VISN 6 Legionella Testing Questions and Answers.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 21 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Q301--Legionella Testing VISN 6
- Solicitation number
- 36C24626Q0491
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document addressing clarifications for a federal RFQ solicitation (36C24626Q0491) for Legionella Testing Services at VISN 6 Veterans Affairs Medical Center facilities across seven locations in North Carolina and Virginia (Fayetteville, Durham, Salisbury, Salem, Richmond, Hampton, and Asheville).
The contract requires comprehensive water safety testing and remediation services including: quarterly Legionella culture testing (approximately 3,462 samples annually across all facilities) using CDC ELITE-certified laboratory methods capable of detecting 1 CFU/mL minimum; seven expert site visits annually (one per facility per year) to review Water Safety/Management Plans for compliance with VHA Directive 1061 and The Joint Commission standards; six low-level potable water disinfections at 5 ppm and two hyper-chlorination events at up to 200 ppm with contractor-performed labor and flushing; post-remediation retesting following positive results; and serotyping of all Legionella-positive samples. Testing includes measurement of temperature, residual chlorine, total chlorine, and pH at the time of sample collection. The contractor is responsible for sample collection, transportation, and ensuring samples meet laboratory hold times. Results and quarterly spreadsheets are due within 15 days of laboratory receipt. The base period runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, with four option years and year-specific pricing required. This is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) set-aside under NAICS 541380 (Testing Laboratory and Services) with an updated solicitation closing date of August 7, 2026 at 10:00 AM EST. No further questions will be accepted following this amendment.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 36C24626Q0491 0004_1.docx | DOCX document | |
| S01 Solicitation 36C24626Q0491.pdf | ||
| 36C24626Q0491 0003.docx | DOCX document | |
| REVISED VISN 6 Legionella Testing Questions and Answers.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| VISN 6 1061 Water Sampling Totals.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 36C24626Q0491 0002_1.docx | DOCX document | |
| Copy of VISN 6 1061 Water Sampling Totals by contract.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| VISN 6 1061 Water Sampling Totals 02.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| FY 2026 Contract Totals 2.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Copy of VISN 6 1061 Water Sampling Totals by contract Q2Q3 Agreed Upon.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| VISN 6 1061 Water Sampling Totals by contract Q3Q4 Final.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Performance Work Statement WMP monitoring and Legionella Testing.docx | DOCX document | |
| FY 2026 Contract Totals.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| 36C24626Q0491 0001_1.docx | DOCX document | |
| 36C24626Q0491_1.docx | DOCX document |
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Sheet1
| 36C24626Q0491 Legionella Testing VISN 6 Questions and Answers | ||
| QUESTION | ANSWER | |
| Are the quantities in the Item Information / price schedule (e.g., 3,462 Legionella tests per year; 7 Expert Site Visits; 6 Low-Level Potable Water Disinfections; 2 Hyper-Chlorinations) guaranteed minimums, firm quantities, or estimates for evaluation only? Please confirm whether the contractor is guaranteed any minimum quantity or is paid only for services actually performed? | The quantities are best estimates. Most quarterly billing results in slightly less samples than in the table. Disinfections may vary from 0 to the estimated total in the CLIN. They are included in case they are needed and the price will be known. | |
| If quantities are estimates, please provide historical actual quantities for the prior 2–3 years for each line item. Because unit pricing must be built around expected volume, a large gap between the estimated ceiling and actual demand (for example pricing for 3,462 tests and receiving far fewer) is a significant risk to both parties? | See attached spreadsheets for the past 2 years, which are also used to confirm contractor billing. | |
| Please provide a quantity breakdown by facility for each line item. Sample volume is not expected to be uniform across the seven sites, and travel, shipping, and mobilization costs differ substantially by location. Without a per-site allocation, offerors cannot accurately price site-dependent costs | Included/attached | |
| Is the 3,462 annual Legionella quantity intended to be split evenly across the seven facilities, or does it reflect a specific per-building or per-site sampling plan? Please share the basis for the 3,462 figure | See spreadsheet in PWS. | |
| To ensure a common understanding while pricing, please provide a definition and scope for each line item. The schedule lists descriptions but no detailed scope. Specifically: a. Expert Site Visit (7 EA/yr) — What does the Government consider an "Expert Site Visit"? Please define what the visit includes (e.g., onsite inspection, sample collection, water management program consultation, report), expected duration, required personnel/credentials, and deliverables. With 7 visits and 7 facilities, is this one visit per facility per year, or a different distribution? | One site visit per year per facility, at the end of contract period to review performance and work our issues. | |
