DATE: May 18, 2026
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 2026
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 through March 2026. 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).
The WWTP Expansion project construction was awarded in three separate construction packages. Packages 1 & 2 have been completed and Notices of Completion filed with the County as follows:
Construction Package 1 – Site Preparation (Original Construction Agreement with Sundt - $33,098,178) – Final Expenditures at Completion are $31,630,697.
The Notice of Completion was filed and recorded with San Mateo County on April 23, 2025.
Construction Package 2 – Foundation Piles (Amendment No. 1 to the Construction Agreement with Sundt - $17,716,049) –Final Expenditures at Completion are $17,206,534. The Notice of Completion was filed and recorded with San Mateo County on March 6, 2024.
ANALYSIS
WWTP Expansion Project
Construction Package 3 – WWTP above grade Facilities (Amendment No. 2 to the Construction Agreement with Sundt in the amount of $379,880,747 with approved 10% contingency of $38,986,910) – Construction is approximately 98% complete and in its final stages. The remaining project elements include calibration of the process controls and programming, correction of the force main tie-ins, continued coordination with the San Mateo Building Department and San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department for Final Occupancy for the Administration building, and landscaping and security improvements.
The liquids treatment operations side of the plant has fully transitioned from the original to the new WWTP improvements and is in full service. As such, the remaining scope of work has begun and consists of repurposing the existing (and now abandoned) aeration basins into a flow equalization basin to store excess water during wet weather events.
The projected date of final completion is now July 2026, which is one month later than the last quarter update, due primarily to unanticipated delays in SCADA programming for the liquid processes. Efforts by the Contractor to mitigate schedule impacts from multiple change events are ongoing.
Estimated Cost to Complete WWTP Expansion Project
As of the end of March 2026, the project’s estimate at completion (EAC) is approximately $603.4 million (including construction, design, program management, construction management, permitting, and miscellaneous costs), which matches the $603.4 million amount that was 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 2026, the AMC’s EAC is approximately $20.1 million, which is a $0.1 million increase from what was reported during the last quarterly report, with the increase due to some minor adjustments to the project management and engineering budgets. AMC project completion is anticipated to coincide with the end of the CWP in December 2026.
Immediate Action Projects (IAPs)
IAP Projects comprise critical major infrastructure projects.
IAP-2 was completed on October 16, 2025, however an additional design element (polymer injection ring) previously omitted from the scope is now determined necessary for the upgraded facility to function properly. Due to a dispute with the IAP-2 contractor, the project is being pursued as an independent project at a cost of $0.9 million. The polymer ring injection system will inject polymer into the pipes to serve as a lubricant to reduce the high pressures encountered following installation of the new cake pumps and appurtenances. That said, the City of San Mateo has since reached a settlement agreement with the contractor and all other scope items are complete. The final costs are $14.5 million, which is within the previously reported EAC.
IAP-3 consists of improvements to the effluent site waste pump stations and solids handling building. The project’s EAC is approximately $21.9 million, which is a $0.2 million increase from what was reported during the previous update due to minor adjustments in engineering costs associated with additional time on the job than expected. Project completion is estimated by August 2026.
Estimated Cost to Complete the CWP Projects
As of the end of March 2026, the collective EAC of the CWP is approximately $682.3 million (EMID Share: $164.5 million), which is $1.2 million more than the EAC from the last quarterly update ($0.3 million to EMID). The majority of the increase is due to San Mateo’s decision to add the Polymer Injection Ring project as an independent project into the CWP, at a cost of $0.9 million.
These estimates include all project costs associated with the construction contract and extended soft costs (i.e. project management, construction management, specialty inspections, owner-controlled insurance program, and engineering services) and encompasses all known and requested changes and delay costs, potential future changes, and contingencies.
The Fiscal Year 2026-27 project budget has already been adjusted to incorporate costs discussed at the March 16, City Council meeting and includes an allowance for unforeseen issues to mitigate the risk of a funding shortfall during the final stages of the project. This allowance covers the $0.3 million described above and excludes any potential future savings that may result from ongoing negotiations or rejections of contractor requests that are in dispute.
QUARTERLY CONSTRUCTION REPORT
Attachment #1 consists of selected portions of the Quarterly Progress Report for January through March 2026 published by the City of San Mateo Program Management Team on April 21, 2026. This report summarizes the budget, schedule, and project activities that have occurred during the first quarter of 2026 and activities that are anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2026 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; 2% FY24/25; and 0% FY25/26), issuing bonds, and pursuing loans. The CWP successfully received three low-interest rate loans from State and/or Federal programs (see Attachment No. 4). These loans were able to reduce the fiscal impact of the Cities’ investment in the wastewater infrastructure on EMID ratepayers. No additional rate increases beyond typical inflationary adjustments are anticipated to fund this project.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Facilities and Infrastructure
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Portions of Quarterly Progress Report – 1st Quarter Report, January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026
Attachment 2 – Wastewater Treatment Plant Site Plan
Attachment 3 – Construction Photographs
Attachment 4 – Project Financing