DEPARTMENT
Water Enterprise
AGENDA NO.
5i
MEETING DATE
September 26, 2023
AGENDA ITEM
Public Utilities Commission
City and County of San Francisco
Calendar: Consent Calendar
Contract Manager: Steve Ritchie
Approve and Adopt Sole Source Designation for Chemical Metering Pumps in Contracts for Public Utilities Commission Water Supply and Treatment Division Procurements
Summary of
Proposed
Commission
Action:
Approve and adopt the finding that Milton Roy Centrac B pumps are sole source products that are necessary to match existing products used in S an Francisco Public Utilities Commission facilities; and authorize the General Manager to designate Milton Roy Centrac B pumps in contract specifications as sole source products for a period of eight years in Water Supply and Treatment Division contract specifications for public work procurements in conformance with San Francisco Administrative Code Section 6.73(e)(1) and Public Contract Code Section 3400(c)(2) and (3).
Background: Chemical metering pumps are one of the most critical assets at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission ( SFPUC) water treatment facilities.
These positive displacement pumps are used to dose chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite, aqua ammonia, hydrofluosilicic acid (fluoride), sodium hydroxide, etc., into our water treatment processes. Chemical dosing accuracy and reliability is critical for water treatment operators to consistently meet water quality targets and regulatory limits and ensure that the SFPUC delivers safe and reliable drinking water to the SFPUC’s 2.7 million customers at all times.
Milton Roy chemical metering pumps have had a proven track record at Water Supply and Treatment Division ’s water treatment facilities over the past 32 years with operational reliability, accuracy, and relatively low maintenance compared to other positive displacement pum ps. Maintenance and purchasing records for the past five years indicate that non- Milton Roy positive displacement pumps used as chemical metering pumps had about three times higher maintenance costs than Milton Roy metering pumps and additional problems with performance reliability.
Water Supply and Treatment Division stocks spare parts for all critical water treatment equipment including the chemical metering pumps. Standardizing the chemical metering pumps helps to reduce the number of spare parts Water Supply and Treatment Division
needs to maintain at the various treatment
facilities. SFPUC operators, electricians, and electronic maintenance technicians operate and maintain chemical metering pumps . Standardizing the chemical metering pumps to Milton Ro y will also allow all operations and maintenance staff to improve their working knowledge of a single Agreement: Approve and Adopt General Manager’s “Without Equal” Designation for Chemical Metering Pumps in Contracts for Public Utilities Commission Water Supply and Treatment Division Procurements test Commission Meeting Date: September 26, 2023
manufacturer’s equipment, which will improve uptime, safety, and the ability to efficiently maintain the equipment with relatively minimal downtime.
California Public Contract Code Section 3400(c)(2) and (3), incorporated into San Francisco Administrative Code Section 6.73(e)(1), provides that an awarding authority, or its designee, may designate a particular product for a public works contract procurement by making a finding that the product is necessary to match other products in use on a particular public improvement either completed or in the course of completion.
Milton Roy pumps have long been installed in SFPUC facilities and have a proven track record of operational reliability. For all of the reasons described above, the Water Supply and Treatment Division seeks to standardize the metering pumps for future projects at Water Supply and Treatment Division facilities with Milton Roy Centrac B.
Summary of
Specified
Equipment:
Milton Roy Centrac B pump
Evaluation and
Selection Criteria:
Evaluation and selection criteria for Milton Roy Centrac B pumps can be found in the Sole Source Recommendation Memorandum and attachments.
Environmental
Review:
Approval of these pumps as sole source products does not constitute a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378 because it does not involve commitment to any specific project that may result in a physical change in the environment. SFPUC will not authorize installation of these pumps on any individual project(s) until the proposed work is reviewed and any approp
riate environmental review under the CEQA, if
required, has been completed.
Recommendation: SFPUC staff recommends that the Commission approve and adopt the General Manager’s finding that Milton Roy Centrac B pumps are sole source products in order to standardize critical chemical metering pumps across Water Supply and Treatment Division facilities; and
authorize the General Manager to
designate Milton Roy Centrac B pumps in future contract specifications as sole source products in contract specifications for public works project procurements for eight years.
Attachment: 1. Sole Source Recommendation for Milton Roy Centrac B pumps
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
RESOLUTION NO.
