City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 22-0316
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 04/20/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Purchase Order amendment with Univar USA, Inc. for the additional purchase of Sodium Bisulfite 25%.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Sodium Bisulfite is primarily used to remove excess chlorine in the wastewater treatment process.
Routine operations of the treatment process include the discharge of some of the treated waters from Water Reclamation Facility No. 1 into the Santa Ana River. Wastewater Operations has experienced an increase in its anticipated use of sodium bisulfite due to an increase of treated wastewater being discharged into the Santa Ana River as a result of a percolation pond ripping project. As such, the Utilities Department seeks approval of a budget appropriation and a change order for sodium bisulfite 25% to ensure continued compliance with the City’s National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination permit and other applicable laws and regulations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the:
a. City Council authorize an appropriation in the amount of $60,000 from the Water Reclamation Utility Fund 572 to the Utilities Department operating budget. b. City Council authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue Change Order No. 3 to increase Purchase Order B220141 with Univar USA, Inc. by $60,000 for a total purchase order amount of $109,500 for sodium bisulfite 25%.
c. City Council authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue Change Orders up to 10% of the revised amount for Purchase Order B220141, or $10,950, and to issue annual purchase orders in the amount of $109,500 per fiscal year for each of the four one-year renewal City of Corona Page 1 of 3 Printed on 4/13/2022
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File #: 22-0316
orders in the amount of $109,500 per fiscal year for each of the four one-year renewal periods.
d. Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Utilities Department’s (UD) Water Reclamation Division uses sodium bisulfite 25% in the multistep wastewater treatment process. These steps include preliminary, primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment. The final stage of the wastewater treatment process produces tertiary effluent, which is treated sewage that undergoes additional steps to further remove organic and inorganic substances that resist conventional treatment practices. Tertiary effluent from Water Reclamation Facility No. 1 (WRF1) is treated with sodium hypochlorite for disinfection prior to being sent to the City’s reclaimed water system. Some of the tertiary effluent is discharged into the Santa Ana River.
Prior to being discharged into the river, the UD is required to reduce the amount of residual chlorine in the water to ensure compliance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. Sodium bisulfite 25% is used to reduce the amount of residual chlorine in the water.
ANALYSIS:
WRF1 averages an effluent flow of nine million gallons per day (MGD). Of the 9 MGD of reclaimed water produced, at least 1.5 MGD is required to be discharged into the Santa Ana River per the WRF1 NPDES permit. The remaining 7.5 MGD is routed to the City’s distribution system and percolation ponds. The percolation ponds require periodic soil agitation and aeration or “ripping” to maintain optimal percolation. Staff have observed a decrease in percolation rates at the Lincoln and Cota Ponds and recommend immediate ripping. The water levels must be decreased to at least 2 feet in depth to properly agitate the soil with a front-end loader and specialized equipment. The preparation of pond ripping has begun and reclaimed water from WRF1 has been suspended to assist in the draining of the ponds. The WRF1 effluent that is routinely routed to the ponds is now being discharged into the Santa Ana River until the pond ripping project is complete.
To comply with the WRF1 NPDES permit, chlorine residual in treated wastewater must be decreased to a concentration under 0.1 mg/L prior to being discharged into the Santa Ana River. The increase in sodium bisulfite use is due to the temporary increase of treated wastewater being discharged into the Santa Ana River due to the percolation pond ripping project.
Potable water and wastewater treatment chemicals were formally bid under Notice Inviting Bids 21- 082CA by the Purchasing Division in June 2021 and Council approved purchase orders with 10 vendors that provided bids for various chemicals, including Univar USA, for sodium bisulfite 25% in the amount of $45,000. A change order was issued by the Purchasing Division as authorized by Corona Municipal Code Section 3.08.080(I) to increase Purchase Order B220141 by 10% or $4,500 to a revised amount of $49,500.
Staff is requesting an additional increase to the purchase order with Univar USA by $60,000, for a total amount of $109,500, to accommodate the need for sodium bisulfite due to the increase of treated wastewater being discharged into the Santa Ana River. This would require an appropriation in the amount of $60,000 from the Water Reclamation Utility Fund 572 to the Utilities Department City of Corona Page 2 of 3 Printed on 4/13/2022
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File #: 22-0316
in the amount of $60,000 from the Water Reclamation Utility Fund 572 to the Utilities Department operating budget. Additionally, staff requests the City Council’s authorization of the Purchasing Manager to issue Change Order No. 3 to Purchase Order B220141 to Univar USA, Inc. and issue subsequent annual purchase orders in the amount of $109,500 per fiscal year for each of the four one-year renewal periods previously approved by City Council, and potential change orders up to 10% or $10,950 for sodium bisulfite 25%.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will result in an appropriation of $60,000 from the Water Reclamation Utility Fund 572 to the Utilities Department operating budget.
Fund 07/01/21 Est.
Working Capital
Budgeted
Revenues/
Sources
Budgeted
Expenditures/
Uses
Working
Capital
Impacts
06/30/22 Est.
Working Capital
Water Reclamation
Utility Fund 572
$38,460,751 $32,893,509 ($44,518,123) Appropriation
($60,000)
$26,776,137
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action involves the purchase of required chemicals for wastewater treatment, and there is no possibility that the recommended actions will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: KRISTIAN ALFELOR, UTILITIES OPERATIONS MANAGER REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
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