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City awards contract to upgrade aging water SCADA system to improve leak detection
Summary
Public Works recommended and the council approved a nearly $595,000 contract to modernize the water division's SCADA monitoring system, citing obsolete components and improved response to breaks and pressure events.
Public Works presented and the council approved a contract to upgrade the city's Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for water operations, the system that monitors tank levels, pressures and key telemetry across the distribution network.
Director Eric Earls said the existing system was originally installed in 1997 and has had limited updates; he recommended awarding the work to Beta Group for design with Ericsson as the construction/implementation contractor and reported a contract amount of $594,986. Earls said several critical SCADA components for the older system are no longer manufactured and, in some cases, only used components are available, making the upgrade necessary.
Why it matters: Earls cited a recent water-main break in the Old Buttonwoods area where limited monitoring meant staff had to physically locate and turn off valves. He said the upgraded system would give operators better situational awareness and faster fault isolation, which could shorten outage times and reduce truck rolls.
Impact, timing and risks: The department does not expect service interruptions from the monitoring upgrades because contractors are not changing major gate valves as part of this work, Earls said. Staff anticipates the procurement and vendor mobilization will lead to completion by December 2026. The contract includes standard reimbursable-expense language for unforeseen materials or equipment, but Earls said the department does not anticipate substantial additional reimbursables.
Council questions and follow-up: Council members asked about potential interruptions, the vendor's pricing assumptions, and long-term maintenance. Earls said preventive maintenance will be minimal after installation and that much of the system's lifecycle costs (batteries and routine checks) are modest; he estimated a useful life for the upgraded system measured in decades.
Result: The council approved the SCADA upgrade contract and directed staff to execute documents and proceed with implementation.
