Agenda Item Wording:
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Wastewater Treatment Plant - Near-Term Project Engineering Services - Authorize the City Manager to award an emergency contract to Carollo of Fresno, CA in the amount of $887,200 for the engineering services related to the identified near-term project improvements required to support ongoing operations at the Water Reclamation Facility. Also, authorize the appropriation of $975,000 from the Wastewater Enterprise Fund (431).
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Deadline for Action: 12/18/2023
Submitting Department: Public Works
Contact Name and Phone Number: Nick Bartsch, Public Works Director, nick.bartsch@visalia.city <mailto:nick.bartsch@visalia.city>, 713-4052
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to award an emergency contract to Carollo of Fresno, CA in the amount of $887,200 for the engineering services related to the identified near-term project improvements required to support ongoing operations at the Water Reclamation Facility. Also, authorize the appropriation of $975,000 from the Wastewater Enterprise Fund (431) to fund this project.
Background Discussion:
In 2018, the City completed a $150 million upgrade to the City’s Water Reclamation Facility (WRF). This project made various improvements throughout the plant utilizing a tertiary treatment process, thus creating the ability to produce California Title 22 compliant recycled water using membrane bioreactor (MBR) treatment, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technologies. This upgrade was necessary as a result of the Central Valley Water Board’s adoption of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (NPDES No. CA0079189) under Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) Order R5-2014-0076, which increased regulation on processed wastewater discharge into Mill Creek in 2014. Therefore, these improvements to the facility allowed for treatment and disinfection for up to 22.0 million gallons of wastewater per day (mgd) and the rerouting of the plant’s effluent to alternative destinations and uses. The treatment processes remove greater than 99% of traditional pollutants and allows the permitted ability to provide disinfected tertiary effluent to not only the City’s basins, but also to Tulare Irrigation District canals, the Visalia Municipal Airport, Plaza Park, the golf course and nearby farmland.
However, the significant upgrades completed in 2018 made major changes to the treatment processes and increased Plant-wide efficiencies, focused on certain components and processes within the Plant, but did not increase the overall design capacity of the entire facility. Additionally, since the last major upgrade project in 2018, influent industrial flow loadings for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) have increased drastically over the past few years. This coupled with successful water conservation efforts throughout the City, while beneficial from a water usage standpoint, have changed and impacted the consistency of flows entering the plant. Higher loadings cause strains and upsets on the solids handling system including the thickening, digestion, and dewatering processes. These changes have affected the operations of the facility and its overall available capacity.
Due to their familiarity with the facility and expertise in wastewater treatment facility design and operations, Carollo was hired to perform a condition assessment, facility plan, and master plan update. To date, Carollo has completed the condition assessment and facility plan. Through this process, they recognized current available capacities, but identified critical near-term projects required for the facility to continue operating efficiently, while also meeting the current demands for growth throughout the city and the surrounding community.
Carollo has identified two key near-term projects needed to improve existing operations while maintaining the ability to accommodate ongoing increased demand. First, improvements to the sludge thickening and conveyance system will facilitate improved efficiencies of the Plant’s digesters. This will include the addition of a thickened sludge pump station. With the ability to thicken this material up to five percent total solids, the existing digesters will be able to process it more efficiently and restore some of the additional digestion capacity needed to accommodate increases in flows and loading. This will provide the necessary time for design and construction of dewatering upgrades and ultimately a new digester. Second, Carollo has identified the need to improve the dewatering processes at the Plant in order to process the additional volume of material being received. This will include the construction of a third screw press, additional sludge drying beds, and a new sludge holding reservoir. These improvements will allow for the processing and handling of the additional material produced from the increased flow and loadings.
Carollo is familiar with the WRF facility, understands the urgency and scope of these projects, and has the expertise and available resources to complete this work in a timely and expeditious manner. Their proposed rates and fees are in line with industry standards for this type of work. The design of these projects will be completed in phases, allowing the construction of these improvements to begin as soon as possible. The total estimated timeframe to complete these near-term projects is approximately 2 years.
Fiscal Impact:
Carollo has proposed completing the engineering design work at a fixed fee of $683,600. Additionally, they have proposed to perform engineering construction support on a time and material basis (as needed), estimated not to exceed $203,600. In total, the proposed fees equal $887,200. However, to account for any unforeseen needs and the potential for additional review, analysis, or design work not currently identified, Staff is recommending to appropriate $975,000 for the project. Adequate funding is currently available within the Wastewater Enterprise Fund 431.
Prior Council Action:
April 3, 2023 - Authorize the City Manager to award a contract to Carollo of Fresno, CA in the amount of $515,400 for the Condition Assessment, Facility Plan, and Master Plan Update at the City's Water Reclamation Facility.
Other: None
Alternatives: Competitively select a consultant to perform these services via a Request for Proposals (RFP) process through the City’s Purchasing Department. (Due to the critical nature and timing of this work, this is not recommended.)
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to award an emergency contract to Carollo of Fresno, CA in the amount of $887,200 for the engineering services related to the identified near-term project improvements required to support ongoing operations at the Water Reclamation Facility. Also, authorize the appropriation of $975,000 from the Wastewater Enterprise Fund (431) for this project.
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Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: WRF - Near-Term Solids Handling Improvements - Carollo - Engineering Proposal - 12-8-2023