| Legionella Testing including Other Parameters Testing (Temp, Residual Cl, Total Cl, pH) (3,462 EA/yr) — Does one "EA" equal one water sample analyzed for Legionella by culture plus temperature, residual chlorine, total chlorine, and pH on that same sample? | No, legionella sample is taken, then the other parameters are measured at sample location | |
| Are the field parameters (temp/Cl/pH) expected to be measured on site at time of collection or reported by the laboratory? | At sampling time | |
| This determines whether onsite labor is required for every sample. c. Low-Level Potable Water Disinfection (5 ppm) (6 EA/yr) — Please define the scope. Is the contractor expected to physically perform system disinfection to 5 ppm (a remediation/treatment activity), or is this a lab/analytical service? | Contractor performed service | |
| What system size or volume is assumed per "EA | 250mL | |
| Hyper-Chlorination up to 200 ppm with labor for flushing (2 EA/yr) — Please confirm whether the contractor is expected to perform the physical hyper-chlorination and flushing labor on the water system, and if so, define the assumed system size/scope per "EA," site access, and any coordination with facility engineering | Contractor will perform with coordination and help from the facility. | |
| For CLINs relating to disinfection and hyper-chlorination (items c and d above): are these expected to be self-performed by the awardee, and if the awardee is primarily an analytical laboratory, is subcontracting of the physical remediation/flushing labor permitted consistent with the SDVOSB limitations on subcontracting? | Yes, please reference and adhere to the limitations on subcontracting FAR 52.219-14. Sign and complete VAAR 852.219-75 (pages 29-30 on Solicitation attached) | |
| Who is responsible for collecting the water samples — the contractor on site, or VA facility staff who then ship samples to the laboratory? | Contractor will collect the samples | |
| The ratio of 7 site visits quarterly to 3,462 tests suggests most samples may be collected outside of the Expert Site Visits. Please clarify the intended collection model, as it is the single largest driver of onsite labor and travel cost. | quarterly samples to be taken at the identified buildings and cooling towers. See above for annual site visit. | |
| If VA facility staff collect any samples, will the Government expect the contractor to provide prepaid, temperature-appropriate shipping containers, labels, and chain-of-custody forms, and can facility staff commit to same-day or next-day handoff to the carrier to protect sample hold times? | VA staff will not collect samples. | |
| Is there a maximum acceptable hold time the Government will hold offerors to for shipped samples, and does the Government have a required or preferred carrier / shipping lane for any site | Samples must be received by the lab in the allowed time for a valid analysis. We have had labs refuse samples delivered late, it is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure shipping | |
| The price schedule does not include a separate line item for post-remediation retests / confirmatory resampling of positive results. How should offerors price retests triggered by a positive Legionella result — are they invoiced under the standard Legionella Testing CLIN (item x002) at the same unit price, or should offerors propose a separate retest price? We recommend a distinct retest treatment so both parties can plan for it | SOW include resamples for post remediation efforts. | |
| Please provide the historical positivity rate and the historical retest rate for each facility (percentage of samples positive and number of resamples per year). Retest volume is unpredictable and site-specific, and this data is needed to price retest exposure without over- or under-estimating | See attached | |
| Does the requirement include serotyping / speciation of Legionella-positive samples? If so, it does not appear as a separate line item — please confirm whether serotyping is required, at what trigger (every positive, or on request), and where/how it should be priced (per positive sample, per building, or bundled into the Legionella unit price). | Every positive, we have to report the species. | |
| When a positive result requires resampling after remediation, will resampling generally occur within a scheduled visit, or could a single positive require a separate return trip to the site? | Depends, but usually prior the next quarter’s sampling. | |
| For the Expert Site Visits, will the Government confirm escort availability and typical wait times for any secured or mechanical-space sampling, and confirm that visits can be scheduled to allow efficient consecutive-day sampling across nearby facilities? | We have had no issues in the past | |
| Should a single unit price per CLIN hold across all five years, or should each option year be priced separately on the schedule? The schedule lists separate CLIN blocks per year (0001–0004, 1001–1004, etc.), which suggests year-specific pricing — please confirm | Yes option year pricing. | |
| The schedule has no separate line item for travel, mobilization, or onsite sampling labor. Should those costs be built into the unit prices (which line item?), or will the Government add a travel/ODC CLIN? If built in, please confirm which CLIN is intended to carry mobilization cost, since the Expert Site Visit quantity (7) is far lower than the sampling quantity (3,462). | ||
