box 1159, Cincinnati, OH 54201 The chemists in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio River Division perform a variety of computer assisted tasks in assessing water quality and providing input to water management decisions. These include developing and running sophisticated water quality models; evaluating water quality data; and operating an automated water quality laboratory. The U . S . Army Corps o f E n g i n e e r s has a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l number o f c h e m i s t s . They a r e l o c a t e d e i t h e r i n r e s e a r c h l a b o r a t o r i e s o r i n the d i s t r i c t and d i v i s i o n o f f i c e s . T h i s paper w i l l be l i m i t e d t o the Ohio R i v e r D i v i s i o n h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n C i n c i n n a t i and the f o u r d i s t r i c t o f f i c e s i n H u n t i n g t o n , L o u i s v i l l e , N a s h v i l l e , and Pittsburgh. There a r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 75 m u l t i p u r p o s e s t o r a g e r e s e r v o i r s and a n o t h e r 75 r i v e r l o c k and dam s t r u c t u r e s which a r e o p e r a t e d by the division. In t h e i r o p e r a t i o n , the h i g h e s t p r i o r i t y i s g i v e n t o s a f e t y o f the s t r u c t u r e s f o l l o w e d c l o s e l y by e i t h e r f l o o d c o n t r o l o r r i v e r n a v i g a t i o n . Depending on the p a r t i c u l a r p r o j e c t , s e v e r a l competing purposes govern most o f the d a y - t o - d a y o p e r a t i o n s . These i n c l u d e : hydropower, r e c r e a t i o n , w a t e r s u p p l y , water q u a l i t y , and minimum f l o w r e l e a s e s . The i m p o r t a n t p o i n t i s t h a t w a t e r c o n t r o l d e c i s i o n s have an impact on w a t e r q u a l i t y . I t i s t h i s aspect which r e q u i r e s chemical e x p e r t i s e . There a r e t h r e e g e n e r a l ways i n w h i c h water q u a l i t y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s impact on water management d e c i s i o n s . These a r e the l o n g - t e r m development o f , o r m o d i f i c a t i o n o f o p e r a t i n g g u i d e l i n e s ; an i n t e r m e d i a t e term t r a c k i n g o f the e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f the g u i d e l i n e s ; and the r e a l time o r q u a s i r e a l time m o n i t o r i n g o f s i t u a t i o n s which have the p o t e n t i a l f o r r a p i d change. The g u i d e l i n e m o d i f i c a t i o n i s e x e m p l i f i e d by B l u e s t o n e Reservoir. I n t h i s c a s e , p r o p o s a l s were made t o modify the p r o j e c t o p e r a t i o n i n two d i f f e r e n t ways. F i r s t , change the r e l e a s e s c h e d u l e t o accommodate downstream Whitewater r a f t i n g ; s e c o n d , i n c r e a s e the r e s e r v o i r depth and add hydropower. To e v a l u a t e t h e s e , a m a t h e m a t i c a l model was used w h i c h i n c o r p o r a t e d T h i s chapter not subject to U . S . copyright. P u b l i s h e d 1984, A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l Society

Liscouski; Computers in the Laboratory ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

