The Cost-Effective Alternative: Why OmniSite is the Smarter Choice Over Traditional SCADA

Two weeks ago, President, Tom Ward, visited the City of Orlando and was stunned to learn that they routinely pay $200,000 per duplex pump station—just for the monitoring system! $200K for monitoring alone. While that number is excessive, it's very common for municipalities to spend upwards of $30,000 to monitor a single duplex station using traditional SCADA systems.

For the sake of fairness, let's assume a municipality pays $16,000 per station for SCADA. That same customer could instead purchase an OmniSite XR50 for just $2,000.

The cost difference? $14,000 per station.

Some municipalities claim they can’t afford OmniSite’s cellular fees, which amount to $280 per year for that station. But when you compare the savings, the numbers speak for themselves. Divide the $14,000 savings by $280, and you’ll find that it would take 50 years to match the initial cost of SCADA.

For customers spending $30,000 per station, that payback period stretches to 100 years. And for those paying a staggering $200,000 per station? 707 years!

The truth is, SCADA systems will never pay themselves back. They don’t last anywhere near that long. Between lightning strikes, water damage, corrosion, bug infestations, and eventual obsolescence, municipalities will continuously pour money into maintaining and replacing SCADA systems.

So, the next time a multimillion-dollar facility—where employees drive brand-new F-250 pickups—claims they can’t afford OmniSite’s wireless fees, let’s be honest: They can’t afford NOT to buy our solution.

This year, OmniSite will take a bold step forward by directly advertising these cost-saving advantages to every municipal wastewater treatment plant in the U.S. This will drive awareness and challenge the outdated mindset that SCADA is the only option.

The bottom line? OmniSite delivers superior monitoring at a fraction of the cost, and the financial math is undeniable.