REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

FOR

SCADA Systems Planning

(RFI) CAS File No. 5110

Issue Date:
March 15, 2020

Conformed RFI – April 20, 2020

Contract Analyst: Alicia Fraumeni

afraumeni@valleywater.org
Direct: 408-630-2843
 INTRODUCTION and BACKGROUND
About Valley Water
The Mission of the Santa Clara Valley Water District (“Valley Water”) is to provide Silicon Valley safe, clean
water for a healthy life, environment, and economy.
Valley Water is a public agency providing water supply, flood protection, and stream stewardship for Santa
Clara County. Valley Water manages an integrated water resources system that includes the supply of
clean safe water, flood protection and stewardship of streams on behalf of Santa Clara County’s 1.8 million
residents. Valley Water effectively manages ten dams and surface water reservoirs, three drinking water
treatment plants, one advanced water purification center, a state-of-the-art water quality laboratory,
nearly 400 acres of groundwater recharge ponds and more than 275 miles of streams. For information
about Valley Water, visit www.valleywater.org.
About this RFI
Valley Water is currently looking at strategies for improving its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) systems used in the conveyance, treatment, and distribution of water. To assist in this effort,
Valley Water is seeking information from experienced Consultants (“Consultants”; “Respondents”) that
have completed or are in the process of completing SCADA systems master plans and/or implementation
plans for medium to large sized clients in the water & wastewater industries.

The primary objective of this RFI process is for Valley Water to gather benchmark information on SCADA
systems master planning and project development best practices to use in its development of future
SCADA implementation projects. This RFI process is neither a part of nor a method for a competitive
solicitation for any future SCADA projects. Valley Water will consider the information generated by this
RFI in conjunction with other data available to Valley Water to assist in its outreach efforts with
stakeholders and to develop requirements and specifications for inclusion in future Valley Water project
procurement documents. Respondents to this RFI are encouraged to respond to future project RFPs.
However, a response to this RFI is not mandatory in order to participate in any later solicitation
processes.

The Expertise Code assigned to this RFI is:

EL11 - Control Systems & SCADA Engineering Services

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 SCHEDULE and SUBMITTAL PROCESS
Communication Protocol
All questions and/or requests for clarification concerning the RFI Documents must be submitted via email
and directed to the Contract Analyst listed below:

Designated Contact: Alicia Fraumeni

Email: afraumeni@valleywater.org
Phone: 408-630-2843
Questions and/or objections must be as specific as possible, identify the name of the RFI and the RFI
section number.

RFI Schedule
The RFI procurement schedule is listed in Table 1 below. All dates set forth in this RFI are subject to change
at Valley Water’s sole discretion and will be provided as an addendum and posted on CAS. All references
in this RFI to “time” are Pacific Time.

Table 1
ACTIVITY
Submittals for RFI Questions and
Clarification
Valley Water Response to
Respondent(s) RFI Questions
and Clarification & Issue
Addenda
RFI Responses Due Date
Meetings (tentative)
DESCRIPTION/LOCATION DATE OR PERIOD
afraumeni@valleywater.org No later than 3 p.m.
on March 31, 2020
No later than 5 p.m.
on April 7, 2020
Electronic: Refer to Section 2.5.1 Responses due on or
Written: Refer to Section 2.5.2 before 2 p.m. on
April 21, 2020
Refer to Section 2.5.4 May 5, 2020 &
Video Conference Call or May 6, 2020
Valley Water Office - TBD

Questions and Addenda to RFI Documents

Respondents must only rely on information contained in this RFI and any subsequent written addenda
issued by Valley Water through Valley Water’s RFI process. Respondents shall not rely on any other
written or oral statements of Valley Water or its officers, directors, employees, or agents regarding the
work.

Valley Water’s written response to questions or requests for clarification will be posted to CAS. Valley
Water reserves the right to make changes in the RFI documents as it may deem appropriate up to the
time set for the response due date. Any and all changes in the RFI documents will be made by issuance
of written addenda. Automatic notification of addenda is sent to Respondents registered under the
Expertise Code identified in Section 1.2 About this RFI.