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t h e two d i m e n s i o n a l hydrodynamic, t h e r m a l , c h e m i c a l , and b i o l o g i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the r e s e r v o i r . The r e s u l t s o f t h i s m o d e l i n g i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e s c h e d u l i n g o f r a f t i n g r e l e a s e s would not a g g r a v a t e t h e i n t e r m i t t e n t a l g a e problem c u r r e n t l y found i n t h e l a k e and might h e l p i t s l i g h t l y . On t h e o t h e r hand, the a d d i t i o n o f hydropower would g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e t h e a l g a e and a l s o degrade the w a t e r q u a l i t y o f the r e s e r v o i r r e l e a s e s t o t h e d e t r i m e n t o f the f i s h e r y below t h e dam. The m o d e l i n g , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e computer g e n e r a t e d g r a p h i c s t o i l l u s t r a t e f o r n o n - s c i e n t i s t s t h e p o t e n t i a l changes i n a l g a l growth, had two r e s u l t s . A m o d i f i e d r e l e a s e s c h e d u l e f o r r a f t i n g w i l l be implemented; and t h e hydropower a d d i t i o n i s b e i n g d e l a y e d pending t h e r e s u l t s o f s t u d i e s aimed a t r e d u c i n g the n u t r i e n t l o a d and a r i s k a n a l y s i s o f t h e impact o f poor q u a l i t y water on t h e downstream f i s h e r y . The t r a c k i n g o f g u i d e l i n e s i n v o l v e s t h e r o u t i n e s a m p l i n g and a n a l y s i s f o r a v a r i e t y o f c h e m i c a l and b i o l o g i c a l c o n s t i t u e n t s . A t J . P e r c y P r i e s t R e s e r v o i r , f o r example, t h e r e i s a l a r g e h i s t o r i c a l d a t a base f o r i r o n , manganese, ammonia, d i s s o l v e d oxygen, e t c . The m o n i t o r i n g i n t h i s case i s t o d e t e r m i n e i f t h e l a k e i s c h a n g i n g i n response t o r a p i d l y c h a n g i n g l a n d use p a t t e r n s i n t h e w a t e r s h e d , and, i f s o , s h o u l d t h e w a t e r management scheme be r e e v a l u a t e d . T h i s e f f o r t r e s u l t s i n a l a r g e number o f samples f o r c h e m i c a l a n a l y s i s . There a r e f i v e l a b o r a t o r i e s w h i c h p e r f o r m most o f t h e s e a n a l y s e s . The f o u r d i s t r i c t l a b o r a t o r i e s p e r f o r m t h e f i e l d s a m p l i n g , b i o l o g i c a l and c h o r o p h y l a n a l y s i s , and i n some cases a n a l y s i s f o r TOC, d i s s o l v e d c a r b o n , s o l i d s , a l k a l i n i t y and a c i d i t y . The d i v i s i o n l a b o r a t o r y performs t y p i c a l w a t e r q u a l i t y c h e m i c a l a n a l y s i s u s i n g , almost e x c l u s i v e l y , mechanized/computerized equipment. The r e a l time d a t a f i e l d d a t a i s c o l l e c t e d h o u r l y v i a a t e l e p h o n e network i n t h e case o f the Ohio R i v e r and t h r o u g h a GOES s a t e l l i t e and a d o w n l i n k i n C i n c i n n a t i f o r o t h e r l o c a t i o n s . The s a t e l l i t e system, w h i c h c o n s i s t s o f over 900 s t a t i o n s i n the b a s i n , was s e t up f o r f l o w f o r e c a s t i n g . A p r o v i s i o n was made t o add w a t e r q u a l i t y i n f o r m a t i o n and, as t h e need a r i s e s , a p p r o p r i a t e m o n i t o r s a r e i n s t a l l e d a t the r e q u i r e d l o c a t i o n s . Two examples o f t h e uses o f t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n a r e : t o change g a t e openings on the Ohio R i v e r Locks t o maximize r e a e r a t i o n when the d i s s o l v e d oxygen l e v e l g e t too low; and t o m o n i t o r h o u r l y f l u c t u a t i o n s from p e t r o l e u m b r i n e d i s c h a r g e s i n t h e B l a i n e Creek w a t e r s h e d . These e f f o r t s a r e c a r r i e d out u s i n g a v a r i e t y o f computers w i t h d i f f e r e n t p r i m a r y p u r p o s e s . Each d i s t r i c t and t h e d i v i s i o n have a w a t e r c o n t r o l minicomputer ( t y p i c a l l y a H a r r i s 100) devoted m a i n l y t o h y d r o l o g i e m o d e l i n g on a r e a l time b a s i s , and t h e maintenance o f a p p r o p r i a t e o n - l i n e h y d r o l o g i e d a t a b a s e s . A l s o , t h e r e a l time w a t e r q u a l i t y i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r o c e s s e d and a n a l y z e d on t h e s e machines. The d i v i s i o n c o u n t e r p a r t , i n a d d i t i o n t o these t a s k s , i s used f o r the development o f h y d r o l o g i e models; the development and use o f water q u a l i t y models; and i s t h e c o n t r o l p o i n t f o r t h e g a t h e r i n g , s o r t i n g and d i s s e m i n a t i n g o f r e a l time data. Each o f f i c e a l s o has a g e n e r a l purpose, e n g i n e e r i n g use m i n i ( t y p i c a l l y a H a r r i s 5 0 0 ) , which i s used f o r the maintenance o f t h e

Liscouski; Computers in the Laboratory ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

