REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 22, 2016
FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: GEORGEANNE WHITE, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities - Administration & Water Policy
SUBJECT
Title
Items related to retaining consultants for discolored water investigation:
1. Affirm the City Manager’s determination that Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is uniquely qualified to perform consultant services, as required by AO 6-19;
2. Approve Research Agreement between the City of Fresno and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in an amount not to exceed $150,000;
3. Affirm the City Manager’s determination that Dr. Vernon Snoeyink of Water Quality & Treatment Solutions, Inc., is uniquely qualified to perform consultant services as required by AO 6-19; and
4. Approve Consultant Agreement with Water Quality & Treatment Solutions, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $200,000.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council affirm the City Manager’s determination that Dr. Edwards and Dr. Snoeyink are uniquely qualified, as required by Administrative Order 6-19, and authorize the Director of Public Utilities or designee to enter into agreements on behalf of the city of Fresno with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (“Virginia Tech”) and Water Quality and Treatment Solutions, Inc. (“WQTS”).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Public Utilities seeks City Council approval for professional consultant and research services with water quality subject matter experts Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech and Dr. Vernon Snoeyink of WQTS.
BACKGROUND
The recent water quality issues involving the City of Fresno water system requires highly skilled consulting water quality experts.
Dr. Edwards is the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Dr. Edwards is an internationally recognized and foremost authority, on the subject of premise plumbing corrosion in single-family residential homes. Dr. Edwards is currently the Principal Investigator under contract to USEPA, the State of Michigan, and the City of Flint, for the discolored water and lead investigations being conducted in Flint, MI.
Dr. Snoeyink is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is a nationally recognized expert in water chemistry and water quality control, and served as co-author of Water Chemistry (John Wiley, 1980), which is widely regarded as the seminal treatise on water treatment process chemistry. One of Dr. Snoeyink’s many PhD students is Dr. Darren Lytle, EPA’s Water Division Branch Chief in the EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Cincinnati, OH. as Along with Dr. Snoeyink, Dr. Lytle specializes in the optimization of corrosion control treatment for residential plumbing systems, and will be participating in the research.
Dr. Edwards and Dr. Snoeyink were recently retained by the City to perform independent and objective assessments of discolored water conditions occurring in Northeast Fresno, and both have prepared reports summarizing their findings and presenting recommendations for additional testing and research. These reports have been invaluable in assisting the City and community with understanding the conditions associated with discolored water in Northeast Fresno. The contracts before Council today will retain the services of these uniquely qualified consultants for additional laboratory testing, field testing, and research related to alternative corrosion control treatment strategies for galvanized pipe under cold water conditions, hot water conditions, and stagnation water conditions.
While the City has been compliant with state and federal regulations, and the system has been optimized for reduced lead and copper corrosion, the presence of galvanized pipe corrosion in NE Fresno is a concern for the City. While Dr. Edwards and Dr. Snoeyink have reported that galvanized pipe is a poor material choice for residential plumbing - especially for hot water conditions and stagnant water conditions - the City desires to determine the technical feasibility of developing a water chemistry that can be applied at the City’s surface water treatment facilities to reduce the incidence of galvanized pipe corrosion problems in a system that receives both surface water and groundwater, and in the presence of hot water and extended periods of stagnation.
The Department seeks to contract for additional research with Dr. Marc Edwards and Dr. Vernon Snoeyink to research and identify alternative water chemistry options that may be suitable to implement at the City’s surface water treatment facilities to minimize galvanized pipe corrosion in the City’s service area
Dr. Edwards and Dr. Snoeyink are two of the foremost experts and authorities in the U.S. on the subject of premise plumbing corrosion in single-family residential homes. As such, the Department seeks to forego the RFP process set forth in Administrative Order 6-19 to award separate contracts to Dr. Marc Edwards and Dr. Vernon Snoeyink to assist the City in the evaluation of alternative corrosion control treatment strategies for galvanized pipe under cold water conditions, hot water conditions, and stagnation water conditions.
The agreements have been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager has approved the consultant’s Uniquely Qualified status pursuant to AO 6-19.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to the definition provide in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 these consultant agreements are not “projects.”
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to these contracts pursuant to FMC section 4-109.
FISCAL IMPACT
These consultant agreements will not have any impact to the General Fund. Funds are available within the Water Enterprise Fund by reallocating FY 2017 appropriations for professional and technical services in the Water Division’s Operating budget.
Attachments:
Uniquely Qualified Memo
Standard Research Agreement with Virginia Tech
Agreement for Consultant Services with WQTS