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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 RFI Form and Response
Respondents shall complete and include Appendix A, General Information and Acknowledgement, unless
otherwise instructed, and submit with their response submittal in accordance with Section 3 RFI Response
Requirement.

RFI Response Submittal

RFI response due date is stated in Table 1. Valley Water requires electronic responses to be submitted by
Respondents to be considered responsive.
Respondents must submit the electronic (“Electronic Response”) response (Submittal) on or before the
due date stated in Table 1 to be considered responsive as directed in Section 2.5.1 Electronic Response.
No hard copy responses will be accepted. Responses received after the due date will be rejected as
nonresponsive.

Valley Water will not accept electronic responses submitted after the response due date and time.
Furthermore, Valley Water will not be responsible for slow or delayed electronic response submissions
regardless of whether it is caused by, but not limited to, the World Wide Web, Internet Service Provider,
third party system, or Valley Water firewall or infrastructure.
Electronic Response
Please refer to Attachment C CAS User Guide. Log onto Valley Water web portal: cas.valleywater.org. If
not done so already, create an account so you will receive updates and notifications electronically from
the CAS. Should you have any technical problems or questions regarding electronic response submittal,
please refer to Section 2.1 Communication Protocol and contact the designated contact for this RFI. The
Expertise Code assigned to this RFI is listed in Section 1.2 About this RFI.

Due to the COVID-19 health emergency, the submission of the Written Response (Submittal) is required
to be submitted electronically as stated below.

Responses must be received as identified below, by the due date and time as stated in Table 1 to be
considered responsive. Late and/or misdirected responses will not be considered.
Respondents must submit the following:
a. Response Submittal: The Electronic Response must include the entire response
requirements and any required attachments as directed in Section 3 RFI Response
Requirements.
• The Response Submittal must be submitted electronically to the Valley Water
web portal: cas.valleywater.org.
b. Additional requirements:
• All submittal files must be in PDF format and cannot exceed 20MB per file.
• There is no limit to the number of files that can be attached.
• CAS shall serve as the official record as to whether a submittal submitted in
response to this RFI was received by the submittal due date and time.”

Written Response
Due to the COVID-19 health emergency, the submission of the Response is required to be submitted as
directed in Section 2.5.1 Electronic Response. No hard copy responses will be accepted.

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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 Amended RFI Responses
A Respondent may submit an amended RFI response before the response due date. Such amended
responses must be complete replacements for a previously submitted response and must be clearly
identified as such on the Written Response package. Electronic responses submitted in CAS must be
revoked by Respondent in CAS. The Respondent will need to remove and re-submit the amended
response submittal in CAS.

Meetings with Valley Water Staff

In addition to seeking the information discussed in this RFI, Valley Water also intends to invite any
interested respondents who submit a complete response to meet with Valley Water staff. Likely
meeting location will be at the Valley Water headquarter office in San Jose. In advance of the meetings,
Valley Water intends to provide a more detailed set of questions and topics for discussion. In order to
maintain a transparent process, Valley Water will post on its website the questions and topics for
discussion. The agenda, format, content and location of the meeting will be provided in a future
mailing.

Valley Water’s currently planned schedule for meetings is as follows:

May 5, 2020

Time Window Time Window

1st meeting: 9 AM to 10 AM 2nd meeting: 10: 30 AM to 11:30 AM
3rd meeting: 1 PM to 2 PM 4th meeting: 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
5th meeting: 4 PM to 5 PM

May 6, 2020

Time Window Time Window

6th meeting: 9 AM to 10 AM 7th meeting: 10: 30 AM to 11:30 AM
8th meeting: 1 PM to 2 PM 9th meeting: 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
10th meeting: 4 PM to 5 PM

If interested in scheduling a meeting, please submit your completed Appendix A, General Information
and Acknowledgement with your response as specified with Section 2.2 RFI Schedule. Respondents
must indicate (by time period number shown in the list above), your top three preferred meeting times.
Time slots will be issued on a first-come first-serve basis to qualified SCADA Consultant firms for
therefore, an early response to this RFI is advised.

