South Tahoe Public Utility District is committed to safeguarding the pristine waters surrounding the Lake Tahoe Basin.
South Tahoe Public Utility District is the largest water provider and the sole sewage treatment facility for South Tahoe, servicing 14,000 residential water connections, 660 commercial and government sites, and 17,000 sewers. The District uses SCADA software, in conjunction with Wonderware InTouch® software, to automate its processes for moving water and sewage through South Lake Tahoe. While these tools were capable of automating processes throughout the district, South Tahoe realized it needed an access control solution at its remote sites. “We did not have SCADA out at remote facilities before — this was a new venture for us,” said Chris Skelly, IT manager for South Tahoe.
Securing Remote Sites
For South Tahoe, security, specifically safeguarding facility assets, is a top priority. Passwords were included within South Tahoe’s SCADA-protected pumps and generators, including those at the Luther Pass Pump Station site. This facility exports all of the treated wastewater out of the Lake Tahoe Basin to the Harvey Place Reservoir on the District’s Diamond Valley Ranch property. The pump station regulates up to four million gallons of wastewater daily, all of which is controlled by the SCADA application. South Tahoe is held responsible for any effluent that touches the ground or escapes the system. Accordingly, securing the application that is ultimately responsible for controlling the flow of waste is of the utmost importance.
Through SCADA, the District had implemented a policy requiring that all system passwords contain at least 15 characters. However, remembering complex passwords and expecting administrators to track multiple passwords across resources presented its own challenges. It soon became clear that South Tahoe needed to simplify its procedures, yet compromising on the security of its facilities was not an option. Rather than requiring its crew to remember a second 15-character password just for the remote sites, South Tahoe opted for a smart key system.