DATE: June 16, 2025
TO: President and Members of the Estero Municipal Improvement District (EMID) Board of Directors
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, District Manager
Marlene Subhashini, Assistant District Manager
FROM: Andrew Brozyna, Public Works Director/ District Engineer Laura Galli, Engineering Manager
Francine Magno, Senior Engineer
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
SUBJECT: WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT MASTER PLAN
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT (CIP 455-652) - CLEAN WATER
PROGRAM - UPDATE FOR QUARTER 1 – JANUARY THROUGH
MARCH 2025
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board of Directors of the Estero Municipal Improvement District (EMID) by Minute Order, receive and accept this Q1 progress update on the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Master Plan Improvements Project (CIP 455-652) – Clean Water Program (CWP). No further action is required by the EMID Board of Directors.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report summarizes the progress-to-date of the WWTP Master Plan Improvements Project (CIP 455-652) - Clean Water Program (CWP) for the City of San Mateo/EMID WWTP for the months of January 2025 through March 2025. The report includes summary information about construction and other project activities over the first quarter of the calendar year.
BACKGROUND
The CWP is a comprehensive Capital Improvement Program to rehabilitate the sanitary sewer collection system in the City of San Mateo and the treatment systems at the San Mateo WWTP. EMID has 24.12% ownership of the WWTP. The City of San Mateo, as the lead agency, has responsibility for the performance of tasks required to develop, implement and complete construction of the CWP Improvements, including administration of design and construction, construction management, and program management contracts; management of the CWP budget; and maintenance and operation of the plant facilities. EMID reimburses the City of San Mateo for its share of the program and facility costs.
In October 2014, the City of San Mateo retained Jacobs to serve as the Program Manager responsible for overseeing the management of the approximately $1 billion-dollar combined program, including the coordination of the design, construction, and start-up activities of this multi-year program. EMID’s portion of the CWP consists of the WWTP Expansion Project, Immediate Action Projects (IAPs), and Annual Major Component (AMC) Projects. The WWTP expansion project replaces the existing liquids treatment process with a new facility. IAP Projects comprise critical major infrastructure projects, and the AMC Projects comprise rehabilitation and replacement projects that will both continue to remain in operation after the WWTP expansion project has been completed.
The EMID Board of Directors has requested that staff provide updates on a regular basis.
The WWTP Expansion Project is the CWP’s largest project and is being performed using a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method. The involvement of the contractor during the early stages of the design process, to provide constructability input and insight to inform the design development, ultimately benefits the overall project delivery.
The WWTP Expansion Project Manager and Construction Manager is Jacobs. The WWTP Expansion Project Design Engineer is HDR. The team for the disinfection improvements portion of the WWTP Expansion Project is Trussell Technologies. HDR is also providing Engineering Services During Construction (ESDC). The CMAR Contractor is Sundt Construction Inc. (Sundt).
ANALYSIS
WWTP Expansion Project
Construction Package 1 – Site Preparation (Original Construction Agreement with Sundt - $33,098,178) – Construction is complete and project closeout activities are continuing.
Construction Package 2 – Foundation Piles (Amendment No. 1 to the Construction Agreement with Sundt - $17,716,049) – Construction is complete and this phase has been closed out.
Construction Package 3 – WWTP above grade Facilities (Amendment No. 2 to the Construction Agreement with Sundt) – Construction is approximately 96% complete and in its final stages. Efforts by the Contractor to mitigate schedule impacts from multiple change events are ongoing.
Administration Building and Maintenance Warehouse
Construction of the Administration Building and Maintenance Warehouse is substantially complete, and both buildings are now furnished. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) commissioning activities for the Administration Building are in its final stages. The project team is working on final punch list items and is working with San Mateo’s Building and Fire Departments to obtain Temporary Occupancy for both buildings. As of May, San Mateo’s WWTP Operations staff are now occupying the building in preparation for process startup and operations of the new WWTP. General sitewide work, such as site lighting, irrigation, landscaping, signage, and parking lot work, is nearing completion.
Processing Facilities
Construction of the new treatment process facilities is nearly complete and is expected to be fully completed in Summer 2025. Ongoing work includes finalizing the process mechanical, plumbing and electrical work at multiple areas of the treatment structure.
Plant Commissioning
Clean water testing of portions of the treatment facilities that are ready for commissioning began in January 2025 and will be ongoing until the entire plant is ready for clean water testing. Clean water testing, process seeding, startup, and performance testing has shifted by two months and is now anticipated to occur in the June to August 2025 timeframe. The new liquid treatment processes are still anticipated to be in full service by August 2025.
Final Project Completion
The projected date of final completion has shifted slightly from the last quarter update, from April 2026 to May 2026 due to rework associated with the Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) air aeration piping failing its initial pressure test and delays associated with Tesco programming.
Estimated Cost to Complete WWTP Expansion Project
As of the end of March, the project’s estimate at completion (EAC) is approximately $597.5 million, which is approximately the same as reported during the last quarterly update.
Annual Major Components (AMC) Projects
AMC projects address repairs and replacements of aging components of the existing WWTP that will continue to remain in operation after the expansion project has been completed. As of the end of March, the AMC’s estimate at completion is approximately $21.8 million, which is approximately the same as reported during the last quarterly update. AMC project completion is anticipated to coincide with the end of the CWP.
Immediate Action Projects (IAPs)
IAP Projects comprise critical major infrastructure projects. Active IAP projects include IAP 2 and IAP 3. As of the end of March, IAP 2 has an estimate at completion of $18.7 million, and IAP 3 has an estimate at completion of $17.8 million. Both EACs are approximately the same as reported during the last quarterly update. (as of May, IAP 2 is now substantially complete and completion of IAP 3 is estimated in September 2025).
QUARTERLY CONSTRUCTION REPORT
Attachment 1 consists of selected portions of the Quarterly Progress Report for January through March 2025 published by the City of San Mateo Program Management Team on April 21, 2025. This report summarizes the budget, schedule, and project activities that have occurred during the first quarter of 2025 and activities that are anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2025 for the WWTP Expansion Project, IAP, and AMC projects.
Attachment 2 consists of a site plan showing the locations of the various process units being constructed as part of the projects.
Attachment 3 includes photographs of construction activities at the site over the past 3 months.
Attachment 4 includes a history of the Project financing.
More detailed information including additional photographs and architectural renderings of the completed WWTP Expansion Project as well as real time video of the active construction, are available on the Clean Water Program Project site:
https://cleanwaterprogramsanmateo.org/wwtp/.
CEQA
A Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the WWTP Master Plan Improvements Project (State Clearinghouse No. 2015032006).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving this update.
At the start of the project, a strategic funding and financing plan to deliver the CWP was executed by both Agencies and included raising sewer rates over several years (14.25% FY17/18 to FY22/23; 10% FY23/24; and 2% FY24/25), issuing bonds, and pursuing loans. The CWP successfully received three low-interest rate loans from State and/or Federal programs (Attachment 4). These loans were able to reduce the fiscal impact of the Cities’ investment in the wastewater infrastructure on EMID ratepayers. Although there were budget increases in the EACs for the WWTP Expansion Project and the AMCs reported during the last quarterly update, there is sufficient fund surplus to cover these increases without requiring additional rate increases beyond typical inflationary adjustments. The budget information in this update has been incorporated into EMID’s Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Capital Improvement Program Budget for approval this month.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Facilities and Infrastructure
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – Portions of Quarterly Progress Report – 1st Quarter Report, January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025
Attachment 2 – Wastewater Treatment Plant Site Plan
Attachment 3 – Construction Photographs
Attachment 4 – Project Financing