IMPLEMENTING FOR THE LARGEST PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WATER PROJECT IN THE U.S

BY ALAN E. FOSTER AND JOE MURK, KCI PROJECT MANAGERS

When the San Antonio Water System embarked on the largest public-private partnership (P3) water project in the U.S., the team turned to KCI Technologies, Inc., to implement an innovative CMMS solution of Cityworks and ArcGIS.

In order to secure water for their future, the San Antonio City Council voted in October 2014 to approve the Vista Ridge Pipeline—a pipeline designed to bring water to the city from aquifers six counties away. The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) embarked on a public-private partnership (P3) to fund and build the system, which is currently the nation’s largest P3 water project to date.

THE NEED

San Antonio identified the need for the Vista Ridge Pipeline as part of SAWS’ 50-year water management plan. Since the city expects to add one million residents by the year 2040, SAWS recognized the responsibility to protect their existing aquifer while increasing capacity and easing water restrictions. TheVista Ridge Pipeline, which can deliver up to 50,000 acre-feet of water per year, additionally helps the city prepare for drought and supports continued conservation efforts. Completed in 2020, the 149-mile water collection and transmission project went live on April 15. Simultaneously, Cityworks Online is handling all proactive and reactive work, as well as all inspections for the system.

Map illustration of the water system extention.

SAWS recognized the need for a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) early on and requested that implementation of the CMMS be handled prior to system go-live.

THE SOLUTION

Kansas City–based Garney Construction took on the majority stake in the project and built the pipeline. (Ownership of the project was conveyed to Ridgewood Infrastructure shortly after achieving commercial operations.) Pape-Dawson Engineers, part of the Garney team and responsible for design and survey services for the project, selected KCI Technologies, Inc., to provide asset register and CMMS services. KCI provided comparisons of the pros and cons of three GIS/CMMS configurations. After careful review and discussion, the team opted for a GIS-centric SaaS solution. This approach reduced the need for specialized GIS training and the need for local IT infrastructure and support. Since the initial operating contract for the pipeline is a 30- year agreement, the desire for third-party system hosting was an important driver.

While many engineering design-build projects do not typically look to GIS as part of the initial setup, KCI recognized that the long-term success of the CMMS relied on an accurate and functional inventory. Using GIS as the asset register improved locational accuracy and spatiotemporal functionality of the CMMS, enabling KCI to demonstrate the value of an Esri-based GIS as part of the overall solution. Getting GIS in “on the ground floor” represented a unique opportunity to design the asset register and CMMS in tandem with construction and design. The team was able to strategize the asset register and CMMS from an immediate best-practices point of view with negligible influence from preexisting workflows or database schema.

Pipeline construction.

The asset register was created from a clean slate using Esri information models as the basis for linear schema. The vertical schema was developed from scratch to meet the physical design of and operator workflows against the system. Using Esri’s ArcGIS Pro, the entire system inventory was captured prior to go-live, and data were published to a cloud-based enterprise GIS hosted by Esri’s architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) solutions in ArcGIS Online.

The project team selected ArcGIS Online and Cityworks Online as the enterprise platforms of choice for the asset register and CMMS. The combination met or exceeded all contractual requirements and resulted in increased functionality for the system. The GIS and the CMMS in the SaaS model, coupled with the offline field capabilities of Cityworks mobile native apps, meant that accessibility would not be a concern despite the remote locations of the project. Cityworks Online provided the necessary security and off-site hosting for the CMMS, and Cityworks personnel met with stakeholders to discuss and demonstrate security capabilities of the system.

Given the scope of the project and criticality of the new infrastructure to San Antonio’s water system, the contract required the operator to provide detailed and accurate reports on a regular basis. Using Cityworks and Crystal Reports, the team developed 11 reports that produce the required metrics with the click of a button. Reported information includes currentbacklog, upcoming preventive maintenance work orders, asset abandonments, asset downtime, completed work, costs, and water loss.

In order to ensure employee readiness prior to system go-live, on-site training was scheduled for the end of March 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic unfolding at the same time, trainers from KCI and attendees from the system operator moved training to a virtual-capable location, thanks to logistical and location support from Pape-Dawson Engineers. Onsite attendees practiced social-distancing and mask usage, while additional support resources attended virtually. This quick thinking and dedication ensured the Cityworks and ArcGIS CMMS solution was ready on time, with operators prepared and equipped for go-live.

Water tower construction.

THE RESULTS

Cityworks Online provided a straightforward and configurable interface while simultaneously addressing security, scalability, and portability. Since go-live, Cityworks has been adopted by the operators, who rely on it for their day-today responsibilities.

“Cityworks exceeds the requirements of the project, providing a complete answer to the operator’s CMMS needs,” said Chris Noe, Assistant Vice President of Pape-Dawson Engineers. “The state-of-the-art solutions delivered by KCI Technologies will help ensure the continued success and operation of this complex project well into the future.”

The Vista Ridge Pipeline is now supplying up to 44 million gallons of water daily to the residents of San Antonio. This innovative project is protecting the city’s aquifers and helping secure San Antonio’s water for the future. As this historic infrastructure moves into the next phase of its lifecycle, Cityworks will undoubtedly be a critical tool to ensuring effective operations and maintenance.