West Goshen’s $42,500 sewer control integration proposal

West Goshen Sewer Authority’s November 4 agenda listed a $42,500 assignment for Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, the engineering firm known as HRG, to integrate control and monitoring systems into its Phase IV pump station improvements project.

The proposal on agenda page 2 concerns SCADA, short for supervisory control and data acquisition. The agenda scheduled discussion and possible confirmation of the assignment. The records reviewed for this article do not establish a November 4 vote, an executed agreement or completed installation.

Earlier engineering records identify control compatibility and flow measurements as project concerns. They also show why a daily flow total and a peak flow reading answer different questions.

What the control system does

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s SCADA definition describes computerized systems that collect and process data and apply operational controls over distance. Monitoring and control are both part of the term.

Locally, HRG’s 2025 annual engineering report, submitted in March 2026, identified a pump control compatibility review and a discharge flow meter among the Phase IV improvements for Montgomery Avenue. Those are planning items in the earlier report, not evidence that the equipment is now installed.

The October 7 meeting minutes, page 3, describe design work for the Washington Street, Ellis Lane and Montgomery pump stations. They say HRG was progressing toward a 90 percent design submission. A separate construction administration assignment was discussed without action at that meeting.

The November monitoring proposal therefore sits within a larger design and construction effort. Its short agenda description does not identify controller models, software licenses, communications links or the detailed tasks included in the $42,500 fee.

Why the measurements matter

On PDF page 20 of the annual report, HRG explains that station flow figures were based mainly on daily pump operating time and an assumed pumping rate. That method did not account for simultaneous operation of multiple pumps, which the report says could make some projections artificially high.

Some stations had discharge meters. But the report says the daily readings described there did not establish the highest flows occurring during the day.

For residents following the project, that makes the measurement interval a useful question: will the proposed integration record only totals, or preserve readings detailed enough to show changes during the day? The agenda does not specify the answer. It also does not establish that this assignment alone will resolve the measurement limits described in the older report.

Keep the three costs separate

The November 4 agenda lists three distinct items:

• $42,500 for HRG’s control and SCADA integration assignment for Phase IV.
• $200,900 for a proposed 600 kW generator and automatic transfer switch from Curtis Power Solutions.
• $6,420 in a proposed payment to Garden Spot Electric for power supply monitoring at Fern Hill Pump Station.

These entries describe different services and equipment. They should not be treated as an itemized breakdown of the SCADA fee or a complete project budget.

What to look for next

The useful follow up records are the approved assignment, its scope of services, the equipment and software schedule, and any acceptance testing requirements. Those would clarify what data operators receive, which controls are integrated and how successful operation will be checked.

Residents can follow posted agendas and minutes through the township’s Agenda Center. For a separate local example with documented cellular equipment and service charges, see our Willistown sewer monitoring report. Those product choices should not be assumed to apply in West Goshen. More reporting is available in our Chester County coverage.

Image credit: Illustrative stock photograph by Shameer Vayalakkad Hydrose on Pexels, used under the Pexels License. It shows an industrial electrical control room, not West Goshen equipment or the proposed installation.