The Economic Development Commission has 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 comprised 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.
RAPIDS aims to protect critical infrastructure, particularly the Colorado River, through transforming water management by establishing a secure system to measure, manage, and protect water systems. The initiative will work to develop a secure, Minimum Viable Measurement standard and networking real-time data to improve secure coordination, accessibility, and efficiency across agencies, users, and the Colorado River Basin.
Water scarcity continues to be a threat to Colorado’s economy, and governance is currently fragmented with data being disconnected, insecure, and inconsistent. Systems face growing vulnerability to cyber-attacks, 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 enable RAPIDS to identify critical gaps and develop methodologies to combine and secure data from various sources, ultimately leading to a prototype that demonstrates 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.”
By combining secure infrastructure with transparent, usable data, RAPIDS intends to transform how Colorado, and ultimately the broader Colorado River Basin, can respond to water measurement, management, and cybersecurity challenges. Over time, RAPIDS intends to scale by addressing capability gaps, building a skilled workforce, and creating scalable models, ultimately leading to commercialization opportunities through patents, licensing, and broader applications across river systems.
“RAPIDS is a strategic investment in Mesa County’s economic future. By uniting regional partners and anchoring this work at Colorado Mesa University, we’re creating new pathways for high-wage jobs, driving commercialization opportunities, and strengthening our position as a national leader in secure water and cybersecurity innovation,” stated Curtis Englehart, Executive Director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership
In 2024, the RAPIDS consortium was awarded $212,400 in initial grant funding through the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT)’s Technology Development Hub Program which aims to catalyze regional technology development and increase Colorado’s competitiveness nationally and globally to increase business attraction, create new jobs, and enhance workforce development.
Through the phase I funding the RAPIDS consortium hired Alvarez and Marsal Consulting to conduct a feasibility study on the RAPIDS program. The completed feasibility study was presented to the Economic Development Commission in November, which unlocked the second phase of funding. The second phase of the funding, $412,558, will support the RAPIDS initiative in launching the pilot program at Colorado Mesa University over the next two years to support secure water measurement and workforce development. Improved water management systems resulting from this initiative are anticipated to produce economic benefits including cost savings, increased productivity, and resource efficiency across sectors.
RAPIDS combines strong technical expertise from industry leaders, government agencies, and Colorado Mesa University’s cybersecurity program to ensure the exploration, development, security, and scalable deployment of innovative and secure water management solutions.
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