City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 23, 2022
Agenda Item: 5.M
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Bid and Enter Into an Agreement with Badger, Inc. for AMI Smart Water Meters & Cloud-Based Interface
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP# 320 to Badger Meter, Inc. to deliver, replace and install approximately 12,444 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) ready water meters along with AMI encoders and provide a cloud-based interface for an AMI System for the Public Works Department;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Badger Meter, Inc., in the amount not to exceed $13,500,000 (including 15% contingency).
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Software as a Service (SaaS) Agreement with Badger Meter, Inc. in the amount not to exceed $300,000 over a five-year period.
Summary
The City’s Public Works Department – Water Resources Division delivers high-quality drinking water to approximately 18,400 metered water connections in the City. The current water meters are read manually on a bi-monthly schedule to bill each customer for their water use. For example, a customer’s June water bill is for water that is consumed during the prior two months (April and May). The Water Resources Division issued a request for proposals (RFP) for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system or smart water meters. The AMI Project was approved in the City’s CIP Budget and is funded through the 2021 Water Revenue Bonds. The AMI is a cloud-based system that transmits data via cellular network in near real time. The AMI system includes the replacement of aging non-AMI compatible meters, meter box lids, 2 of 5
installation of cellular data transmitters (encoders) on every meter, data migration capability to the City’s billing software and a customer water monitoring portal.
Because the AMI provides real time information on water usage it allows for improved leak detection, which would significantly improve the City’s water conservation efforts, and provide customers with the ability to track their water use on a daily basis. Past studies have demonstrated that AMI systems could provide 5-7% in water savings from reduced residential water leaks. Long term benefits of the AMI system include more efficient billing, and improved accuracy in meter reads. Staff recommends that RFP #320 be awarded to Badger Meter, Inc. and that an agreement be negotiated and executed for the AMI System.
Discussion
Over the past five years, the Water Resources Division has conducted three independent AMI pilot tests utilizing different technologies. The current pilot test has been expanded and over 5% of the City’s water meters currently have AMI transmitters installed. The City’s meters are divided into 51 meter reading routes based on geographic location. As part of the pilot project, AMI transmitters have been fully installed in one of these routes and the data is currently being electronically transmitted into the City’s billing software and used for billing. This contract award is for the fullscale implementation of an AMI system for the City’s 18,400 meters.
The manual meter reading for the approximately 18,400 meters in the service area is performed on a bi-monthly schedule. Identifying hidden leaks or excessive water usage based on water consumption in a timely manner is difficult due to the meter reading cycle of 60 days. It takes one or two billing cycles, up to 120 days, for a leak or excessive usage to be identified from the meter reads. The end result is excessive water loss/usage and a high water bill due to this time delay. An AMI system would allow the customer to monitor their individual water usage and create alerts, via cell phone or e-mail, to notify them within a day or two of a potential water leak. 3 of 5
The savings and efficiency benefits of the AMI system are mostly realized on the customer’s end from early detection of water leaks to real-time monitoring of daily water usage to minimize their water costs. The AMI system also provides cost savings to the City (estimated at $290,000 annually) by reducing the City’s reliance on more costly imported water and contractual services for meter reading.
The best qualified bidder, Badger Meter Inc., proposed a comprehensive scope of services to fully convert the City’s water metering infrastructure to an AMI system. The scope of services includes:
• Replacing approximately 12,444 water meters and upgrading them with AMI compatible water meters (approximately 67% of the total number of meters, the remaining 33% are AMI compatible and less than 8 years of age and do not need to be replaced),;
• Installation of cellular AMI transmitters (referred to as encoders) on new meters as well as meters in the system that are compatible;
• Replacement/modification of meter box lids to allow for cellular signal transmission;
• Staging and storage facilities for project implementation; • Migration of data into the City’s billing system, and • A customer portal to improve the customer’s experience in understanding their water usage.
The additional services offered by Badger Meter Inc. include a two-year cellular subscription fee and conducting a service line material survey during meter replacement for both the public and private side of the water service connection to replace lead service lines in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions. Majority of the project costs are one-time costs to convert the City’s current water meter infrastructure to AMI. The lowest bid, Metron-Farnier, was not as comprehensive as the other three bids because it did not include the cost of the AMI compatible water meters and labor for installation. 4 of 5
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Bidder Badger Meter, Inc.
Evaluation Criteria • Experience – 20% of total score
• Technical Competence – 20% of total score
• Ability to Meet Project Work Plan and Timeliness – 20% of total score • References – 10% of total score
• Cost of Services, Cost Control – 30% of total score
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
Submittals Received
Vendor Base Scope of Services Additional Services Total Aqua-Metrics Sales
Company
$11,345,202 $407,717 $11,752,919
Badger Meter, Inc. $11,305,418 $426,247 $11,731,665
Ferguson Waterworks $13,986,434 $0 $13,986,434
Metron-Farnier $6,198,3104 $0 $6,198,310
Bid Data
Date Posted Posted On Advertise In City
Charter & SMMC
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
5/9/2022 City’s Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily
Press
47 June 10, 2022
Best Bidder Justification
The proposals were reviewed by a selection panel consisting of staff from the Public Works Department – Water Resources Division. Evaluations were based on the following selection criteria: Experience; Technical Competence; Ability to Meet Project Work Plan and Timeliness; References; and Cost of Services, Cost Control. Based on these criteria, the selection panel unanimously ranked Badger Meter as the best qualified firm to provide the City with an AMI system. Badger Meter has successfully deployed over 10 million ORION endpoints for more than 3,000 utilities. They are the firm which provides the lowest cost while providing all the components for a successful deployment of an AMI system. The lowest bidder, Metron-Farnier, did not meet the full scope of services requirements as the bid only includes the AMI cellular transmitters and customer portal while the water meters were not included.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Water Fund to award a contract with 5 of 5
Badger Meter, Inc for implementation of the AMI system in the City and ongoing software maintenance costs for the cloud-based portal. The initial capital outlay, which includes a 15% contingency, is being funded through proceeds from the 2021 Water Revenue Bond issuance, and staff seeks authority to approve use of bond proceeds to fund the award. Ongoing annual software maintenance costs will be funded through the Water Fund’s operating budget.
Contract Request
FY 2022-23
Request Amount CIP Account # Total Contract Amount
$13,500,000 C5008200.689740 $13,500,000
$36,432 505000001.550010 $300,000
$13,436,432 Total $13,800,000
Prepared By: Chris Aguillon, Water Resources Protection Specialist Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Initiative Disclosure (Badger)
B. Written Comment