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EN R ION Ε

Computers

in the Corps of

Engineers

d i s t r i c t water q u a l i t y d a t a base and t h e r u n n i n g o f v a r i o u s d a t a a n a l y s i s and d e p i c t i o n programs. The d i v i s i o n has a g e n e r a l purpose Honeywell which i s used p r i n c i p a l l y f o r f i n a n c i a l purposes but augments t h e l a b o r a t o r y computer by g e n e r a t i n g most o f t h e management r e p o r t s , p e r f o r m i n g some o f t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s and q u a l i t y c o n t r o l checks and a c t s as t h e c o n t r o l p o i n t f o r disseminating o f the data t o the d i s t r i c t s . The d i s t r i c t l a b computers a r e a p p l i e d d i f f e r e n t l y i n each o f the f o u r d i s t r i c t s . Among t h e uses a r e t h e s t o r a g e r e t r i e v a l and a n a l y s i s of b i o l o g i c a l data; the point of entry f o r f i e l d data; d a t a r e d u c t i o n o f l a b o r a t o r y a n a l y t i c a l r e s u l t s ; and d i r e c t d a t a g a t h e r i n g from equipment such as s p e c t r o p h o t o m e t e r s . The d i v i s i o n l a b o r a t o r y has two Wang VP2200 computers which a r e i n t e r f a c e d t o a v a r i e t y o f i n s t r u m e n t s . The n a t u r e o f t h e i n t e r f a c e and t h e a s s o c i a t e d programming depend on t h e i n s t r u m e n t s i n v o l v e d . I n terms o f computer usage, t h e i n s t r u m e n t s e i t h e r accumulate d a t a which i s then b a t c h p r o c e s s e d , o r they r e q u i r e c o n t i n u o u s o n - l i n e support by t h e computer. F o r t h e ICAP, TOC, and GC completed r e p o r t s a r e sent t o t h e Wang which r e q u i r e l i t t l e more than r e f o r m a t t i n g . F o r t h e Atomic A b s o r p t i o n , a d a t a l o g g e r sends i n a sequence o f numbers which r e q u i r e s some a d d i t i o n a l p r o c e s s i n g . The e l e c t r o n i c b a l a n c e i s o p e r a t e d i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h an i n t e r a c t i v e program f o r t h e a n a l y s i s o f s o l i d s . S i x c h a n n e l s o f T e c h n i c o n A u t o - a n a l i z e r a r e i n t e r f a c e d through a f l u i d y n e s c a n n i n g A/D c o n v e r t e r . Both o f t h e l a s t two i n s t r u m e n t s p l a c e a c o n s i d e r a b l e burden on t h e computer r e s o u r c e s . I n t h e o p e r a t i o n o f any o f t h s e i n s t r u m e n t s , t h e f i r s t s t e p f o r t h e c h e m i s t i s t o o b t a i n a sample l i s t from t h e computer; t h e l a s t s t e p i s t o r e v i e w t h e q u a l i t y c o n t r o l d a t a on t h e computer and a c c e p t o r r e j e c t a l l o r p a r t o f t h e r u n . A l l computer o p e r a t i o n s a r e menu d r i v e n question/answer sequences w i t h t h e most common responses a v a i l a b l e by d e f a u l t . A l l of the e f f o r t s r e q u i r e a rapid interchange of information and a c c e s s t o a wide v a r i e t y o f d a t a b a s e s , b o t h e x t e r n a l , such as USGS s WATSTOR and E P A s STORET, and i n t e r n a l , c o n t a i n i n g h i s t o r i c a l a n a l y t i c a l r e s u l t s and r e s e r v o i r h y d r a u l i c i n f o r m a t i o n . T h i s i s accomplished by a network o f computers t i e d t o g e t h e r by telephone l i n e s and a u t o d i a l i n g equipment, and i s shown i n F i g u r e 1. F o r example, on an h o u r l y b a s i s , a computer c a l l s the downlink t o r e t r i e v e the l a t e s t s e t of s a t e l l i t e d a t a . T h i s machine on a d a i l y b a s i s ( o r on demand) i s a u t o m a t i c a l l y c a l l e d by t h e d i s t r i c t water c o n t r o l computer t o o b t a i n t h e r e l e v a n t d a t a . As p a r t o f t h e a u t o d i a l i n g p r o t o c a l s , a u s e r w o r k i n g on a modeling problem i n C i n c i n n a t i c a n a c c e s s , and have i n h i s own f i l s i n a few m i n u t e s , such i n f o r m a t i o n as c u r r e n t water q u a l i t y d a t a from a d i s t r i c t g e n e r a l purpose computer, f l o w d a t a from d i s t r i c t water c o n t r o l machines, o r h i s t o r i c a l c h e m i c a l d a t a from STORET. An i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e system a r e t h e backup p r o c e d u r e s . To d e a l w i t h t h e problems o f computer f a i l u r e , l o s s o f d a t a base i n t e g r i t y o r communication f a i l u r e s , a c o m b i n a t i o n o f approaches a r e used. The b a s i c assumptions a r e : One days worth o f l a b o r a t o r y r e s u l t s on t h e l a b computer a r e expendable i n t h e sense t h a t a s i g n i f i c a n t f r a c t i o n i s s t i l l i n t h e memory o f t h e f

