On Jan. 13, the Economic Development Commission announced that it awarded $412,558 to a Mesa County consortium to establish a pilot program supporting the development of methods to safeguard the Colorado River incubated at Colorado Mesa University’s Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center.
The Resilient & Adaptive Cyber Protection of Industrial Control Devices & Systems (RAPIDS) consortium is composed of representatives from Mesa County, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction Economic Partnership, City of Grand Junction, the Colorado River District and cybersecurity leader Kurtis Minder.
The goal of RAPIDS is to protect critical infrastructure, particularly the Colorado River, by transforming water management and establishing a secure system to measure, manage and protect water systems. The initiative will work to develop a secure, Minimum Viable Measurement standard and network real-time data to improve secure coordination, accessibility and efficiency across agencies, users and the Colorado River Basin.
Water is a key resource in Colorado's economy and governance of data can be disconnected, insecure and inconsistent at times. Systems face growing vulnerability to cyberattacks, with ransomware targeting water utilities up 140% year-over-year.
Through the pilot program at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), RAPIDS will begin developing its next phase of defining, engaging, and assessing minimum viable measurement standards for secure water measurement. These standards will allow RAPIDS to identify critical gaps and develop methodologies to combine and secure data from various sources, ultimately leading to a prototype that will demonstrate the viability of secure water technologies. The effort will also support the development of workforce curriculum tailored to the future of secure water systems.
“Colorado Mesa University’s Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center is proud to partner with the RAPIDS consortium as the central hub for this innovative pilot program,” said Shannon Wadas, executive director of the Water Center. “The Water Center’s mission is rooted in addressing water issues in the Upper Colorado River Basin, and this collaboration will accelerate solutions for secure water measurement and workforce development — critical components in working toward a more resilient water future.”