SR 11-27-2018 3A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: November 27, 2018
Agenda Item: 3.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works, Water Resources
Subject: Award Agreement with Ramboll US Corporation for Charnock Groundwater
Management Program
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP #187 to Ramboll US Corporation (Ramboll), a Virginia-based
company, to provide Charnock Well Field (Charnock) groundwater management
program services for the Public Works Department;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional servic es
agreement with Ramboll, in an amount not to exceed $1,825,000 over a five-year
period, with future funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
In supplying water to Santa Monica residents and businesses, Santa Monica’s municipal
water utility division is also responsible for conducting the clean-up of polluted ground
water supplies. The City’s Charnock Groundwater Management Program supports
pollution remediation efforts and compliance with federal, state and local permitting, water
quality and reporting requirements related to the City’s largest drinking water aquifer, the
Charnock Well Field. Required contractor services include groundwater monitoring,
sampling, modeling, preparation of a Closure Strategy document to achieve a No
Further Action (NFA) status from the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB)
for the aquifer, regulatory negotiations, and implementation of a monitoring well closure
plan. Staff recommends Ramboll to provide these critical professional services for an
amount not to exceed $1,825,000 over a five-year period.
Discussion
The Charnock Well Field is the City’s largest drinking water aquifer. Over the past five
years, the aquifer produced between 7,500 to 8,400 acre-feet per year (AFY) of
groundwater from five production wells. This represents approximately 80% of the City’s
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groundwater production. Since December 2010, the City has operated the Charnock
Treatment Unit located at 11375 Westminster Ave. in Los Angeles to restore the
Charnock Well Field to full production. The purpose of the treatment system is to remove
methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA) from the groundwater
prior to distribution. This provides the City with a reliable supply of clean drinking water
and aids in the cleanup of the MTBE and TBA contamination in the Charnock aquifer.
To monitor the subsurface contamination, the City oversees a groundwater monitoring
network that comprises 52 regional monitoring wells. Water quality data obtained from the
most recent groundwater monitoring activities have shown that concentrations of MTBE
and TBA in the subsurface have declined significantly over time. Given the positive status
of the restoration of the Charnock aquifer, the City commissioned a technical
memorandum in February 2018 to determine the path to achieve a No Further Action
(NFA) letter from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) for
the Charnock Well Field. The technical memorandum, prepared by Advisian, concluded
that achieving NFA Closure would be feasible within five years at a cost of approximately
$2,483,000.
Since 2007, the City has conducted a voluntary regional groundwater monitoring program in
the Charnock aquifer. The RWQCB is the lead groundwater regulatory agency that oversees
enforcement within the region. In May 2018, the RWQCB approved a modified sampling
program based on the positive status of the restoration of the Charnock aquifer. With the
significant reduction in contaminant levels within the Charnock aquifer, the City plans to
request approval from the RWQCB for closure of the Charnock monitoring programs which
would result in a significant annual savings for the City. In order to achieve closure additional
groundwater transport modeling would be required to document that the remaining MTBE
and TBA mass present in the aquifer no longer poses a risk to the Charnock Well Field.
The closure process would start with a letter from the City to the RWQCB outlining the
closure strategy and the path to NFA for the Charnock Area Wide Investigation. This is
anticipated to commence in 2019. The closure strategy letter and follow-up regulatory
meetings and/or workshops would allow for any concerns or requirements from the RWQCB
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to be identified and incorporated into the planning process. A formal request for closure
would be submitted to the RWQCB once an additional year of data has been collected after
the approval of the Closure Strategy Letter. The results of the groundwater modeling efforts
would be incorporated into the formal request for closure letter. The estimated timeline for
NFA closure remains at five years, but the cost has been reduced considerably.
Most of the work that Ramboll would perform is groundwater well sampling, water quality
analysis and regulatory reporting for the 52 groundwater wells. This includes five semi-
annual, four annual and one single three-year monitoring event. The second largest task
involves the abandonment and closure of 40 groundwater monitoring wells. Both of these
large efforts require expertise that City staff does not have.
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Consultant Selection
RFP Data
RFP Posting
Date
RFP Posted On RFP Advertised in
(City Charter and
Muni Code)
# of Vendors
Downloaded
# of
Submittals
Received
Date Proposals
Received
08/27/2018 City’s Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica
Daily Press
84 6 10/08/2018
RFPs Received Selection Criteria
Alisto
Engineering
Group
Ninyo and
Moore
Municipal
Code SMMC 2.24.073
Aquilogic, Inc. Project
Navigator, Ltd
Evaluation
Criteria
Experience/Technical Competence; Ability
to Meet Work Plan/Timelines; Quality
Control; Cost of Services and Cost
Control; Stability/References; and Value
Added/Breadth of Services.
Keramida Ramboll US
Corp.
Justification to Award
A selection panel of engineering staff from the Water Resources Division evaluated the
proposals based on the following criteria: proposer’s previous experience with similar
drinking water projects, groundwater modeling experience, quality and thoroughness of
the proposer’s project plans and timelines, ability to meet regulatory timelines,
experience of the proposer’s key personnel, the proposer’s references, and cost. The
City’s original engineering cost estimate prepared in early 2018 was $2,483,000.
Ramboll’s technical expertise was crucial to the recently approved monitoring program
modifications resulting in significant cost savings for the City. Ramboll’s demonstrated
extensive knowledge and experience with the Charnock Well Field, and its track record
on similar projects with various agencies is unparalleled. Ramboll also demonstrated
through past projects its ability to offer experienced engineers and field staff that can
complete high quality environmental engineering reports in an expeditious manner and
at competitive hourly rates. The City has the full confidence of the RWQCB in the
Charnock Basin due to the superior level of engineering and reporting provided by
Ramboll in the past. This is critical for NFA consideration. Based on these criteria and
the criteria in SMMC 2.24.073, staff recommends Ramboll as the best qualified firm to
provide groundwater management program services.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
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Staff seeks authority to award a professional services agreement with Ramboll for
Charnock Groundwater Management Program services for a five-year period through
December 31, 2023. This agreement would be funded by the Water Fund’s allocation of
Charnock water pollution remediation settlement funds, and budget is available in the
FY 2018-19 Public Works Department budget.
Agreement Request
Request
Amount
FY 2018-19 Budget
Public Works Department Account #
Total Contract
Amount
$500,000 50500001-552010 $1,825,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Lisette Gold, Environmental Remediation Coordinator
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Ramboll Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form
REFERENCE:
Agreement No. 10779
(CCS)