$101K surveillance system OK’d for Apache Junction water district

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

Fifty cameras in a more than $101,000 video surveillance system are being purchased for the Apache Junction Water Utilities Community Facilities District’s water-treatment plant.

The water district board, comprised of city council members, voted unanimously Nov. 19 to approve a $101,743.80 construction agreement with Fire Security Electronics and Communications Inc. for the video surveillance system.

Motion sensors will trip automated alarms to warn of intruders at Superstition Area Water Plant, 4850 S. Ironwood Drive.

“We’re looking at adding some security to our surface-water (treatment) plant. This is for safety and security down there,” Water District Director Mike Loggins said at the meeting. “Not only for security purposes, but for terrorists and different things like that, but also for our operators to see when there is a chemical spill or something else happens at the location so they can see it visually before they physically show up on site there if something happened and it could be dangerous to them.”

Lights at the water treatment plant were installed with extra conduits so cable could be pulled later to install video cameras, Loggins said.

“We’re going to approximately install 50 video cameras along the fence lines as well as inside the buildings, around the chemical areas so if we do have somebody that jumps the fence we do get alarms due to the automation that’s part of the security system. Or if somebody gets in there, a chemical spills — it sees motion at a certain time of night and nobody is supposed to be there — it will alarm us too,” he said.

It includes 12 pole-mounted multisensors, one corner mounted multisensor, four indoor dome cameras and one video intercom, according to the agreement.

“A go-live date of March 1, 2025, shall be met by contractor, in which all work, equipment, software shall be fully functionable as the district so determines. Failure to meet this deadline shall be a material breach subjecting consultant to all remedies available to district under this agreement,” it states.

Water district

The Apache Junction Water District supplies groundwater pumped from the Eastern Salt River Sub-Basin Aquifer, which flows southwesterly under Apache Junction and its surrounding areas. The groundwater is treated for arsenic removal where necessary, disinfected with chlorine, pumped into storage tanks and blended with surface water from the Colorado River.

The surface water is transported through the Central Arizona Project canal system and filtered and purified at the Superstition Area Water Plant before being introduced into the distribution system.

The water district can also receive treated CAP water from the city of Mesa through an interconnect for a backup supply of water, if needed.

The water district, formed by the city of Apache Junction on Aug. 2, 1994, is responsible for providing water service for a portion of the city of Apache Junction, according to www.ajwaterdistrict.org. The remaining area is served by Arizona Water Co., www.azwater.com.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.