June 25, 2024
Public Works
DATE: June 25, 2024
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Daniel Chavarria, PE, Public Works Director
Robert Armijo, PE, Deputy Public Works Director / City
Engineer
Mary Phelps, Water Resource Division Manager
Subject:
Emergency Justification for the Replacement of the
Dornan Drive Force Main Sanitary Sewer Line
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the General Fund. The funding for this project will be paid from Wastewater Enterprise
Funds (40322931-400708-01Z10).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City staff is recommending City Council authorize the
issuance of a task authorization to Veolia to award and manage subcontracts with W.R. Forde Construction, Inc.
and Questa Engineers to replace the Dornan Drive Force
Main Sanitary Sewer Line. The line has caused multiple
sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) over the past several
years and needs to be replaced.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution for the Emergency Justification
authorizing Veolia Water to manage (on behalf of the City of Richmond) subcontracts with W.R. Forde Construction
for $2,726,808, Questa Engineers for $20,970, and a
contingency of $642,721, to replace the Dornan Drive
Force Main Sanitary Sewer Line in an amount which will
not exceed $3,390,500 - Public Works (Robert Armijo
510-620-5477/ Mary Phelps 510-621-1269)
AGENDA
REPORT
June 25, 2024
DISCUSSION:
Background
This project was urgently needed to fix an aging and leaky sanitary force main along Dornan Drive. The City was upgrading Ferry Point Pump Station to eventually accommodate potential development from Terminal 4 near Brickyard Cove.
Consequently, the upgrade would place the Dornan Drive force main under additional pressure potentially causing more sanitary sewer overflows. The goal was to complete the project before the Ferry Point Pump Station was operational in March 2024.
Several sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) have occurred on the force main sanitary sewer line on Dornan Road due to the line's age. The 2018 Baykeeper Settlement Agreement states that Richmond shall have no more than two (SSOs) from any two of the same sewer line segments or manhole/maintenance holes within any calendar year after December 31, 2024 (See Attachment 7). Additionally, the revised Sanitary Sewer System Waste Discharge Requirements (SSS-WDR) Executive Order WQ 2022-0103- DWQ prohibits any discharge from a sanitary sewer system, discharged directly or indirectly through a drainage conveyance system or other route, to waters of the State (See Attachment 8). To achieve this goal, the City must allocate annual capital funding to cover these mandated repairs' costs.
Solicitation
On June 9, 2023, the proposal for the Dornan Drive Sanitary Sewer Force Main Project was e-mailed by Veolia Water North America to the prospective bidders (See Attachment 2). On June 13, 2023, a mandatory walk-through was conducted with Veolia staff, and six participants attended. On July 6, 2023, five bids were received.
The bids received were as follows (in alphabetical order):
Contractor Contractor Bid Amount
JMB Construction, Inc. $3,157,288
Myers and Sons Construction, LLC $2,867,760
Ranger Pipelines, Inc. $2,549,710
Thompson Builders Corporation $3,329,334
W. R. Forde & Associates, Inc. $2,340,608
Bid analysis, conducted by City and Veolia staff, indicates that the lowest monetary bid is responsive and the bidder, W.R. Forde and Associates, Inc., is responsible. The bidder has the appropriate contractor’s license in active standing with the State of California and has completed similar projects for other public agencies. Questa Engineers also submitted an acceptable proposal for this project to provide compaction testing during construction.
June 25, 2024
Project Details and Considerations
Construction on a force main is more complex and complicated than working on a gravity-flow sanitary sewer line. The line is under constant pressure, and a bypass line must be installed. This can lead to complications based on Ferry Point pump station pump runs. Based on these unforeseen conditions that may be experienced in the field, the City is requesting a significant contingency amount of approximately 25 percent of the bid amount. This will allow the project to progress on time to meet the demands of the Baykeeper Settlement Agreement and remain in compliance with the State Waterboard’s Executive Order WQ 2022-0103-DWQ, which prohibits untreated sanitary sewage to waters of the state.
Dornan Drive Force Main Sanitary Sewer Line project broke ground in September 2023, and with Council approval it is set to be completed by late fall of 2024. The total estimated cost of this project, as awarded to the low bidder, is as follows:
A B C D
Dornan Drive
Project
Base Bid
Cost
Veolia Mark-
up (16.5%)
Contingency
(25%)
Veolia
Mark-up
(9%)
Total
WR Forde $ 2,340,608 $ 386,200 $ 585,152 $ 52,664 $ 3,364,624 Questa $ 18,000 $ 2,970 $ 4,500 $ 405 $ 25,875 Total Project
Cost $ 2,358,608 $ 389,170 $ 589,652 $ 53,069 $ 3,390,499
The project cost (A+B) of $2,747,778, with a contingency cost (C+D) of $642,721 total an overall project cost of $3,390,499.
Conclusion and Council Action
The project was authorized to proceed due to the emergency nature of the improvements required to prevent further sanitary sewer overflows and ensure compliance with the Baykeeper Settlement Agreement and State Waterboard’s Executive Order WQ 2022-0103-DWQ.
City staff is requesting City Council adopt the resolution emergency justification authorizing the Director of Public Works or his designee to issue task authorizations to Veolia for a total contract amount not to exceed $3,390,500
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution – Dornan Drive Force Main Sewer Replacement Project Attachment 2 – Prospective Bidders – Dornan Drive Force Main Sanitary Sewer Project Attachment 3 – Canvass of Bids - Dornan Drive Force Main Sewer Replacement Project Attachment 4 – Task Authorization – Dornan Drive Force Main Sewer Replacement Project
June 25, 2024
Attachment 5 – Resolution 84-19 Prequalified Vendors (Testing) Attachment 6 – Emergency Justification
Attachment 7 – Baykeeper Settlement Agreement
Attachment 8 – Executive ORDER WQ 2022-0103-DWQ