12363N26Q0003 0001 Paytette Lava Fire Watering Facilities Rebuild Q and A.pdf

12363N26Q0003 Payette Lava Fire Watering Facilities Questions and Answers

16DEC2025

1. According to the attached map, it appears to me that some of the facilities are located away from designated roads/trails. Will cross-country travel to those sites be allowed with equipment?

This is true, some of the facilities are located away from designated roads/trails. Cross-country travel to those sites will be allowed with equipment when following a pre-approved route.

Each livestock watering facility has already been assigned an approved route that has been evaluated by our staff. We will inform the contractor of the approved route. The spring boxes/ponds are variable distances from the nearest road. Some boxes/ponds are essentially right off the shoulder of the road, several other ponds are 4.6 miles from the nearest road, most of the developments, however, are within a couple hundred yards of the nearest road. The ponds that are roughly 4.6 miles from the nearest road will be accessed by an old road prism for about 2.5 miles then cross country about 2 miles to the site. The access route has already been determined as accessible by a mini excavator.

2. Approximately how far are the troughs supposed to be located from the spring sources? I know it will vary; I just want to make sure there isn't 1 that's located 500' away or something like that.

Understandable. Most troughs are located between 30-100 feet from the headbox/spring/source. I do not believe we have any facilities that exceed roughly 250 feet in this contract.

3. Approximately how far are the troughs from the daylight of the drain?

The trough overflow daylight is also variable. Usually, we like to run the daylight pipe from the trough into an adjacent drainage, riparian area, or thick brush area, so that livestock and wildlife do not destroy the daylight pipe or alter the wet area the overflow from the trough creates. The overflow pipe could daylight anywhere from 30-250 feet from the trough.

4. How thick is the bentonite core of the dams supposed to be?

This might also vary. Generally, the bentonite core of these dams would preferably be 4-8 inches thick, this however will depend on the accessibility of site. With remote sites or challenging access, it may only be feasible to ask to repair the pond in the absence of bentonite.

We will work with the contractors on these types of sites.

5. Are government supplied materials to be picked up from the Council Ranger Station?

Yes, we have a supply yard here in Council where supplies will be stored for use on these projects. The yard is separated from the Council Ranger Station Office, but we will guide them to the supply yard to show them around.

12363N26Q0003 Payette Lava Fire Watering Facilities Questions and Answers

6. Which are the most difficult sites to access?

There are five water developments where access is limited. Access to the sites will be via an old roadbed to a saddle, then cross country down a ridge system to the various developments.

Getting bentonite to these five locations may be impractical, in such an event we may need to settle for repairing the ponds in the absence of bentonite. Another challenge is Dog Creek Pond.

The footprint of Dog Creek pond is roughly half an acre so the right equipment for cleaning out dry sediment from the pond is important.

7. Are any bonds required for this project?

No bid guarantees or bonding will be required for this project. Certified payrolls will not be required. See attached Service Contract Act Wage Determination.

8. What happened to cause the completion date to be extended to 30OCT2027?

Other contracts on or near some of these sites are still pending completion which will provide better access to them. The due date of Solicitation has also been extended to 1700 Central on 30DEC2025. Please return the signed SF-30 to john.swizdor@usda.gov.

9. Are the ponds dry or will they need to be dewatered?

All but one pond are usually dry in the summer. That one pond sometimes has minimal water in it, but no dewatering will be required.

10. Will dispersed camping be authorized on or near the project sites?

Dispersed camping may be available within current USDA-Forest Service guidelines and local seasonal restrictions.

mailto:john.swizdor@usda.gov