Glendale approves $50,000 three‑year water‑data analytics agreement with CityWater

The Glendale Common Council approved a three‑year agreement with CityWater to subscribe to an analytics platform intended to help prioritize water‑main replacements and inform capital planning.

City staff described the program as a $50,000 commitment: “So it’s it’s a $50,000 cost. The minimum amount of years is is 3 years. So it’s a $50,000 cost, 20,000 in the first year, and then 15 for the second 2 years,” City staff said. CityWater has coordinated a group purchasing approach that staff said would lower the unit cost if multiple municipalities join.

Why it matters: Glendale expects a roughly $3 million water‑main program in the next construction cycle (the city skipped 2024), and staff said improved analytics could help prioritize which mains to replace now versus later. The subscription is designed to produce a more consistent, data‑driven approach similar to the city’s street‑resurfacing evaluation.

City Administrator/Finance staff told the council the subscription would be included in future budgets and that staff would present analytics results to the council as part of budget discussions. “Yes. So in future years, we would bring it to the you guys as part of the budget,” the staff member said when asked whether results would be reported to the council.

Council members asked whether the agreement was cancellable and how long the city would use the software. Staff said this is a three‑year commitment intended to produce a planning tool; after the initial term the council could evaluate continued use. Council members also noted the subscription cost is a small fraction of planned capital spending: staff observed the $50,000 is less than 1 percent of the projected multi‑year water‑main spend and argued that better targeting could produce savings and reduce risk of failure.

The motion to approve the agreement with CityWater was moved by Alderman Doherty, seconded by Alder Bailey, and the council approved the contract.