Rules of Engagement
This RFI is not and shall not be construed under any circumstances as a pre-requisite or prequalification
procedure or step for later participation in future procurements. A failure to respond to this RFI does
not prohibit participation in any procurements that Valley Water may issue.
Valley Water does not seek submittal of any trade secrets or other proprietary information over which a
responder may wish to exert rights of confidentiality, exclusive ownership, or other types of continuing
control. All information provided by responders may be published or otherwise made publicly available
by Valley Water in accordance with applicable laws, including the California Public Records Act.
Responders should not include proprietary or confidential information with the information contained in
any response to this RFI.

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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Valley Water recognizes that considerable effort will be required in preparing a response to this RFI.
This RFI does not commit Valley Water to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this
RFI. Valley Water will not reimburse Respondent for response preparation and associated costs incurred
by the Respondent as a result of this RFI. Please note this is a request for information only, and not a
request for services. Participation in this RFI process is voluntary.
Responder represents and warrants that it has the full right and authority to make offered submissions,
information and disclosures, and that such submissions, information and disclosures do not infringe
upon or violate the rights of any third party. By submitting a response to this RFI, a responder agrees to
hold Valley Water harmless with regard to any third-party claims asserting any rights over any
information submitted as part of a response to this RFI.
Valley Water reserves all rights with respect to this RFI including, but not limited to, the right at any time
to change or modify the content of the RFI, or the RFI process itself, if such changes satisfy the best
interests of Valley Water. The schedule set forth in this RFI is subject to change by Valley Water.
Valley Water makes no representation, warranties, or guarantees that the information contained within
this RFI and its attachments is accurate, complete, final, timely, or that it represents the terms,
conditions, requirements or specifications that may be included in the subsequent.
By responding to this RFI and presenting information to Valley Water in connection with this RFI, each
responder agrees that Valley Water may use any information, ideas, and materials the responder
provides in any manner Valley Water so desires, including but not limited to stakeholder discussions, the
development of technical specifications, and inclusion in any procurement documents.
Valley Water reserves the right to cancel this RFI at any time.
By submitting a response, responders shall be deemed to have accepted all terms and agreed to all
requirements of the RFI including any revisions/additions made thereto by Valley Water.

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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 RFI RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS
RFI Response Format
Valley Water expects concise, detailed, point-by-point responses to each of the items identified in Section
3.2 RFI Response Submittal Content – Technical Submittal. The nature and form of response are at the
discretion of the Respondent but shall include the information listed in this section. Responses should
clearly define how the respondent’s information included would meet Valley Water requirements.

Responses shall be typed, as concise as possible, and in English language only. Written Response copies
should be printed double-sided on paper with a minimum 30 percent (30%) post-consumer recycled
content. Narrative pages are to be 8½x11 (inches). 11x17 pages, if used, shall be used sparingly and only
where required to convey related information that cannot otherwise be accommodated on an 8½x11
page. All pages shall be sequentially numbered. The Respondent may use cross-references in its response
to save space and to avoid redundancy.

RFI Response Submittal Content – Technical Submittal

RFI responses shall include the information detailed in this section. Respondents must provide
information in the response in the same order as shown below. The electronic copy of the response shall
be separated into the sub-headings referenced below.

