SR 05-24-2022 3A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 24, 2022
Agenda Item: 3.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources
Subject: Award Bid and Enter Into an Agreement with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services,
LLC for the Construction of Two Replacement Groundwater Supply Wells
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Bid #SP2663 to Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for the drilling of two
replacement groundwater supply wells;
2. Adopt determination that the project is exempt from California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/
Reconstruction;
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Yellow
Jacket Drilling Services, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $4,854,450 (including
a $231,165 contingency); and
4. Authorize the Director of Public Works to issue any necessary change orders to
complete additional work within contract authority.
Summary
Two of the City’s groundwater production wells at the Charnock Well Field, Charnock
Well 13 (CH-13) and Charnock Well 18 (CH-18), need to be replaced to maintain
groundwater production and resiliency to preserve the City’s ability to reliably deliver
safe, clean potable water to our customers. Access to groundwater helps the City
reduce its reliance on imported water supplies that have been severely impacted by on-
going drought conditions across the southwest United States. Due to their age and
multiple rehabilitation/repairs over their operating lives, both groundwater production
wells have experienced a significant decrease in production capacity. Replacement of
the two groundwater production wells is part of the City’s overall plan to enhance the
resiliency of the local water supply and reduce reliance on imported water supplies. The
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well replacement project is funded by Water Revenue Bonds issued in August 2021.
Staff solicited bids for drilling and constructing two groundwater supply wells to replace
CH-13 and CH-18 and recommends awarding bid #SP2663 to Yellow Jacket Drilling
Services, LLC.
Discussion
The Charnock Well Field is the City’s largest source of local groundwater supply. CH-13
(constructed in 1966) and CH-18 (constructed in 1984) have experienced ongoing
maintenance issues, including extended outages of approximately nine months within
the last two years, and production capacity has decreased significantly (35% reduction
for CH-13 and 45% reduction for CH-18). The two Charnock Wells, which account for
nearly 35% of the City’s total groundwater production capacity, are both well beyond
their useful lives. Replacing the two aging wells would restore local groundwater
production at the two wells to their original production capacity. Production of local
groundwater has historically been 30% cheaper than purchasing imported water
supplies for potable use.
The agreement with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC would complete the first phase
of the well replacement project, which includes the drilling of two groundwater supply
wells to replace CH-13 and CH-18. Drilling of the two replacement wells is expected to
be completed before summer of 2023. During drilling operations, the City would need to
turn off the entire Charnock Well Field to minimize water quality impacts to the
groundwater aquifer and would result in an increase in imported water purchase during
this time. Design for the second phase of the well replacement project, which includes
the mechanical equipping of the replacement wells, is underway and will be finalized
once the first phase of the well drilling is complete. It is estimated that the well
replacement project will be completed by fall 2024. Replacing the two aging
groundwater production wells would assist the City in enhancing the resiliency in its
groundwater supply and maximizing groundwater production within sustainable yield
limits to reduce the City’s reliance on imported water supplies. The replacement wells
would be located in the Charnock Well Field, near the existing CH-13 and CH-18
locations.
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Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
7/27/2021
(Attachment A)
Council authorized issuance of Water Enterprise revenue bonds
Public Outreach
The Charnock Well Field is located in West Los Angeles on property owned by the City
of Santa Monica. The property is currently being leased to Windward School, a private
college preparatory school. The Water Resources Division has coordinated with
Windward School representatives throughout the development of this project, including
two meetings held on December 2, 2021, and March 22, 2022, to discuss the
construction timing and logistics.
The CH-13 and CH-18 replacement wells would be located in the Windward School
parking lot and perimeter of the sports field, respectively. During construction, a portion
of the parking lot and sports field would need to be temporarily closed. Windward
School staff has begun identifying temporary parking locations to make up for the
temporary loss of parking and planning for the closure of the sports field during
construction.
Environmental Analysis
The project is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to
Section 15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/Reconstruction), which provides exemptions for
the replacement/reconstruction of existing facilities, including the replacement of
existing utility systems involving negligible or no capacity expansion. The replacement
wells would be designed to the original design capacity of CH-13 and CH-18 and would
not represent an increase in the City’s groundwater production capacity.
In addition, none of the exceptions specified in Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines
would apply that would preclude use of this CEQA exemption. The project site is not
located in a sensitive environment, would not have a significant effect on the
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environment, would not damage scenic resources, would not be located on a hazardous
waste site, and would not cause a change to a historical resources.
Vendor Selection
Best and Only Bidder Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC
Submittals Received Selection Criteria
Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC $4,854,450 Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Evaluation Criteria Price; the ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform or provide the
materials or services; and the capacity of the bidder to perform the contract
or provide the service promptly, within the time specified, and without delay
or interference.
Bid Data
Date Posted Posted On
Advertise In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
3/16/2022 City’s Online
Bidding Site
3/17/2022 and 4/4/2022 41 4/11/2022
Additional Vendor Outreach & Justification to Award
The bid for this project was posted on the City’s online bidding site and advertised in the
Santa Monica Daily Press. In addition, staff contacted seven potential well drilling
contractors upon release of the bid. Staff provided two dates for prospective contractors
to attend a mandatory pre-bid job walk, with a total of four contractors attending.
Contractors who attended a pre-bid job walk but did not submit a bid stated the City’s
mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement as the reason for not bidding on this
project.
Staff evaluated the sole bid from Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC based on the
criteria in SMMC 2.24.180, including price, previous experience, ability to deliver, quality
of product, and compliance with City specifications. Prior to this bid, Yellow Jacket
Drilling Services, LLC also successfully completed four municipal groundwater wells
similar to the wells being awarded as part of this bid.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Water Fund to award an agreement
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with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for the construction of two replacement
groundwater production wells. Drilling of the two groundwater production wells would be
funded through the Water Revenue Bonds issued in August 2021 – Groundwater
Resiliency at Charnock Well Field.
Agreement Request
FY 2022-23 Budget
Request Amount CIP Account #
Total Contract
Amount
$4,854,450 C5007760.689740 $4,854,450
Prepared By: Chris Aguillon, Water Resources Protection Specialist
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. July 27, 2021 Staff Report (Web Link)
B. Oaks Initiative Form
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3.A.b
Packet Pg. 21 Attachment: Oaks Initiative Form (4943 : Award Bid for Charnock Replacement Wells)
3.A.b
Packet Pg. 22 Attachment: Oaks Initiative Form (4943 : Award Bid for Charnock Replacement Wells)