Grants Pass approves $1.6M SCADA overhaul to replace obsolete hardware and bolster cybersecurity

Grants Pass approves $1.6M SCADA overhaul to replace obsolete hardware and bolster cybersecurityThe City Council authorized an agreement with Control Systems NW to upgrade remote telemetry at 23 water sites, addressing 26-year-old equipment and rising international cyber threats ahead of a new water treatment plant commissioning.

The $1,646,317 contract with Control Systems NW will replace programmable logic controllers (PLCs), radios, and associated equipment across the city's remote water sites.

Public Works Director Jason Canady noted the current system is so obsolete that staff recently had to source repair parts from eBay.

The upgrades will establish a highly secure private network to mitigate cybersecurity risks, specifically citing recent threats to water infrastructure from Iranian hackers.

The phased project is timed to be completed prior to the commissioning of the city's Replacement Water Treatment Plant to avoid installing obsolete equipment in the new facility.

The Grants Pass City Council unanimously approved a $1,646,317 agreement with Control Systems NW on September 2, authorizing a comprehensive overhaul of the city's water system Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) network. The project will replace programmable logic controllers (PLCs), radios, power controls, and enclosures across 23 remote water sites. The upgrade addresses a critical vulnerability for the city, as the existing SCADA hardware is 26 years old and its components have been discontinued by the manufacturer for four years. Public Works Director Jason Canady highlighted the precarious state of the current system, noting that staff recently had to rely on the online auction site eBay to source replacement parts following an equipment failure. Beyond hardware obsolescence, cybersecurity was a primary driver for the project. The current radio network lacks the bandwidth and modern security protocols necessary to detect network intrusions. Canady noted that the city has been highly vigilant regarding international cyber threats, specifically mentioning that Iranian hackers have been targeting municipal water and wastewater facilities. In response to these threats, city staff had previously disconnected their systems from the internet, relying on manual reconnections only when necessary. The new Control Systems NW upgrade will establish a private Ethernet radio network with multiple layers of firewall and VPN protection, significantly improving both data transmission speeds and system security. "This is a huge improvement over where we were, and we're implementing that both at water and wastewater," Canady told the council. The SCADA improvements are being deliberately fast-tracked to coincide with the construction of the city's Replacement Water Treatment Plant, which is scheduled to come online in the spring of 2028. Completing the remote site upgrades now ensures that the city will not have to integrate obsolete legacy equipment into the new treatment facility. The $1.64 million contract is funded entirely through the city's Water Capital Fund. According to staff, the costs were already accounted for in recent water rate increases, meaning the project will not require additional ratepayer adjustments.