Agenda Item Wording:
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Authorization for the City Manager to enter into a sole source contract with Telstar Instruments for upgrades to the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and Sewer Collections Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system in the amount of $243,329.00 and an appropriation from the Wastewater Treatment Plant fund (431).
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Deadline for Action: 1/18/2022
Submitting Department: Public Works
Contact Name and Phone Number: Click or tap here to enter text.
Brad Crim, WWTP Superintendent, brad.crim@visalia.city, 713-4176
Wyndi Ferguson, Interim Public Works Director, wyndi.ferguson@visalia.city, 713-4323
Department Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to enter into a sole source contract with Telstar Instruments for upgrades to the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and Sewer Collections Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system in the amount of $243,329.00 and appropriate the funds from the Wastewater Treatment Plant fund (431).
Background Discussion:
The SCADA system monitors the operations of the WRF, as well as the collections system lift stations, on a minute-to-minute basis. It is the system that lets staff know when operational equipment has failed. Staff sets the alarm conditions per their expertise and experience, but the SCADA system monitors every aspect of those conditions. If/when a condition occurs that warrants an alarm, the SCADA system will automatically call staff to let them know an alarm exists. Without this system the WRF and Collections operations would need to have staff physically monitoring all parameters for each lift station, pump, tank, or blower on a constant basis in order to operate.
Currently, the WRF and Sewer Collections both have SCADA systems, but they operate using two separate computer systems. Each system is slightly different in what it displays, however, both systems run on the same software. The SCADA system consists of three independent computer programs; Wonderware, InTouch, and Win911.
Wonderware is the “central brain” program. It takes the information coming in from all the instruments and equipment throughout the plant/collection system and compiles it into one centralized source. It runs the equipment in the plant and collection system minute to minute based on parameters determined by Staff.
InTouch is the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) that allows Staff to communicate with Wonderware in a way that allows for a visual representation of equipment and processes within the plant and lift stations. It allows City Staff to input or change parameters within Wonderware and visually see the effect that those changes have made.
Win911 is an auto-dialer program. Wonderware tells Win911 when something has gone wrong in the operational system, then Win911 uses telecommunication to call staff to let them know what is in alarm, whether it be a lift station that no longer has a pump running, or a tank level in the plant is higher than allowed, etc.
The City currently pays for Wonderware and InTouch twice. Once for the collection system, and once for the WRF. These costs encompass 24-hour support, software updates, and licensing fees. The City only pays once per year for Win911’s licensing fee. This is because Win911 no longer supports the older version the City is working with. For reasons unknown to the current staff, a newer version of this software was never installed during the plant expansion, thus the software system is no longer being supported, meaning the SCADA system is even further behind than staff originally suspected.
These two SCADA systems can be combined into one system that would run both the collections system and the WRF, thus lowering the cost for annual support and licensing.
However, because these systems still rely on analog technology, they cannot be upgraded to digital technologies separately. The entire system needs to be rebuilt so that the fiber optic network that was laid down during the plant expansion can be utilized inside the plant as well as provide connectivity in the future throughout the city. This requires building new servers for the programs, entering digital information specific to the plant and collection system, and then switching to the new servers.
The City currently has a contract with Telstar Instruments to perform repairs and maintenance on Collections and WRF instruments and computer programs in the field, with a not to exceed amount of $250,000 annually. The work required to upgrade the SCADA system falls within the scope of their contract, however, staff recommends that this emergency upgrade be sole sourced to Telstar Instruments outside of their annual contract to ensure that staff has the ability to utilize the contract for their daily operational needs.
Fiscal Impact:
The cost of this purchase is $243,329.00 and will need to be appropriated from the Wastewater Treatment Plant Fund (431) fund balance.
Alternatives: Do not proceed, or delay the upgrade. These options will leave the plant vulnerable to the out of date system in place, which may lead to increasing incidents of poor communication or computer server failures. These failures incur overtime from staff, and potentially large fines from State and Federal agencies. A recent example occurred in November 2021 when the pumps at the Airport lift station failed, and due to a communication glitch the SCADA system failed to inform staff. We had experienced a main breaker fault that was caused by a pump failure. This happened after hours, and due to an observant Maintenance Worker out on an unrelated call, we were able to avoid overflowing raw sewage into a ponding basin that would have resulted in an extremely costly remediation, as well as incurred large fines from the Regional Water Board.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to enter into a sole source contract with Telstar Instruments for upgrades to the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and Sewer Collections Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system in the amount of $243,329.00, and appropriate the funds from the Wastewater Treatment Plant fund (431).
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Attachments:
Telstar Contract (C18069)
Telstar Quote SR20-39076