HomeMy WebLinkAbout9 Hirschdale Pipeline CEQA Award - Board AGENDA ITEM 9
Public Utility District
MEETING DATE: October 5, 2022
TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Neil Kaufman, Water System Engineer
Chad Reed, Water Utility Director
SUBJECT: Award of a Contract to Perform CEQA Review for the Hirschdale
Pipeline
APPROVED BY
Brian C. Wright, General Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Award a contract to Inland Ecosystems to perform the CEQA Review for the Hirschdale
Pipeline in an amount not to exceed $29,950, plus a ten percent change order allowance of
$2,995, for a total authorization not to exceed $32,945.
BACKGROUND:
The District operates two separate water systems in the Truckee area: the Hirschdale
System and the Truckee System.
The Hirschdale System is rather small, consisting of:
• One pressure zone
• One well
• One storage tank
• About 3,100 feet of pipeline
• 26 customer accounts
In contrast, the Truckee System is a relatively complex system, consisting of:
• 46 pressure zones
• 12 active potable water wells
• 3 active non-potable wells
• 34 active storage tanks
• 25 pumping stations
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• About 235 miles of pipeline ranging from 2-inches to 24-inches in diameter
• 40 control valve stations
• About 13,600 customer accounts
The Hirschdale System is located to the east of the Truckee System with a distance of
about 1,700 feet separating the two systems. As noted above, there is a single well that
supplies water to the Hirschdale System. When this well is taken out of service to perform
maintenance, it is necessary for the District to implement temporary measures such as
using potable water trucks or an aboveground pipe to supply water to the Hirschdale area.
It addition, the water produced by the Hirschdale Well has high levels of naturally occurring
arsenic and manganese. The District operates a treatment system to remove the arsenic
and manganese and water supplied to customers complies with State and Federal
requirements. However, the treatment system is expensive to operate and requires
extensive maintenance and supervision.
The Water Department has identified the need to construct a pipeline to connect the
Hirschdale Water System to the main Truckee Water System. This pipeline will provide a
second source of water to the Hirschdale area and allow the District to supply Hirschdale in
a more cost effective manner.
This project was identified in the current Water System Master Plan and the current
Water Department Capital Improvement Plan. This project does not involve maintenance
or replacement of existing facilities therefore a CEQA review is necessary.
In August 2022, an RFP to select a consultant to perform the CEQA review was issued.
Three proposals were received in response to the RFP:
• Helix Environmental Consulting — Folsom, CA
• Inland Ecosystems — Reno, NV
• NCE — Stateline, NV
A staff committee was selected and the proposals were evaluated based on the following
criteria:
• Proposed scope of work and project methodology (35%)
• Experience of the firm with similar CEQA review preparation projects (15%)
• Experience of project team with similar CEQA review preparation projects (15%)
• The firm's procedures, methodology and quality assurance/quality control (5%)
• References (10%)
• Cost (20%)
Helix Environmental was rated highest on a technical basis. The scoring for Inland
Ecosystems and NCE was tied, with both firms slightly behind Helix.
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Technical Scoring
Firm Rank
Helix 1
Inland Ecosystems 2
NCE 2
The proposed costs were then reviewed. The cost proposals varied significantly and
ranged from about $30,000 to about $69,000, with Inland Ecosystems submitting the
lowest cost proposal.
Cost Scoring
Firm Rank
Inland Ecosystems 1
Helix Environmental 2
NCE 3
Finally, an aggregated ranking (technical capability & cost) of the proposers was
developed:
Overall Scorin
Firm Rank
Inland Ecosystems 1
Helix Environmental 2
NCE 3
Therefore, it is recommended that the contract be awarded to Inland Ecosystems.
The current schedule for the CEQA review is listed below. It should be noted that this
schedule assumes that significant new issues will not be identified during the preparation of
the Initial Study.
• Award of Contract: October 5, 2022
• Field Studies: October 2021
• Completion of Draft Initial Study: December 2022
• Presentation of Draft Initial Study to Board: January 4, 2023
• CEQA Public Hearing February 1 , 2023
• End of Public Comment Period: February 6, 2023
• Board Approval of CEQA Initial Study: March 1, 2023
• Project Construction: Summer 2023
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FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost proposal from Inland Ecosystems is $29,950. It is recommended that a ten
percent change order allowance of $2,995 be established for a total authorization of
$32,945.
The FY 2022 budget includes $566,000 for the Hirschdale Pipeline project. The great
majority of this total is allocated for construction of the project, which is now planned for the
summer of 2023. This project is budgeted to be funded by water's new debt issuance.
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