City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: September 9, 2025
Agenda Item: 4.G
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Professional Services Agreement to Dudek for Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Water Reservoir Upgrades and Improvements Project
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines;
2. Award RFP# SP2761 to Dudek for preparation of the environmental review and documentation for the Water Reservoir Upgrades and Improvements Project for the Public Works Department; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Dudek for a total amount not to exceed $1,100,000 over a three-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica (City) aims to provide a sustainable, climate resilient, and reliable water supply for the community. To maintain resiliency and reliability of the City’s water supply, the Water Resources Division is rehabilitating the City’s four potable water storage reservoirs (Project 1) and implementing resiliency enhancements at the Arcadia Water Treatment Plant (WTP) (Project 2). Rehabilitation of the reservoirs will also help achieve the City’s commitment to delivering safe and reliable water to its residents and commercial customers. Planning and design efforts for Projects 1 and 2 are already underway and environmental review and documentation is required to support the projects and comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. Staff recommends that RFP #SP2761 be awarded to Dudek for the 2 of 5
preparation of the environmental documentation for Projects 1 and 2, for a total amount not to exceed $1,100,000, including a 10% contingency, for a three-year period, with future year funding contingent upon Council budget approval.
Discussion
The Water Resources Division provides drinking water, wastewater collection, and recycled water services to residents, commercial users, and other users within the City boundaries. The City currently services approximately 18,000 metered customers with a current average annual water demand of approximately 11,600 acre-feet per year (AFY). As the City is near completion of various projects outlined in its 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan, the City will be able to source approximately 85% of its total water supply from local water resources. Key facilities and infrastructure in delivering the City’s local water supply include: three well fields with a total of 11 production wells, a 5 million gallons per day (MGD) Charnock Treatment Plant, a new 3 MGD Olympic Well Field Advanced Water Treatment Facility, a centralized 13 MGD Arcadia Water Treatment Plant (brackish groundwater desalination facility), three (3) booster pump stations, four (4) drinking water storage reservoirs that total 40 million gallons, a 1 MGD potable reuse facility (Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project), two stormwater harvesting tanks (total capacity of 3.1 million gallons), a 0.5 MGD stormwater/urban runoff recycling facility, a 0.3 MGD injection well, and over 200 miles of water distribution system pipelines.
Rehabilitating the City’s four potable water storage reservoirs (Project 1) and implementing resiliency enhancements at the Arcadia WTP (Project 2) support the City’s goals to provide resilient and reliable water supply for the community. Currently, the City owns and operates four water storage reservoirs in its domestic water distribution system, three of which have planned rehabilitations under Project 1 that includes the Riviera Reservoir (25 million gallons), Mount Olivette Reservoir (5 million gallons) and San Vicente Reservoir (5 million gallons). Each of these three reservoirs is over 60 years old. Due to age, upgrades and rehabilitation were deemed necessary at each reservoir to comply with new regulations, meet current seismic standards, improve security, and enhance operations to maintain reliable and high-quality drinking water for 3 of 5
the City. Additionally, under Project 2, resiliency enhancements at the Arcadia WTP will address the Arcadia Reservoir (5 million gallons). Project 2 also includes a new Water Operations Center and Laboratory Building to replace the aging facilities that were built in the 1950s and 1960s,and consider treatment modifications for direct potable reuse in the future that would further enhance water supply resiliency for the City. The proposed Water Operations Center and Laboratory Building, hereinafter referred to as the Water Operations Center, will help support efficiency of operations and maintain compliance with water quality regulations.
Environmental review and documentation is necessary to support the design and implementation of Projects 1 and 2 to comply with CEQA requirements. On May 1, 2025, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued for professional services to prepare environmental documentation for Rehabilitating the City’s four potable water storage reservoirs (Project 1) and implementing resiliency enhancements at the Arcadia WTP (Project 2).
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified Firm Dudek
Evaluation Criteria Previous experience with similar work for nearby water agencies or cities; references for similar engagements; project understanding and proposed work
plan(s)/timeline(s) to carry out the work; project team; and price.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFPs Received
Catalyst
Environmental
Solutions
Corporation
Dudek ESA Michael Baker
International
UltraSystems
Environmental Inc.
RFP Data
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Posted On Posted On Advertised In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date
Publicly
Opened
05/01/2025 City's Online
Bidding Site Santa Monica Daily Press 70 6/13/2025
Justification to Award
The proposals were reviewed by an evaluation committee consisting of staff from the Public Works Department, Water Resources Division. Based on the evaluation criteria, including those outlined in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends Dudek as the best-qualified firm to prepare the environmental documentation. This recommendation is based on Dudek’s extensive experience in developing similar environmental documents for multiple California municipalities and agencies including the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the California Department of Water Resources.
Environmental Review
The contract award to provide environmental documentation services is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The appointment is covered by the commonsense exemption, which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” However, the outcome of the environmental documentation effort may require further City Council actions to comply with CEQA.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
08/22/2023
(Attachment A)
Award RFP to Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., for Water Reservoir Upgrades Engineering Design Services
06/25/2024
(Attachment B)
Award RFP to Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. to Provide Professional Services for the Development of One Water
Master Plan
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Water Fund to award a contract with Dudek to provide environmental consulting services. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Contract Request
FY 2025-26
Request Amount CIP Account # Future Years Amount
Total Contract
Amount
$450,000 C5007620.689000 $0 $450,000
$250,000 C5009040.689000 $400,000 $650,000
$700,000 TOTAL $1,100,000
Prepared By: Sunny Wang, Water Resources Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. August 22, 2023 Staff Report (Web Link)
B. June 25, 2025 Staff Report (Web Link)
C. FY 25-26 Oaks Initiative (Dudek)
D. FY 25-26 Levine Act (Dudek)