1

Liscouski; Computers in the Laboratory ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

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C O M P U T E R S IN T H E LABORATORY

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GOES S a t e l l i t e

Division G e n e r a l Purpose H a r r i s 700

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ORSANCO*

V I I

Instruments ι ι

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D i v i s i o n Lab Wang VP2200

Division Water C o n t r o l H a r r i s 100

Weather S e r v i c e AFOS*

Division Honeywell

USEPA STORET*

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D i s t r i c t Lab Wang

Figure

District Water C o n t r o l H a r r i s 100 and/or G e n e r a l Purpose H a r r i s 500

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USGS WATSTORE*

1 — S c h e m a t i c o f network showing p r i m a r y d a t a p a t h s . •

Water C o n t r o l

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Quality

*Equipment n o t o p e r a t e d by t h e Corps o f E n g i n e e r s . The p o r t i o n i n t h e box i s r e p l i c a t e d i n each o f f o u r d i s t r i c t s .

Liscouski; Computers in the Laboratory ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.

Downloaded by UNIV OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on March 12, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: October 5, 1984 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1984-0265.ch007

7. E N R I O N Ε

Computers

in the Corps of

Engineers

i n s t r u m e n t s and the r e s t can be r e p e a t e d . R e a l time h o u r l y d a t a f o r p e r i o d s o f 24-48 hours a r e expendable except d u r i n g f l o o d emergencies. A l l f i l e s on a l l computers except the l a b o r a t o r y Wangs a r e backed up o n a d a i l y b a s i s w i t h tape c o p i e s . The Lab computers send a l l r e s u l t s t o a second computer every day. A l l a p p r o p r i a t e r e s u l t s are sent t o STORET q u a r t e r l y . W i t h i n 24 h o u r s , a l l c u r r e n t d a t a i s s t o r e d on computers a t two o r more s i t e s ( t h i s i s a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f the f a c t t h a t t h e d a t a u s e r s work on d i f f e r e n t machines than the d a t a g e n e r a t o r s / d a t a c o l l e c t o r s ) . On a monthly b a s i s , a l l programs and d a t a f i l e s on a l l computers a r e c o p i e d t o tape o r d i s c and s t o r e d a t a d i f f e r e n t site. The computers and communication l i n k s which a r e c r i t i c a l a t f l o o d times have s p e c i f i c a l l y d e s i g n a t e d backups where a l l t h e n e c e s s a r y d a t a and programs a r e k e p t on a standby b a s i s . F o r example, the C i n c i n n a t i water c o n t r o l H a r r i s which i s the key t o d i s s e m i n a t i n g r e a l time d a t a can have i t s f u n c t i o n taken over by machine i n L o u i s v i l l e ; the l o c a l s a t e l l i t e d o w n l i n k can be r e p l a c e d by one i n M i s s i s s i p p i . In the l a b , f u t u r e e x p a n s i o n p l a n s i n c l u d e the use o f o p t i c a l scanners f o r r e a d i n g sample l a b e l s , o p e r a t i o n o f r o b o t s t o r e l i e v e some o f the manual o p e r a t i o n s and an a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e system t o t r a c k q u a l i t y c o n t r o l . I n o t h e r a r e a s , t h e r e w i l l be a n i n c r e a s e i n the number o f r e a l time m o n i t o r s , not n e c e s s a r i l y because r e a l time d a t a i s needed, but t h e c o s t can be s m a l l compared t o s e n d i n g out a f i e l d team. There w i l l be some a p p l i c a t i o n s o f d i r e c t m o n i t o r i n g by s a t e l l i t e s such as LANDSAT D. Both o f these w i l l be i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o water q u a l i t y models which w i l l a l l o w more i n t e l l i g e n t c h o i c e s o f where t o send a f i e l d team t o c o l l e c t samples f o r d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s . R E C E I V E D M a y 30, 1984

Liscouski; Computers in the Laboratory ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984.