Title
Proposed Amendment No. 4
Contract No. 2102026/SCN-0000196
Aura Smart Water Technology Platform
O&M
Body
Agenda of: October 28, 2026
Item No.: 2026-402
Amount: Original Contract Price $1,217,500.00
Amendment No. 1 355,000.00
Amendment No. 2 465,763.00
Amendment No. 3 465,763.00
Proposed Amendment No. 4 931,526.00
Total Contract Amount $3,435,552.00
TO: The Honorable
Board of Directors
Great Lakes Water Authority
FROM: Suzanne R. Coffey, P.E.
Chief Executive Officer
Great Lakes Water Authority
DATE: September 28, 2026
RE: Proposed Amendment No. 4
Contract No. 2102026/SCN-0000196
Aura Smart Water Technology Platform
Vendor: Aquasight, LLC
Status: Amendment/Change Order
MOTION
Upon recommendation of Gary Mekjian, Community and Legislative Relations Officer, the Board of Directors (Board) of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), authorizes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to enter into Contract No. 2102026/SCN-0000196, Proposed Amendment No. 4 “Aura Smart Water Technology Platform”, with Aquasight, LLC, at an increased cost of $931,526.00 for a total cost not to exceed $3,435,552.00 and an increased duration of 730 days for a total duration of 2,556 days; and authorizes the CEO to take such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
BACKGROUND
The AURA tool is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based smart water platform with built-in visualization, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. It merges pressures, flows, water quality data, GIS files, hydraulic models, and smart meter data. It enables communities to have predictive and proactive water quality data available and to have daily updates on sampling results, historical and seasonal trends, and identify areas that may need attention. The tool also keeps track of a community’s flushing program with dead-end and stagnant main views and assists with lead service line management by allowing communities to build their inventory of lead service lines and keep track of which lines have already been replaced. The application integrates with Member Partner hydraulic models to view updates to their system when and where they may occur. In 2018, GLWA entered into our initial agreement with Aquasight for use of the AURA tool. The 2018 agreement provided for GLWA to pay the initial setup fee, and member communities could opt into the service at their own expense. A pilot project for live water quality monitoring was completed under this contract. Given the initial success, GLWA moved to a full-service model in 2020, allowing all member communities to utilize the tool as a benefit of membership. In addition to in-house usage by GLWA, there are currently 118 individuals from 39 communities (36 Tier-1, 3 Tier-2) who are registered with AURA, covering approximately 66% of the service area population.
JUSTIFICATION
In 2026, the Member Services team conducted extensive outreach to the GLWA water quality team and Member Partners to better understand how this contract is bringing value to the region’s operators. This included speaking with members at multiple work group meetings and issuing a survey to the 118 registered AURA users. The conclusion was that GLWA and some Member Partners find AURA to be a very valuable tool that has been integrated into their normal daily operations. A larger group of Member Partners engage with AURA on a more passive basis where they do not log into the tool but view the emails and alerts that it sends them. Key features for Member Partners include (1) faster delivery of results and spatial analysis for nearly 3,000 water quality samples collected annually by GLWA on behalf of 87 different communities, (2) email alerts providing early flags for potential water quality issues, (3) daily, bi-weekly, or quarterly automated reports that provide a convenient format for viewing sample results and assessing overall water quality status, (4) a helpful visual aid for identifying dead ends in piping networks that require flushing, and (5) spatial visualization of lead and copper sampling data and replacement programs. In addition to these features, 3 “super-user” Member Partner communities have opted to contract with Aquasight independently to build onto the base product provided through GLWA with advanced features of the AURA tool. The GLWA water quality team noted that AURA’s mapping features are regularly used internally, as this is the only format currently available to spatially map water quality, flow, and pressure data that is otherwise only stored in database spreadsheets.
In addition, Member Services conducted several meetings with GLWA’s IT, Water Quality, and GIS teams to assess the feasibility of providing these same services via other means. This cross-functional team concluded that with sufficient time, the majority of AURA’s beneficial features could be created in-house with existing technological tools and capabilities. Since discontinuing AURA abruptly at this time would lead to disruption among those who have come to rely on it, the prudent course of action is to extend this contract for two (2) years to continue to provide these valuable services, while GLWA teams evaluate working towards building internal capabilities to deliver the same services and/or evaluating other similar off-the-shelf software products at a reduced cost. GLWA staff anticipates that it will take up to two (2) years to develop these alternatives. By continuing to contract for this tool while working towards a more cost-effective option, GLWA is enabling best practices in water system management across the region.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT STATUS
Original Contract Time 1,095 days (1/6/2022 - 1/5/2025)
Amendment No. 1 0 days
Amendment No. 2 366 days (1/6/2025 - 1/5/2026)
Amendment No. 3 365 days (1/6/2026 - 1/5/2027)
Proposed Amendment No. 4 730 days (1/6/2027 - 1/5/2029)
New Contract Time 2,556 days (1/6/2022 - 1/5/2029)
PROJECT ESTIMATE
Original Contract Price $ 1,217,500.00
Amendment No. 1 355,000.00
Amendment No. 2 465,763.00
Amendment No. 3 465,763.00
Proposed Amendment No. 4 931,526.00
New Contract Total $ 3,435,552.00
FINANCIAL PLAN IMPACT
Funding Source: Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Budget
Cost Center: Member Services (886101)
Expense Type: Contractual Services (611200), All Water
Estimated Cost by Year:
Fiscal Year Amount
2022 Amended Budget (Prorated) $581,000.00
2023 Amended Budget 510,200.00
2024 Amended Budget 466,300.00
2025 Amended Budget 551,600.00
2026 Budget 423,900.00
2027 Budget 600,000.00
2028 Forecast 610,000.00
2029 Forecast (Prorated) $ 625,000.00
Total Financial Plan $4,368,000.00
Total Adjusted Contract Value $3,435,600.00
Variance (Positive / (Negative)) $ 932,400.00
COMMITTEE REVIEW
This matter is being presented directly to the GLWA Board of Directors.
SHARED SERVICES IMPACT
The award of this contract does not result in any Shared Services implications.