June 11, 2024 |
Photo – Rawlins Water Treatment Facility – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Rawlins city council has selected a company to replace the city’s computerized water monitoring system.
The City of Rawlins uses a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system, or SCADA, for real-time monitoring and control of its water and wastewater treatment plants.
Earlier this year, the Rawlins governing body issued a request for proposals, or RFP, for the design and replacement of the city’s SCADA system at the two water plants.
The RFP states that the existing SCADA system, “dates to the early 90’s and it can be safely assumed that no part of the existing system is salvageable.” The city asked for an entirely new system to be designed and brought online.
At the June 4th Rawlins city council meeting, Public Works Director Cody Dill said he received four proposals for the SCADA project.
Of the four bids, Dill said Texas-based Expanse Electrical’s estimate of $1.5 million was immediately rejected. The remaining three bids were comparable in price, said Dill. However, the public works director said only Dorsett Controls from Layton, Utah, offered to do everything the city asked for and at a reasonable cost.
The city received a $963,000 Wyoming Community Development Authority Block Grant for the SCADA replacement project. Dill said Dorsett Control’s $829,000 bid puts the project roughly $100,000 underbudget.
Councilman Chris Weisenburg said the Layton-based engineering firm has offered to install strong cyber-security software in the new SCADA system. Councilman Weisenburg said Dorsett Controls will help the city avoid another cyber-attack.
As a reminder, last November, the city suffered a breach of its computer network. The state and federal government stepped in to minimize any damage done from the cyber-attack. Rawlins officials reported that no personal information of city residents was compromised during the event.
Councilman Weisenburg asked Dill if the city can continue to contract with Dorsett Control on future SCADA projects. The councilman said technology demands that the system will need to be upgraded.
Dill said Dorsett Control is able to provide any future SCADA services the city will need.
The city council voted to approve a contract with Dorsett Controls in the amount of $828,944.82.
