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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-07-2017 Item 04 Water Resource Recovery Facility Membrane Equipment Pre-selection Meeting Date: 3/7/2017 FROM: Carrie Mattingly, Utilities Director Prepared By: Dave Hix, Utilities Deputy Director - Wastewater SUBJECT: WATER RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITY MEMBRANE EQUIPMENT SYSTEM PRE-SELECTION. RECOMMENDATION 1. Authorize staff to advertise a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Membrane Bioreactor Equipment System for the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) Project, Specification No. 91539; and 2. Authorize the City Manager to award a contract to the supplier who presents the lowest responsible bid (based on net present value) Membrane Bioreactor Equipment System if such bid is within the engineer’s estimate of $10,000,000;1 and 3. Authorize the City Manager to approve funding for the design drawings for the Membrane Bioreactor Equipment System from the selected supplier in an amount not to exceed $250,000. DISCUSSION Background The reason that this RFP is before council is because purchases of this nature in excess of $100,000 require City Council authorization, per the City’s purchasing policies. This request also seeks approval to delegate authority to award the contract, if they are within budget to the City Manager. A contract that exceeds the budget would return to Council for award or other action. On January 3, 2017, Council received an update on the WRRF project which included predesign (30% design) information and changes from the original WRRF Facilities Plan that are now reflected in the predesign report and cost estimates. The most significant change from the Facilities Plan is the selection of a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) for the secondary treatment process. MBR will allow the WRRF’s disinfection process to be downsized, provides the ability to consistently meet or exceed regulatory requirements, and presents the City with the most flexibility for future potable reuse options. While the WRRF project has numerous processes, the most crucial and complicated component is the MBR system. It combines a biological nutrient removal system with a membrane system that produces exceptionally clean water. This water exceeds the quality anticipated by the Facilities Plan and, as mentioned above, will allow for more consistent compliance, positions the 1 As discussed in the staff report, the purchase contract for the MBR s ystem will be assigned to the contractor who is awarded the WRFF upgrade project. Payment of the system will be folded into that contract. Packet Pg. 19 4 City for future potable reuse options which would further diversify the City’s water supply portfolio and is consistent with the WRRF’s triple bottom line policies. The MBR system requires specialized process equipment to ensure the biological system and membranes operate efficiently and effectively together. Each membrane supplier has distinct and special equipment requirements for its system. Because each membrane system is unique, it is necessary the City’s project designer understands the selected system’s required specifications and configuration in order to properly incorporate it into the overall WRRF design. Request for Proposal Pre-selection of the equipment is a common practice for membrane equipment systems for two reasons: 1. Pre-selection stipulates that after the City awards a contract to a membrane equipment system supplier, the purchase contract will be assigned to the project construction contractor, when selected, for the purchase of the equipment at the contractual price. This will allow the City to understand the cost of the membrane equipment system prior to construction which is scheduled to begin in 2018. 2. It allows the designer to efficiently incorporate the MBR supplier’s technical information and specifications and design drawings early on to optimize the overall WRRF design. Selection of a supplier will be based on lowest net present value (NPV) which is consistent with the City’s obligation to purchase equipment based on the lowest responsible bid as defined in Section 3.24.210 of the City’s Municipal Code. NPV takes a holistic look at not just the cost of the equipment when it’s purchased, but its cost to operate and maintain during its lifespan. NPV takes into consideration long-term factors, such as energy, labor, chemicals, parts and equipment replacement. Since carbon footprint is largely related to energy, chemical use and equipment replacement requirements, NPV inherently favors systems with a lower carbon footprint. The RFP was developed by the City’s designer, CH2M Engineers, and reflects the exacting scope required to ensure the City will procure the best and most appropriate membrane for the WRRF. CH2M has extensive experience in the pre-selection and procurement process of membrane systems. After contract award, the supplier will submit design drawings to the City that will be used in construction documents for the WRRF project. Cost of these drawings is estimated at $250,000. CONCURRENCES The City’s contract legal counsel (Best, Best & Krieger) and the City Attorney have reviewed the documents for compliance with the City’s fiscal and purchasing policies and other State and Federal funding requirements. FISCAL IMPACT The cost for the selected supplier’s membrane equipment system is estimated to be $10,000,000. This cost will be assigned to the contractor who is awarded the WRRF project, which is anticipated for the first half of 2018. The membrane equipment system is part of the overall Packet Pg. 20 4 WRRF project cost estimate and is budgeted in the sewer fund. The costs of the design drawings are not to exceed $250,000. $125,000 of the funding is available in the Sewer Fund’s completed projects account and $125,000 is available in the 2015-16 unappropriated carry-over. This will leave $154,000 in completed projects and $175,000 in carry-over funding. This RFP conforms to all State of California requirements for funding through the State Revolving Fund. ALTERNATIVE The City Council may choose not to pre-select the membrane equipment system for the WRRF project. Should this be Council’s choice, the design engineer will have to make general assumptions for the design of the membrane equipment system and provide detailed standards and specifications in the construction bid documents. After the contractor receives information on the approved membrane equipment, additional design will be required for its installation. This alternative will take additional time and require additional funding for design and construction support services after the beginning of construction. Minimizing schedule delays is critical in reducing the potential for regulatory violations and fines. The project time schedule is already impacted by selection of the MBR as a secondary treatment process. Attachments: a - Council Reading File: RFP FOR MEMBRANE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT Packet Pg. 21 4 Page intentionally left blank. Packet Pg. 22 4