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Town staff report well-4 rehabilitation and approve SCADA upgrades, citing improved recharge and budgeted costs
Summary
Public works staff described completion of a Well 4 rehabilitation that included a new pump and acid treatment, reported town water and wastewater production figures, and the council authorized SCADA support and upgrades. Council approved contracts and server/PLC upgrades that town staff said are budgeted.
Town water and wastewater staff told the Middleburg Town Council on July 24 that a recent rehabilitation of Well 4 is back in service and showing early signs of improved recharge, and the council approved a budgeted contract to upgrade SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems.
In a staff report, Utility Manager Vince (speaker) said the Well 4 rehabilitation involved taking the well out of service for about two weeks, installing a new pump and lowering it roughly 190 feet, replacing pump pipe and wiring, and performing an acid treatment to remove scale and biofouling. "At the moment, we believe we've seen some really good beneficial data coming back from that," he said, noting transducer graphs that showed the well’s low-water readings improved after reassembly.
Water and wastewater system metrics - Water: staff reported average daily production of about 126,000 gallons per day and a combined monthly finished volume of roughly 3,800,000 gallons. Crews completed meter changeouts, sample collections and repairs, including a leak on Route 50. - Wastewater: staff said the wastewater plant averaged roughly 112,000 gallons per day with a monthly finished volume of about 3,400,000 gallons; two EQ basin pumps have been ordered and are expected on-site in about five weeks.
SCADA and control-system upgrades Town staff recommended, and council approved, continuing SCADA support through Valley Automation and moving forward with a phased upgrade of the SCADA server and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The council authorized the town manager to enter into a contract through cooperative procurement for: - SCADA support services: $30,000 - SCADA server upgrade: $52,651 - PLC upgrades (first phase): $47,011.24
Town Manager Danny Davis said the SCADA work and PLC upgrades were included in the approved budget. "These are all in the budget as approved," he told the council before the vote.
Why it matters: staff said the SCADA hardware is aging and needs replacement for security and operational reliability; upgrading PLCs at critical sites (wastewater plant and Well 4) was described as the highest priority in a multi-phase plan. The well rehabilitation, staff said, should improve the town’s ability to meet demand during heavy use periods.
Votes and implementation - The council approved the SCADA contract and upgrades by recorded vote; staff said the work will proceed under the existing budget and in phases. Staff indicated they will continue to monitor Well 4 and other well-level data and will report back to the council at future utility meetings.
Quotations - "What I think is going on there is we're having more recharge capability, which is kind of what we were hoping for," Utility Manager Vince said of the Well 4 results. - "These are all in the budget as approved," Town Manager Danny Davis said as the council considered the SCADA contracts.
Ending: Staff said additional PLC replacements will be scheduled in phases, with the wastewater plant and Well 4 among the immediate priorities. Council members asked for continued reporting to the utility committee as monitoring and upgrades proceed.