WHEREAS, The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) water treatment facilities rely on chemical metering pumps to dose chemicals precisely and dependably into our water treatment processes ; chemical metering pumps are one of the most critical pieces of equipment at water treatment facilities; and
WHEREAS, To ensure that the water treatment facilities are able to dose chemicals precisely and dependably into our water treatment processes for consistent plant operation to provide reliable drinking water to the SFPUC’s 2.7 million customers; and WHEREAS, Over the past 32 years , SFPUC experience with Milton Roy pumps ha s demonstrated a proven track record of operational reliability, accuracy, and relatively low maintenance; and
WHEREAS, Maintenance and purchasing records for the past five years indicate that non- Milton Roy pumps used for water treatment have three times the maintenance costs compared to the Milton Roy pumps currently in the system; and
WHEREAS, To standardize chemical metering pumps for future projects at Water Supply and Treatment facilities with Milton Roy Centrac B pumps to either replace existing chemical feed systems or be part of a new treatment process to ensure plant operators maintain consistency with the operation and maintenance of a single type of chemical metering pump; and WHEREAS, To match that of the existing chemical metering pumps at the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant and Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant, and to enable plant operators to focus their knowledge and training on a single manufacturer’s equipment, which will improve uptime, safety, and the ability to efficiently maintain the equipment with relatively minimal downtime; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC will re -evaluate the sole source designation in eight years to determine if any other products have achieved the same level of accuracy and reliability; and WHEREAS, California Public Contract Code Section 3400, incorporated through Administrative Co de Section 6.73(e)(1), allows the awarding authority, or its designee, to designate in public works project specifications particular products by specific brand name in order to obtain necessary items that match existing products already in use at SFPUC facilities; and WHEREAS, Approval of these pumps as sole source products does not constitute a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15378 because it does not involve commitment to any specific project that may result in a physical change in the environment and SFPUC will not authorize installation of these pumps on any individual project(s) until the proposed work is reviewed and any appropriate environmental review under the CEQA, if required, has been completed; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Commission hereby finds that the Milton Roy Centrac B pump are necessary products only available fr om one source and are needed to match existing products in use and authorizes the General Manager to designate Milton Roy Centrac B pump products by name in future public work contract procurement specifications in order to match existing products already used in SFPUC facilities for eight years in accordance with the requirements set forth in San Francisco Administrative Code Section 6.73(e)(1) and California Public Contract Code Section 3400( c)(2) and (3).
I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Public Utilities Commission at its meeting of September 26, 2023.
Secretary, Public Utilities Commission
OUR MISSION: To provide our customers with high-quality, efficient and reliable water, power and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.
525 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
T 415.554.3155
F 415.554.3161
TTY 415.554.3488
DATE: September 1, 2023
TO: Commissioner Newsha K. Ajami, President
Commissioner Sophie Maxwell, Vice President
Commissioner Tim Paulson
Commissioner Anthony Rivera
Commissioner Kate H. Stacy
FROM: Dennis J. Herrera
General Manager
SUBJECT: Sole Source Recommendation for Milton Roy Chemical Metering Pumps
Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to request designation of Milton Roy diaphragm chemical metering pumps as “without equal” in accordance with San Francisco Administrative Code section 6.73 and Public Contracting Code section 3400 for all Water Supply and Treatment Division (WSTD) procurements for a period of eight years.
Background
Chemical metering pumps are one of the most critical assets at the SFPUC’s water treatment facilities. These positive displacement pumps are used to dose chemicals into our water treatment processes. Chemical dosing pumps are essential for water treatment operators to accurately and reliability meet water quality targets and regulatory limits and ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is delivered to the SFPUC’s 2.7 million customers at all times.
Milton Roy chemical metering pumps have had a proven track record at WSTD’s water treatment facilities over the past 32 years with operational reliability, accuracy, and relatively low maintenance compared to the other types of positive displacement pumps. Maintenance and purchasing records for the past five years indicate that non-Milton Roy positive displacement pumps used as chemical metering pumps had about three times the maintenance Sole Source Recommendation for Milton Roy Chemical Metering Pumps September 1, 2023
costs compared to the Milton Roy metering pumps, in addition to issues with performance reliability.
Staff recommends an eight-year period for the sole source designation due to the upcoming procurements to replace existing non-Milton Roy pumps and install Milton Roy at new facilities that will not be fully installed and in operation for 5 years with a two-year warranty period, thus leaving one year of use under WSTD operations to evaluate the validity of the “without equal” designation. At the end of the eight-year period, WSTD will re-evaluate this justification to confirm if other manufacturers have achieved the same level of accuracy and reliability.
Milton Roy pumps have had a long-standing reputation with SFPUC with a proven track record of operational reliability. For these reasons, WSTD sseks to standardize the metering pumps for future projects at WSTD facilities with Milton Roy Centrac B.
Recommendation
SFPUC staff has determined that use of Milton Roy Centrac B pumps is necessary for chemical dosing at water treatment plants based on 32 years of experience demonstrating operational reliability, accuracy, and relatively low maintenance with Milton Roy pumps. The General Manager recommends that the Commission authorize the General Manager to designate Milton Roy Centrac B pumps as a sole-source product “without equal” in upcoming procurements over an eight-year period for the benefits of matching existing and standardizing chemical metering pumps across the water treatment facilities.