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 and Engineering
JOSHUA MERTEN, Engineer II
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning and Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the emergency replacement of the biological treatment process air distribution pipeline located at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Council District 3):
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Class 1, Section 15301(b) (Existing Facilities) and Section 15301(d) (Restoration or Rehabilitation) of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines;
2. ***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 replacement of the biological treatment process air supply distribution pipeline located at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Requires Five 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) (Existing Facilities) and Section 15301(d) (Restoration or Rehabilitation) 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 replacement of the B Side and C Side biological treatment process air supply distribution pipeline located at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Project).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In August of 2025, Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (RWRF) staff discovered that the 60-inch air supply pipeline that serves the biological treatment processes referred to as B Side and C Side had deteriorated and was leaking. In February of 2026, during additional field investigation, more extensive deterioration was discovered, and complete replacement of the air pipeline is needed. The air supply pipeline conveys the large volumes of air needed to maintain the activated sludge biomass that is essential for treating wastewater. Failure of the pipeline would result in the complete failure of the biological process, and RWRF staff would be forced to discharge partially treated wastewater to the reclamation ponds, which is a violation of the discharge permit and would cause significant damage to the reclamation ponds and environment. The air supply pipeline has been temporarily stabilized and protected in place, and a permanent solution is urgently needed to prevent complete failure of the B Side and C Side biological treatment processes.
A Declaration of Urgent Necessity is now necessary for the preservation of City property, to prevent failure of the biological wastewater process, and to protect the health and safety of the community. The Resolution will allow the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to procure services without advertising for competitive bids and to enter into various agreements for performing emergency replacement work, in an amount not to exceed $7,000,000.
BACKGROUND
The RWRF is a secondary biological treatment plant that operates under Wastewater Discharge Requirements (WDR) R5-2018-0080 administered by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. The RWRF is permitted to treat up to 91.5 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater, and average daily influent flows are currently approximately 54 MGD. The RWRF includes four distinct parallel treatment trains referred to as A Side, B Side, C Side, and the Tertiary Treatment and Disinfection Facility. All of the treatment trains include a biological treatment process that utilize biological reactor tanks, referred to as aeration basins, to mix wastewater with air to consume the waste present in the water. A critical component of the biological treatment process is the air supply system that is used to provide essential air to the active biomass. The system includes high-capacity blowers and large diameter air supply pipelines.
In August of 2025, RWRF staff discovered that the 60-inch air supply pipeline that provides the essential air supply to the B Side and C Side treatment trains had deteriorated and was leaking. In February of 2026, the City contracted with W.M. Lyles Inc. (Lyles) to repair the leak using the emergency purchase order (EPO) process because of the criticality of the air supply to the biological treatment process. After exposing the pipeline to prepare it for repair, Lyles determined that the deterioration was significantly more extensive than originally observed and that portions or all of the pipeline would need to be completely replaced. There is no redundancy in the air supply pipeline, and the blowers can only be shut off for brief periods of time, so the air supply pipeline will need to be bypassed to complete the replacement. The attached photo exhibits show the pipeline deterioration.
The degradation of the air supply pipeline presents a risk to the preservation of City property, essential operations of the RWRF, and the health and safety of the community, and requires a Declaration of Urgent Necessity (Declaration) to expeditiously complete the replacement. The Declaration will authorize dispensing with the competitive bidding process in order to expedite the procurement of contractor and consultant services for the design and construction of a replacement air supply pipeline.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Staff has reviewed the scope and nature of the Project in accordance with the requirements of CEQA and has determined it to be exempt under Class 1, Section 15301(b) (Existing facilities of both investor and publicly owned utilities) and Section 15301(d) (Restoration or rehabilitation of deteriorated or damaged structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment to meet current standards of public health and safety). This is because this Project involves an existing structure which has deteriorated to a point where it requires replacement, in order to preserve City property, to prevent failure of the biological treatment process, and protect the health and safety of the community.
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 has been identified 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
Vicinity Map
Photos Exhibit