City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: November 14, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Purchase Orders to Avista Technologies as Primary and King Lee Technologies as Backup for Antiscalant and CIP Chemicals Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Award Bid #4461 to Avista Technologies Corporation as the primary vendor for the purchase of antiscalant and clean-in-place (CIP) chemicals; and to King Lee Technologies as the secondary vendor for the purchase of CIP chemicals for the Public Works Department.
3. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Avista Technologies Corporation for antiscalant and CIP chemicals for a total amount not to exceed $4,205,000 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
4. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with King Lee Technologies for CIP chemicals for a total amount not to exceed $1,600,000 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Water Resources Division operates a multi-barrier treatment process at Arcadia Water Treatment Plant (Arcadia WTP) to provide high-quality, safe, and reliable drinking water for the City’s 93,000+ residents and over 2,700 commercial customers. As part of the multi-barrier treatment process, the Arcadia WTP utilizes antiscalant to optimize efficiency of the reverse osmosis system. Clean-in-place (CIP) chemicals are periodically used to clean the reverse osmosis system to maintain optimal performance. Staff recommends issuing a purchase order with Avista 2 of 4
Technologies Corporation in an amount not to exceed $4,205,000 over a five-year period for the purchase of antiscalant and CIP chemicals for the Arcadia WTP. Staff also recommends issuing a purchase order with King Lee Technologies in an amount not to exceed $1,600,000 over a five-year period as a secondary vendor for the purchase of CIP chemicals for the Arcadia WTP.
Discussion
The City uses reverse osmosis membranes at the Arcadia WTP as part of a multi-stage process to treat groundwater sourced from the Santa Monica Basin to supply drinking water for approximately 18,000 Santa Monica residential, commercial and institutional service accounts. Reverse osmosis membranes filter out minerals, organic materials, and salts, and require antiscalant and CIP chemicals to prevent fouling from mineral scale, biological debris, and other buildup. Without antiscalant and CIP chemicals, water-processing efficiency would decrease due to clogged membranes, dramatically shortening the expected five-year membrane lifespan and requiring costly replacements.
The Arcadia Water Treatment Plant Expansion Project, which will increase overall water treatment plant capacity, efficiency, and safety, is retrofitting the existing reverse osmosis system to Flow Reversal Reverse Osmosis, a high-recovery reverse osmosis system and the first municipal installation in the United States. This technology will increase the treatment plant recovery from 82% to 90% or greater. As one of the advantages of the technology, antiscalant consumption and CIP chemical usage is projected to remain similar to historical consumption rates while treatment plant efficiencies improve.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Bidder Avista Technologies Corporation (Antiscalant & CIP Chemicals), primary vendor King Lee Technologies (CIP Chemicals), secondary vendor Evaluation Criteria Ability, capacity, and skill to provide the materials/services, experience, and price.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Submittals Received (Antiscalant)
Avista Technologies $65.14/treatment Salt-Free Water $21,875/treatment Nalco Water $34,534/treatment
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Bid Data
Date Posted Posted On
Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
08/16/2023 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica Daily Press 11 09/13/2023
Best Bidder Justification
The proposals were reviewed by a selection panel consisting of staff from the Public Works Department – Water Resources Division. The proposal evaluations were based on previous experience, ability to deliver, quality of product, cost, and compliance with City requirements. Based on the evaluation criteria, staff recommends Avista Technologies Corporation as the best bidder and primary vendor to provide antiscalant and CIP chemicals and King Lee Technologies as the secondary vendor to provide CIP chemicals to the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant. Staff would only order from King Lee Technologies if primary vendor Avista could not provide products on a timely basis or if operational issues occurred during use of Avista products on a full-scale basis.
Environmental Review
The purchase and use of the chemicals at the City’s Arcadia WTP is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines. The use of the antiscalant and CIP chemicals are a part of the existing operations at the Arcadia WTP.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Water Fund to award a purchase order to Avista Technologies Corporation for the purchase of antiscalant and CIP Chemicals for the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant. In addition, staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Water Fund to award a purchase order to King Lee Technologies as a secondary vendor for the purchase of CIP Chemicals for the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant.
Purchase Order Request (Avista – Primary)
FY 2023-24 Budget Future Years’ Department Account # Total Contract Submittals Received (CIP Chemicals)
Avista Technologies $5,060/treatment Nalco Water $45,020/treatment King Lee Technologies $2,652/treatment Salt-Free Water $21,875/treatment 4 of 4
Request Amount Amount Amount
$415,000 $3,790,000 50500003.525081 $4,205,000
Purchase Order Request (King Lee – Secondary CIP Chemicals) FY 2023-24 Budget
Request Amount
Future Years’
Amount Department Account # Total Contract Amount
$150,000 $1,450,000 50500003.525081 $1,600,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Thomas Poon, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Initiative Form - Avista Technologies Corporation B. Oaks Initiative Form - King Lee Technologies