REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
March 4, 2021
FROM: MICHAEL CARBAJAL, Director
Department of Public Utilities
THROUGH: BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Assistant Director - UP&E
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
BY: MATTHEW L. BULLIS, Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Sixth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group, Inc., to extend the Agreement term from March 31, 2021 to January 15, 2022 (no additional funds), for Engineering Design and Feasibility Analysis for Removal of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane from Groundwater Extraction Wells, for a previously approved contract amount of $1,020,000 (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council approve the Sixth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group, Inc., (Provost and Pritchard) to extend the Agreement term from March 31, 2021 to January 15, 2022, for Engineering Design and Feasibility Analysis for Removal of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane from Groundwater Extraction Wells (Project), and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to execute the amendment on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Project is funded through a Proposition 1 Groundwater Planning Grant (Grant), which was accepted by the City on August 18, 2018 and recently amended by the State to adjust the work completion date to December 31, 2021. The Sixth Amendment to the Agreement with Provost and Pritchard will adjust the consultant’s Agreement time of completion to January 15, 2022 in order to allow for completion of all grant related work. The only contractual change is the time of completion, which will not impact the overall cost of the contract.
BACKGROUND
In 2018, the State of California (State) established new groundwater regulations, setting the allowable maximum contaminant level at 5 parts per trillion for 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP) present in drinking water. 1,2,3-TCP is a component of agricultural soil fumigants historically used within the Central Valley. Due to the chemicals low adsorption rate, the contaminant does not adhere to soil after spray application which resulted in the chemical leaching into the groundwater. Any water containing elevated detections of 1,2,3-TCP require advanced levels of treatment prior to distribution for potable use.
Currently, approximately 45 of the City’s 237 active drinking water wells have detected the presence of 1,2,3-TCP. While the commissioning of the new Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility has permitted the increased use of surface water supplies, groundwater production remains a vital component of the City’s water supply portfolio. The conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water supplies ensure the City’s long-term ability to meet existing and future water demands.
On January 31, 2017, the City hired Provost and Pritchard to prepare a Feasibility Study for prioritizing well treatment options for compliance with this new State regulation. The cost for the initial work was $268,000. A draft of the Feasibility Study was completed in May 2018. In parallel with the preparation of the Feasibility Study, the City applied for a State grant to fund the Feasibility Study and engineering design for treatment facilities resulting from the study. As part of the grant requirements, the draft Feasibility Study was submitted to the State for their review and approval. The State established guidelines for completing the Feasibility Study and approved $891,500 in funding to complete this work.
On December 8, 2017, the First Amendment to the Agreement was approved for preliminary design activities for Pump Station 70. The cost of this work was $99,000. Pump Station 70 is a water well impacted with various constituents, including 1,2,3-TCP and requires continuous operation due to ongoing remediation efforts associated to historic activities at Old Hammer Field. This required the fast track of well design work for this site.
On February 8, 2018, the Second Amendment to the Agreement was executed to extend the timeline for completion of the work by September 1, 2018. This amendment did not add any Project cost to the contract.
On October 4, 2018, the Third Amendment to the Agreement was executed for completion of the design activities related to the Prop 1 Groundwater Grant. The scope of work included remediation system design; construction documents, bidding support services and planning grant assistance. The cost of this work was $677,000.
On June 13, 2019, the Fourth Amendment to Agreement was executed to include a remedial investigation of the nature and extent of the 1,2,3-TCP distribution in groundwater that is impacting the subject water wells and eliminating remedial design activities for two of the five impacted well sites inclusive of the grant agreement. The net addition/subtraction to the scope of work resulted in no net change in cost to the contract.
On January 30, 2020, the Fifth Amendment to the Agreement was executed to extend the timeline for completion of the work by March 31, 2021. This amendment did not add any Project cost to the contract.
Due to the addition of groundwater studies that required approval of the State, the Planning Grant completion date was extended to December 31, 2021. The Sixth Amendment to Agreement with Provost and Pritchard amends the consultant’s Agreement to complete all work activities by January 15, 2022, to allow the consultant to complete all work required in the Grant. This amendment does not add any Project cost to the contract.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), this is not a “project” for the purpose of CEQA, as this is an organizational or administrative action of the government to enforce an existing obligation, and will not result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to this action because this is an amendment to an existing consultant services agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact the General Fund. This Project is citywide. Funding for this Project is included in a State Proposition 1 Groundwater Planning Grant to mitigate 1,2,3-Trichloropropane in groundwater and the Water Division’s Fiscal Year 2019 Capital Improvement Budget Enterprise Fund 40101.
Attachment:
Attachment 1 - Sixth Amendment to Agreement