Table of Contents and Cover Letter

In this section (maximum 3 pages), include the following:
a. Table of Contents: Provide a table of contents as the first page of the RFI response which
itemizes the Respondent’s submission.
b. Cover Letter: Provide a cover letter signed by an authorized representative of the
Respondent giving an overview of the Respondent’s general expertise, experience and the
example projects included as part of this RFI. Include specific and direct contact information
in the event questions arise regarding the RFI response.
Description of Information Requested
In this section (maximum 30 pages), include the following:

a. Company Background and Overview

1. Respondent should provide an overview of the company with the following:
a) Year established and company history
b) Type of control systems and SCADA engineering services provided
c) Years of experience working on control systems and SCADA projects
d) How the company is organized to provide services for control systems and
SCADA planning and implementation projects
e) Names, qualifications, certifications, and experience of key personnel who
have led and completed control systems and SCADA planning and
implementation projects

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 b. SCADA System Planning Projects
1. Respondent should provide no more than five (5) example master plan and/or
implementation plan projects completed or in the process of completing within the
last 10 years for SCADA systems master plans and/or implementation plans for
medium to large sized clients in the water & wastewater industries.
2. For each project, provide the following:
a) Project description, including of the key facilities and systems (i.e. what type
of facilities was for, what types of technologies were used in the systems,
etc.)
b) Project objectives, planning horizon timeline, and cost
c) Project role (i.e. master plan consultant, program management consultant,
owner advisor, etc.)
d) Project organization structure including project owner, consultants and
stakeholders involved
e) Stakeholder engagement strategy
f) Project scope including the major analyses completed (i.e. condition
assessments/benchmarking/gap analysis, regulatory requirement reviews,
failure and risk assessments, cybersecurity audits, process and operations
improvement evaluations, etc.)
g) Project deliverables (i.e. master plans, project implementation plans,
hardware/software platform requirements, design and implementation
standards, new project 10%/conceptual designs, program management
plans, etc.)
h) Environmental assessment including the type of environmental document
prepared, if any
c. Appendices
1. Respondent should include any other relevant materials in the appendices

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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 APPENDIX A
GENERAL INFORMATION and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A. ENTER FULL AND CORRECT NAME OF RESPONDENT:

Date Submitted:
Firm Name:
Under the laws of
the State of:
DUNS No.:
(IF NONE, ENTER N/A)

B. ENTER BUSINESS ADDRESS

Street Address:
City, State, ZIP:
Phone #: Email:

C. RESPONDENT CONTACT INFORMATION

Name:
Title:
Mailing Address if different from Business Address:
Street Address:
City, State, ZIP:
Phone #: Email:

D. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Request for Information (RFI), required Appendix A, and Addenda, if any, are made a part of this
RFI. Addenda are posted online at http://cas.valleywater.org.
The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the following Addenda to the RFI documents:
CHECK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
☐ NO Addenda received
- or -
☐ Addenda received as follows (list all addenda acknowledged):
Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated
Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated
Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated
Addendum No. Dated Addendum No. Dated

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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E. Preferred Date/Time (up to three) for Meeting with Valley Water (indicate by number listed in the
table below) in accordance with 2.5.4 Meetings with Valley Water Staff:

1st Choice: _______________________________________________________________

2nd Choice: ______________________________________________________________

3rd Choice: _______________________________________________________________

May 5, 2020

Time Window Time Window

1st meeting: 9 AM to 10 AM 2nd meeting: 10: 30 AM to 11:30 AM
3rd meeting: 1 PM to 2 PM 4th meeting: 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
5th meeting: 4 PM to 5 PM

May 6, 2020

Time Window Time Window

6th meeting: 9 AM to 10 AM 7th meeting: 10: 30 AM to 11:30 AM
8th meeting: 1 PM to 2 PM 9th meeting: 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
10th meeting: 4 PM to 5 PM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (continued)

Failure to acknowledge receipt of an Addendum on this Appendix A General Information and

Acknowledgement is not cause for withdrawal or rejection of RFI response if it can be established that the
Respondent did, in fact, receive such Addendum prior to response due date.

All responses must be signed by an authorized representative of the Respondent with the authority to
bind the Respondent.

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE:

The undersigned certify that I/we submit this RFI response and sign this Appendix A General Information
and Acknowledgement with full and proper authorization to do so and have read, understood, and will
comply with all the terms and conditions set forth in the RFI documents.

Signature:
Name (print):
Title:
Date:

Santa Clara Valley Water District

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