ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
4.	CONSIDER APPROVAL OF PURCHASE OF THREE CELLULAR MODEMS FOR THE DISTRICT’S CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (CIMIS) STATIONS
Meeting Date:		May 13, 2019	Budgeted:	Partially
From:		David J. Stoldt,	Program/	CIMIS Stations
		General Manager	Line Item No.:	4-2-2-I
Prepared By:		Kyle Smith and Stephanie Locke	Cost Estimate:	$2,450
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on May 13, 2019 and recommended ________________.
CEQA Compliance: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378.

SUMMARY: Staff is requesting authorization to purchase three cellular modems for the District’s California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) stations. The CIMIS stations collect and upload weather data and evapotranspiration (ET) rates to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) CIMIS database. This information is used by local landscapers and Weather Based Irrigation Controllers to adjust the irrigation schedule for the reported weather conditions. Currently, the District’s three CIMIS stations send data to DWR using the Sierra Wireless Raven XT modem. These modems will be obsolete by the end of 2019 because the network that they operate on will be going dark. The total cost for three replacement modems and supplemental parts is $2,450 (Exhibit 4-A).

Local weather and ET data is an important component to maximizing irrigation efficiency. Vendors of Weather Based Irrigation Controllers use the CIMIS data to program their controllers. These controllers can be updated with live daily weather and ET data. Weather Based Irrigation Controllers are in wide use throughout the Monterey Peninsula; accurate weather and ET data is essential to their optimum operation.

RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Administrative Committee recommend approval of an expenditure to replace three CIMIS controllers for a not-to-exceed amount of $2,450.

BACKGROUND: CIMIS weather stations collect weather data on a minute-by-minute basis, calculate hourly and daily values and store them in the data loggers. Every hour the data collected is sent via wireless network to DWR headquarters in Sacramento. Once the data is transmitted, the central computer analyzes it for quality, calculates reference evapotranspiration and stores them in the CIMIS database. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a loss of water to the atmosphere by the combined processes of evaporation from soil and transpiration from plants.

Some of the users/uses of the CIMIS data include:

• Urban landscape planning and managing
• Hydrological modeling for water availability and groundwater recharge
• Homeowner associations for water conservation
• Local and state water planners and managers
• High schools and colleges for educational purposes
• Federal Agencies for resource management and studies
• Users from other countries for planning and development of similar networks
• Automated Severe Weather Warning Systems
• Air quality monitoring assistance

Additional information can be found on the DWR CIMIS website at www.cimis.water.ca.gov.

DWR recently approved a policy on the use of cellular communication, and the proposed equipment is compliant with the new policy. DWR has been working on increasing communication security after a breach in their system last fall. 

IMPACT TO STAFF/RESOURCES: None. The current budget has $2,000 for CIMIS stations. The remaining funds ($450) are available in the Conservation Programs budget in 4-2-2-A, Best Management Practices.

EXHIBIT

4-A Quote from Western Weather Group

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