DATE: October 15, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with HydroScience Engineers for the Preparation of a Recycled Water System Master Plan in an Amount Not to Exceed $350,000
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopt a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the Interim City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with HydroScience Engineers for the preparation of a Recycled Water System Master Plan in an amount not-to-exceed $350,000.
SUMMARY
On July 8, 2024, the City of Hayward (City) issued a Request for Proposal, through the City’s OpenGov procurement portal, for a consultant to work collaboratively with City staff to prepare a Recycled Water System Master Plan. The consultant is expected to provide highly skilled, technical engineering services to develop a document that will serve as a roadmap for evaluating the feasibility of expanding the production and use of recycled water to serve additional customers within the City over the next 20 years. Staff completed an extensive review process of all proposals submitted by the August 12, 2024 deadline and recommend HydroScience Engineers to prepare the Master Plan. Staff’s evaluation criteria included demonstrated expertise and experience in recycled water and utility projects and master plans, familiarity and knowledge of the City’s existing infrastructure, team cohesion, and reasonableness of the level of labor effort and overall cost to complete the project.
BACKGROUND
Since 1962, the City’s sole source of potable water has been supplied from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) Regional Water System (RWS). The SFPUC supplies water on a wholesale basis to 26 agencies in three counties within the San Francisco Bay Area, including the City. The SFPUC’s RWS supply is predominantly from Sierra snowmelt, with a small portion coming from runoff in the Alameda and Peninsula watersheds and is delivered through a series of tunnels and pipelines to the Bay Area. Because of the City’s dependence on the SFPUC’s RWS for potable water supplies, several potential issues may be addressed or reduced by use of recycled water, including water supply reliability during drought periods or service disruptions; water supply availability during an average year; and reductions in nutrients discharged to the San Francisco Bay.
In 2007, the City prepared a Recycled Water Feasibility Study to assess the technical viability of delivering recycled water, the potential market for recycled water, and consumer acceptance. Based on the results of the Feasibility Study, the City developed a Recycled Water Facility Plan in 2009, subsequently updated in 2013, to confirm potential users of recycled water, anticipated quantities, develop a conceptual treatment and distribution system, and estimate project costs. In 2018, the City began construction of recycled water facilities, referred to as the Phase 1 Recycled Water Project, that were completed in 2020.
In March 2022, the City began delivering recycled water to more than 30 customers for irrigation of parks, schools, roadway medians, and landscaped areas around commercial and industrial buildings within the City. Phase 1 of the Recycled Water Project involved the construction of a one-million-gallon tank, a 1.6 million-gallons-per-day (mgd) pump station, and a 0.5 mgd membrane treatment plant at the City’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF), as well as approximately 8.5 miles of distribution pipelines. In 2023, , approximately 180,000 gallons per day (about 202 acre-feet per year) of recycled water were delivered to City irrigation customers. The City’s Phase 1 Recycled Water Project Facilities and Distribution System Map can be viewed on the City’s website.
DISCUSSION
The primary objective of the City’s Recycled Water Project is to enhance the sustainability of the City’s drinking water supply and help meet its long-term water needs. The recycled water system is an important resource that assists in protecting the City from potential water supply disruptions due to emergencies or natural disasters, as well as providing resiliency during drought periods. Another key objective is to help the City’s industrial, commercial, and multifamily residential developments to be able to become more sustainable and resilient.
As Phase 1 of the Recycled Water Project has successfully been delivering recycled water since March 2022, the City is interested in developing a Recycled Water System Master Plan as a roadmap for evaluating the feasibility of expanding the production and use of recycled water to serve additional customers within the City over the next 20 years. The goal of the Master Plan is to identify the City’s potential customers, the portfolio of recycled water use options, including cost, for potential implementation.
On July 8, 2024, an RFP was advertised and issued for a Recycled Water System Master Plan. On August 12, 2024, the RFP submittal deadline, the City had received three (3) valid proposals from ARUP Inc., EKI Environment & Water, and HydroScience Engineers. Based on the eight (8) project tasks and one (1) optional task, and evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP, HydroScience Engineers’ proposal was ranked highest with an average score of 95.5 out of a total of 100 points. The remaining ranking placed EKI Environment & Water second, and Arup Inc., third .
While each firm is highly qualified and assembled strong teams for this project, staff recommends HydroScience Engineers for demonstrating the best combination of qualifications and responsiveness to the City’s RFP Scope of Work and related criteria. Cost was not the deciding factor for staff’s recommendation, however, HydroScience Engineers proposed a reasonable number of labor hours and competitive hourly rates - $342,000 for all tasks, plus the optional task.
Execution of a PSA with HydroScience Engineers will allow the City to proceed with the development of a Recycled Water System Master Plan. The Master Plan is tentatively scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2026.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
There is no economic impact associated with this item. The Recycled Water System Master Plan is for planning purposes only.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the FY 2025 Strategic Priority 4: Invest in Infrastructure. Specifically, this item relates to the implementation of the following project:
Project N22: Develop a Recycled Water Master Plan
FISCAL IMPACT
The adopted FY25 CIP budget includes $ 500,000 in Project No. 07709 within Sewer Improvement Replacement Fund 612, for the development of the Recycled Water System Master Plan.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
The City’s Recycled Water Project provides a locally sustainable and drought-resistant supply of recycled water for commercial irrigation and industrial customers, enhancing the City’s long-term water supply. It also reduces the volume of wastewater, associated nutrients, and residual pollutants discharged to the San Francisco Bay, which may be required to meet increasingly stringent discharge regulations. The development of the Recycled Water System Master Plan further supports these benefits by expanding the production and use of recycled water to serve additional customers.
PUBLIC CONTACT
The RFP was public posted on the City’s OpenGov procurement portal on July 8, 2024.
NEXT STEPS
If Council approves this item, staff will prepare and execute a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with HydroScience Engineers for preparation of a Recycled Water System Master Plan.
Prepared by: Salvador Navarro, Assistant Civil Engineer Cheryl Muñoz, Water Resources Manager
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works Approved by:
_____________________________________________
Dustin Claussen, Interim City Manager
https://www.hayward-ca.gov/your-government/departments/utilities-environmental-services/recycled-water https://www.hayward-ca.gov/business/doing-business-with-hayward/rfps-rfqs