REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
August 21, 2014
FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director
Department of Public Utilities
THROUGH: MARTIN A. QUERIN, PE, Assistant Director
Department of Public Utilities - Water Division
BY: BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Supervising Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Water Division
GLENN A. KNAPP, PE, Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Water Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Second Amendment to Agreement with Carollo Engineers, Inc., for the Design of the City of Fresno's 80-Million Gallon Per Day Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility and Raw Water Diversion and Conveyance Pipeline and Authorize the Director of Public Utilities or his designee to sign the Amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (City)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Approve the Second Amendment to the Professional Engineering Consultant Services Agreement with Carollo Engineers, Inc., increasing the fee amount by $52,867 for a Total Fee amount of $9,427,467 and reduce the contingency amount to $563,533, for design modifications to the Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility and additional tasks for design of the associated Raw Water Diversion and Conveyance Pipeline.
2. Authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or his designee, to sign the amendment on behalf of the City.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City has rolled-out a bold water resource management plan to correct long-term over-utilization of the groundwater aquifer by developing facilities to treat available surface water supplies for potable use. With construction activities anticipated to begin in August 2015, an amendment to the professional consultant services agreement with Carollo Engineers is needed to implement design service changes for the Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility and to add design services for development of construction contract documents for the associated Raw Water Diversion and Conveyance Pipeline project. This amendment supports the objectives and goals set forth in the City's Metropolitan Water Resources Management Plan Update (Metro Plan Update) to stabilize and replenish our aquifer to a balanced and sustainable condition by the year 2025.
BACKGROUND
The City of Fresno overlies the Kings sub-basin of the greater San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Basin, from where it pumps groundwater. The City currently owns, operates, and maintains approximately 275 municipal water wells and a 30-million gallon per day surface water treatment facility in northeast Fresno, to service a population of over 500,000 people. Water resources within this groundwater basin are limited, and currently in a state of overutilization as evidenced by falling groundwater levels and the formation of a cone of depression beneath the City.
The City has access to ample surface water supplies through an agreement with the United States Bureau of Reclamation for 60,000 acre-feet of Central Valley Project, Class I Water from the San Joaquin River, and approximately 120,000 acre-feet of Kings River water through an agreement with the Fresno Irrigation District. The need to diversify the City's potable water supply to include surface water is recognized in the recently adopted Metro Plan Update and associated adopted Urban Water Management Plan. These plans set forth the need to develop new and expand existing surface water treatment facilities. As noted within these water management plans, construction of the City's second surface water treatment facility is the fundamental component for the promotion of aquifer recovery and long-term sustainability and reliability of the City's water resources.
Through a competitive selection process, Carollo Engineers, Inc., was selected as the professional engineering design consultant to design the new Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility (SESWTF). The original professional services contract was approved by Council on June 13, 2013. The purpose of this Second Amendment is to modify the existing agreement with Carollo Engineers to perform design changes for the SESWTF that will incorporate construction cost reduction measures without changing facility functional criteria, and to add services for the design of the Raw Water Diversion and Conveyance Pipeline that will deliver Kings River water to the treatment facility (Project). The amendment utilizes existing contract encumbrances and defunds a portion of contract services to cover costs for the requested treatment design changes and the added services for the pipeline design.
The Amendment has been "approved as to form" by the City Attorney's Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
On June 19, 2014, the City of Fresno City Council certified a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Fresno Metro Plan Update. The FEIR included project level analysis for the SESWTF and raw water diversion and conveyance pipeline.
An initial study, Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR 1) was prepared in April 1996 for the Fresno Metropolitan Water Resources Management Plan (Metro Plan) and a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR 2) was prepared on June 19, 2014 for the Metro Plan Update for this Project. An analysis has been performed pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 to determine whether subsequent environmental review is required for this Project. Based upon this analysis the following findings are made to support the determination that no subsequent environmental review is required:
1. No subsequent changes are proposed in the Project which will require major revisions for FEIR 1 and FEIR 2 due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.
2. No substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the Project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous FEIR 1 and FEIR 2 due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified effects.
3. There is no new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time of the previous FEIR 1 and FEIR 2 that the Project will have significant effect not discussed in FEIR 1 and FEIR 2.
Based upon these findings, it has been determined that no further environmental documentation is required for this Project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because an amendment to a contract is not a bid or an award of a construction or services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
The project will not have any impact to the General Fund. Funds for this design project were previously encumbered in FY 2014 and are not being changed.
Attachments:
Second Amendment
Exhibit A-2T
Exhibit A-2P
Exhibit B