Lake County Gazette

The Wauconda Village Board met on Jan. 17 and approved a proposed agreement with Concentric Integration for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) services for a five-year term.

“We've worked with four other vendors in the past,” said Director of Public Works Jacob Mann. “Again, Concentric provided the most reliable, dependable options that we’ve had. One of the other vendors that we use moved to Wisconsin. They're local and based out of Crystal Lake. A lot of, some of the staff that works for their company is local here. So even if we were to go out for an RFP, they'd be my basis for comparison in terms of anybody else."

Mann made a presentation to the board explaining how the village’s utility infrastructure is monitored by remote technology that triggers reactive measures where software sends real-time data to the system employees. Employees are able to get in remotely through their phone or laptop.

The critical utility infrastructure is controlled by programable logic controllers, or PLCs, through software. An example is when water levels drop at a water tower, a pressure reducing valve, or PRV, opens and starts to refill the tower. Another example is when water levels hit a certain point at a list station it triggers a pump to turn on and off.

The public works department has been working with Concentric Integration for several years after partnering with the firm when the department's lift station failed without a backup. 

“They’ve proven to be reliable and dependable,” said Mann.

Concentric has been able to fix problems in as little as an hour after reported. The village contracted it in 2019 to assess infrastructure and advise a five-year capital improvement plan timeline for the village, as well. A schedule was made to replace all the PLCs in the next several years in the lift stations and water towers, as many are as much as five to 10 years beyond their life expectation. The improvement plan also allows for software upgrades and maintenance.