Situation

The City of Pea Ridge, AR, settled on the crest of the Ozark Mountains, has a population of around 7,000. The water distribution system is comprised of 20 remote sites that require telemetry to monitor and control the operational assets that distribute the water. Existing cellular service, hardware, and associated PLTE. VPN tunnels became end-of-life and the city had to respond with an alternative solution within 30 days or the sites would not be able to communicate with each other creating operational chaos and disruption in water distribution to the residents.  Not only was the existing cellular service in danger of being disrupted, but it was also discovered that there were multiple opportunities to harden the cybersecurity of the existing SCADA system.

Specifics of the problem to be solved

The City of Pea Ridge worked with their integrator, Instrument and Supply, along with ISI partner, LEC, Inc, to implement an easy to deploy and scalable replacement while meeting budget goals.  The solution was comprised of off the shelf and pre-configured cellular hardware, LEC’s in house managed Private Cellular Network, and retooled VPN tunnels of which all follow CISA and NSA guidelines for water and wastewater cybersecurity.

Specifics of the benefit

The new solution was deployed in 50% less time than traditional systems, eliminated the need for expensive annual service subscriptions, and removed vulnerable SCADA server architecture from the open internet. This refreshed technology not only reduces the chance cybersecurity threats, but it also enables secure remote diagnostic capabilities along with maximum cellular uptime nearly eliminating service disruptions to the end users.

Broader Perspective

LEC and ISI provide carrier agnostic telemetry solutions to securely move water and wastewater within small and medium sized municipalities. Packaged solutions include turnkey cellular data services, web-based monitor and control packages, and affordable off the shelf hardware.

Thanks to Ken Hayes, Water Wastewater Superintendent for Collaboration on this and a very successful project.