REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: PAUL AMICO, PE, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: AHMED ALY, PE, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
JOSHUA MERTEN, Engineer II
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the emergency repair of the sewer trunk main located at East Jensen Avenue and South East Avenue (Council District 3):
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Class 1, Section 15301(b) and Section 15301(d) and Statutory Exemption 15269(b) and 15282(k) of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines;
2. ***RESOLUTION - Declaring an urgent necessity for the preservation of life, health, and property, and authorizing the City Manager or designee to enter into agreements without advertised competitive bidding for the emergency repair of the sewer trunk main located at East Jensen Avenue and South East Street. (Requires 5 Affirmative Votes) (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Class 1, Section 15301(b) and Section 15301(d) and Statutory Exemption 15269(b) and 15282(k) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, and adopt a Resolution declaring an urgent necessity for the preservation of life, health, property, and authorizing the City Manager or designee, to enter into agreements without advertised competitive bidding for the emergency repair of the sewer trunk main located at East Jensen Avenue between South Sarah Street and South East Avenue (Project).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On March 13, 2026, a section of the 48-inch sewer trunk main located in East Jensen Avenue, between South Sarah Street and South East Avenue, collapsed due to structural failure. The collapse required a temporary road closure while the collapsed segment was temporarily stabilized. Replacement of the sewer trunk main is necessary to prevent a major sewer overflow, further collapse of the roadway, and more expensive repairs and flow bypassing measures to route flow around the collapsed segment.
A Declaration of Urgent Necessity is now needed to expedite the trunk sewer replacement and for the preservation of the health and safety of the surrounding area. The Resolution will allow the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to procure services without advertising for competitive bids and enter into various agreements for performing the necessary emergency repair which is estimated at an amount not to exceed $2,500,000.
BACKGROUND
The existing 48-inch reinforced concrete sewer trunk main in East Jensen Avenue, just west of South East Avenue, conveys an average of approximately 5.7 million gallons of wastewater per day to the Fresno Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility. On March 13, 2026, a large void was observed in the roadway and DPU staff determined that a sewer trunk main had collapsed and needed to be stabilized to prevent complete failure of the roadway. The City’s contractor mobilized to close the road, place traffic control measures, and remove the debris from the collapse to restore uninterrupted flow in the existing sewer trunk. The existing sewer structural failure caused a 10-foot wide cavity along 24 feet of the trunk sewer. The collapsed area was temporarily stabilized, and the roadway remains closed to eliminate the traffic load to reduce the risk of further collapse of the sewer and roadway. The attached photo exhibits show the sewer trunk main collapse.
Replacement of the collapsed trunk sewer segment is necessary to prevent a major sewer overflow, further collapse of the roadway, continued disruption of service, and more expensive repairs and bypassing measures to route flow around the collapsed segment.
The existing trunk sewer failure and the potential failure of additional pipeline segments is a risk to the health and safety of the community and the essential operations of the wastewater conveyance system, and it requires a Declaration of Urgent Necessity (Declaration) to expedite replacement of the collapsed trunk sewer segment. The Declaration will authorize dispensing of the competitive bid process to expedite the procurement of services for replacement of the sewer trunk and manholes.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Staff have performed an environmental assessment for the Project and have determined it is consistent with Categorical Exemption pursuant to 15301/Class 1 and Statutory Exemption 15269 and 15282, set forth in the CEQA Guidelines.
Under Section 15301/Class 1, projects are exempt from CEQA requirements when they consist of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The subsections relevant to this Project are (b) and (d), which are listed below:
(b) Existing facilities of both investor and publicly-owned utilities used to provide electric power, natural gas, sewerage, or other public utility services.
(d) Restoration or rehabilitation of deteriorated or damaged structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment to meet current standards of public health and safety, unless it is determined that the damage was substantial and resulted from an environmental hazard such as earthquake, landslide, or flood.
Under Section 15269,
(b) Emergency repairs to publicly or privately owned service facilities necessary to maintain service essential to the public health, safety or welfare. Emergency repairs include those that require a reasonable amount of planning to address an anticipated emergency.
Under Section 15282,
(k) The installation of new pipeline or maintenance, repair, restoration, removal, or demolition of an existing pipeline as set forth in Section 21080.21 of the Public Resources Code, as long as the project does not exceed one mile in length.
The Project described herein represents the necessary emergency repair to an existing publicly-owned sewer main that is less than one mile in length, to rehabilitate deteriorated structures to allow continued use of the sewer system to meet standards for public health, and safety as described in subsections above.
Staff have determined that no adverse environmental impacts would occur because of the proposed Project and none of the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because this action is being performed on an emergency basis.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund. The Project is located in Council District 3. Funding for this Project is included in the Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Improvement Budget within the Wastewater Management Division’s, Sewer Enterprise Fund 4500-4501.
Attachments:
Environmental Assessment
Notice of Exemption
Resolution of Urgent Necessity
Location with Vicinity Map
Photos Exhibit