Santa Rosa Water details wildfire-season preparations; highlights generators, SCADA resilience

At a meeting of the Board of Public Utilities of the City of Santa Rosa, Deputy Director Joe Chiavone briefed the board on preparations for the 2025 wildfire season, describing infrastructure hardening, communications upgrades and training intended to maintain water and sewer service during emergencies.

Chiavone said Santa Rosa received above‑average rainfall and noted regional wildfire statistics, saying the agency tracked roughly "a little over a million acres burned in 2024" and about "200,000" acres so far in 2025. He said forecast maps showed July and August near normal for the city and the potential for above‑normal fire activity as the season moves into September and October.

The briefing centered on three operational risks: damaged infrastructure and denied access during fires, communications outages that affect SCADA remote monitoring, and interrupted power from public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) or other outages. "Our ability to monitor our system remotely really does depend on our SCADA," Chiavone told the board.

To reduce those risks, Santa Rosa Water said it has installed stationary backup generators at all water pump stations and at the majority of sewer lift stations, maintains a fleet of mobile generators and trailer‑mounted pumps, and has standardized equipment across stations to ease emergency staffing and vendor support. Chiavone said one permanent generator remained in testing and the backup generator project was nearing closeout, with staff pursuing hazard mitigation grant closeout paperwork.

Chiavone described recent controller, PLC and radio upgrades to the SCADA system as complete and said the upgrades expand remote‑viewing and potential remote operation capabilities. He also listed coordination efforts with regional partners, including bimonthly water operations meetings with Sonoma Water, incident command team participation in emergency coordination, and weekly briefings with the Department of Emergency Services that include National Weather Service updates.

Board Member DeWitt asked what "improving external communication" entailed. Chiavone said the water department works with its communications team on customer outreach, and emphasized the department's customer‑service expectations for staff responding to system changes or service interruptions.

The deputy director closed by noting ongoing training for multiple hazards — fire, earthquake and flood — and planned drills, including a late‑September workshop focused on earthquakes. He answered board questions before the item moved to public comment, which produced no speakers.