The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is soliciting information and expressions of interest from Public Water Suppliers (PWSs) and Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), including sewer systems used for collecting and conveying wastes to a site or works for treatment or disposal, to receive free technical assistance in developing and enhancing Geographic Information System (GIS) maps of their drinking water distribution or sewer collection systems. The assistance will be provided by a consultant that, subject to appropriation, will be under contract with MassDEP to perform the work. No funds will be provided directly to water utilities for these services. This effort aims to ensure that all public water suppliers and publicly owned treatment works have accurate maps of their respective systems to enhance asset management, improve system operations and resiliency, and plan for and respond to emergencies. Specifically, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping provides the tools to better organize assets and events, including the ability to perform data analysis that can assist with routine maintenance, level of service information, replacement costs, and risk analysis. MassDEP’s Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP) is committed to assisting water utilities with achieving this goal through a technical assistance program that provides a uniform approach to GIS data developed for the water sector. This RFI is a continuation of work completed under the WURP’s Enhancing Resilience and Emergency Preparedness of Water Utilities through Improved Mapping project, a critical infrastructure GIS mapping initiative. The purpose of this Request for Information and Expressions of Interest (RFI) is to identify and collect information from water utilities interested and ready to receive GIS mapping services, which can include scanning and digitizing information, developing data layers, and updating or enhancing the accuracy of existing datasets. Based on the responses to this RFI, a list of PWSs and POTWs interested and ready for the GIS mapping assistance will be created. MassDEP will work with a consultant to develop a list of water utilities that can readily provide the necessary system information and have staff time to review data and refine GIS products. Responding to this RFI is entirely voluntary and will not guarantee that a water utility will be selected to receive technical mapping assistance. This RFI is not a contract and is not an award of funding or technical assistance. MassDEP currently anticipates mapping assistance will begin in January 2025. A final list of PWSs and POTWs ready and interested in receiving GIS mapping services will be provided to the consulting firm engaged by MassDEP. MassDEP anticipates providing mapping assistance to up to 15 utilities however, time, funding, complexity, and size of systems may constrain or increase the number of systems that can be mapped. Interested water utilities not selected for mapping assistance in FY2025 will be considered for future mapping initiatives. All participating systems receive direct GIS mapping technical assistance, a hard copy paper map of their system, along with a thumb drive that contains the pdf image of their map, the GIS datalayers, and a GIS metadata description report that identifies the source(s) used for developing the GIS map, the features included in the dataset, and the QA/QC process. MassDEP will use the developed data to improve internal agency access to water sector infrastructure information, which aids in identifying system vulnerabilities to climate change adaptation planning and improving emergency preparedness and response capabilities. All detailed data developed for this critical infrastructure sector is protected by state and federal laws, including an exclusion from public disclosure pursuant to M.G.L. c. 4 §7, Clause 26(n), the Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002 (see 6 C.F.R. Part 29), Chemical Vulnerability Terrorism Information (see 6 C.F. R. 27.400 ff), and/or America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) (see S. 3021; Public Law 115- 270). However, data development also allows for the maintenance of the drinking water and sewer service area data, which delineate simple polygons within a community to illustrate areas that have public water or sewer service. The generalized service area boundary data is being maintained for all communities within the Commonwealth. The service area data published via MassGIS allows for the sharing of basic information about a water utility with the public, state agencies, and researchers without releasing detailed, critical infrastructure information.
