TO: Members of the Governing Board
FROM: Christopher Silke - District Engineer
REPORT BY: Annamaria Martinez - Assistant Engineer
SUBJECT: Award SCADA contract Approval of a Professional Services Agreement 230381B with Telstar Instruments for completion of the Water and Wastewater Facility SCADA Upgrades Project, LB 22-05
RECOMMENDATION
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District Engineer requests approval of and authorization for the Chair to sign Agreement No. 230381B (LBRID) with Telstar Instruments for a maximum of $284,449 for the term May 16, 2023 until one year after completion of the scope of services for the Water and Wastewater Facility SCADA Upgrades Project, LB 22-05.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The District received $300,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds through a February 8, 2022 Memorandum of Understanding with Napa County for the replacement of the District’s water and wastewater facility Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) monitoring program. While functional, the existing older generation software does not provide advanced level of automation, remote control, alarm alerts, sufficient network speed, trend charts, and dependability needed by the District in a more stringent regulatory environment.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation for the services required to upgrade the SCADA system was publicly advertised on February 24, 2023. Two (2) programming and instrumentation consultants submitted proposals by the March 23, 2023 deadline. Telstar Instruments ranked highest amongst the proposals submitted. Staff recommends approval of a Professional Services Agreement effective May 16, 2023 and expiring one year following completing the scope of services.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Fund 5220, Org 5220500, Project 22016 |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
The existing older generation software does not provide advanced level of automation, remote control, alarm alerts, sufficient network speed, trend charts, and dependability needed by the District in a more stringent regulatory environment. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Implementation of the project is expected to span multiple fiscal years. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
Without a replacement system, the District risks regulatory compliance violations in the future. |
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County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Effective and Open Government |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed activity is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, as the repair or maintenance of existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The President authorized the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021 to allocate $1.9 trillion in stimulus monies across a variety of programs. Of the total, $350 billion is allocated to state, local, territorial and Tribal governments to enable them to continue to support the public health response and to lay the foundation for a strong and equitable economic recovery. The U.S. Department of the Treasury released Final Interim Rule regulations on May 10, 2021 defining eligible use of ARPA monies that includes investments into water and sewer utility infrastructure. Local Fiscal Recovery (LFR) funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024 with projects completed no later than December 31, 2026. The County of Napa received $26,755,157 for ARPA appropriations.
Based on the Final Rule guidelines, water and sewer utility projects that would qualify for funding under the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Act Programs are deemed as eligible under ARPA. The District has four (4) high priority projects that satisfy ARPA and the Drinking and Clean Water Act funding criteria - one of the projects being the subject of this agenda report - Water and Wastewater Facility SCADA System Upgrades Project.
A Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is a computerized system primarily used to monitor and control system assets from a central location. System assets for the District include the water treatment plant, pump stations, potable water tanks, sewer lift station, and sewer tanks. The existing system is over 10 years old and provides limited automation and control of the system assets. Data collected by the system is required to populate regulatory reports, and while District staff and operators are able to query the system for the data, file corruption and system glitches have prevented completion of the required reports in the past. Additionally, the current system is able to shutdown certain plant processes in the event a pre-set alarm is triggered during monitoring, but the system is not able to send the alarm notifications to District staff or operators when offsite. In general, the existing older generation SCADA system currently in use does not provide the advanced level of automation, remote control, alarm alerts, sufficient network speed, trend analysis, and dependability needed by the District in a more stringent regulatory environment.
Based on the requirement of ARPA program, on February 8, 2022, the District and Napa County executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining the terms of the transfer of ARPA funding for the SCADA project.
On February 24, 2023, staff publicly advertised an RFP detailing the scope of work, submittal instructions and deadline for the Water and Wastewater Facility SCADA System Upgrades Project. Staff led interested parties on a mandatory tour of the District’s onsite office in Pope Valley - where the bulk of the SCADA system is housed - and two of the eligible attendees submitted a proposal by the deadline. Both RFP submittals were evaluated and scored by the District Engineer and two Assistant Engineers based on each firms project experience, demonstrated understanding of LBRID’s SCADA requirements, Project Team credentials, fee proposal, and SCADA competence to oversee a successful project. Final deliberations by staff arrived at a decision to recommend that the Governing Board approve and enter into an agreement with Telstar Instruments for $284,449.
An Agreement was prepared by District personnel and approved as to form by legal counsel for Board signature to initiate the Water and Wastewater Facility SCADA System Upgrades Project.