| Will the Government evaluate any line item at a quantity of zero, or are all listed quantities used for the total-price evaluation? (This affects how offerors distribute cost across line items.) | Some line items may come in as 0, if a site does not want any discretionary, then there would be none.Include if needed | |
| What is the required turnaround time for Legionella culture results and for the associated report? Because culture-based Legionella analysis typically requires roughly 10–14 days of incubation, please confirm whether any reporting clock starts from sample collection or from laboratory receipt | We should receive a copy of the report within 15 days, the spreadsheets are due by the middle of the last month in the quarter. | |
| Please confirm the reporting deliverables and format expected (individual reports, a consolidated data spreadsheet, Water Management Program documentation, etc.) and their due cadence | Candence is quarterly. Each facility will have 2 completed spreadsheets, one for building samples and one for tower samples. Spreadsheets attached | |
| The evaluation references a Water Safety/Management Plan, HACCP validation, and sample reports. Please confirm whether developing or maintaining a Water Management Program for any facility is within the scope of this contract (and if so, under which CLIN it is priced), or whether the scope is limited to testing and the listed disinfection activities | The contractor will review each facility WSMP in year 2 for compliance with 1061 and The Joint Commission as stated in the SOW. | |
| The solicitation requires a CDC ELITE–certified laboratory capable of detecting a minimum of 1 CFU/mL by culture. Please confirm that culture is the required method for all Legionella line items (i.e., PCR/qPCR is not being requested), and confirm any accreditation documentation the Government wants submitted with the quote. | PCR testing removed from the scope. Culture method is required for all samples. | |
| Please confirm the deadline for submitting questions is July 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST, and that quotes are due July 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM EST. Several of the questions above affect pricing, so we would appreciate responses via amendment with enough lead time before the quote deadline. | Deadline will be extended with Q&A amendment | |
| Will the Government issue an amendment incorporating a revised price/cost schedule if any line-item definitions or quantities change as a result of these questions? | Yes | |
| Two conflicting pricing tables - The Section B schedule (4 lines: Expert Site Visit 7 EA; Legionella Testing 3,462 EA; Low-Level Potable Water Disinfection 5ppm 6 EA; Hyper-Chlorination 200ppm 2 EA) does not match the PWS pricing table (5 lines: Review Existing WMPs (7); Site Visit (7); Legionella Testing (Each); Low Level Remediation (Each); High Level Remediation (Each) — with no quantities for the remediation lines). Please clarify which table offerors must price to, and provide quantities for the remediation lines. | Review Existing WSPs only occurs in Option Year 2, due by August 30, 2028. Not June 30, 2027. | |
| Period-of-performance date conflict - PWS: "the base year/period shall be awarded July 1, 2026." Section B schedule: POP Begin 10-01-2026, POP End 09-30-2027 (and the solicitation body also says Oct 1). Request the correct base-year start date. | Corrected, POP Start 10-01-2026 | |
| NWSSL (no-water-sample-shipped) capability requirement - The PWS requires offerors to provide a CDC-ELITE culture method that does NOT require shipment of a water sample ("NWSSL") in addition to the shipped ISO 11731 method. This is an unusual dual requirement, please clarify/justify the NWSSL requirement or accept ISO 11731 alone — it is a significant capability and pricing driver. | The NWSSL is only a qualifier of the lab. Water will be shipped, but the lab must also be capable of NWSSL. | |
| 1-liter retest volume vs 250 mL routine — cost asymmetry - Routine quarterly samples may be 250 mL, but all retests must be 1 liter. With ~290 estimated retests folded into the 3,462 at a single per-test price, the higher-volume retests are under-compensated unless priced separately. Would the Government consider incorporating a separate retest CLIN/price. If so, is there any openness towards a cost plus fee based approach to that CLIN or should the offeror expect a FFP structure? | 250 mL for all samples, unless agreed upon for a specific circumstance. | |
| 15-day-from-sample-date reporting vs culture incubation - Full summary reports are due within 15 days of the sample date, while culture incubation alone typically runs 10–14 days. Please confirm whether the 15-day clock is workable / whether it runs from collection or lab receipt for the summary report (individual results are due within 24 hours of lab release)? | Lab receipt | |
| In paragraph 1 it states that a review of each facility's WMP will take place during the face-to-face meetings in Option Year 2, but the last sentence states that this review will be documented in a report to the COR by June 30, 2027 - this will be the end of the Base Year. Please confirm in which year this review will be required. | Provide in Option Year Two. POP dates have changed, CLINS reflect correct POP | |
| How many Low-Level and High-Level Remediations will be budgeted, or should we just provide the price for one of each? | see spreadsheet | |
| Can you please provide a copy of the full CLINS schedule so we can provide the proposal pricing requested in your email? | Solicitation attached | |
| Is HACCP Manager certification required | It is to ensure qualified person supervising the sampling and shipping. Also, the 2nd year, the contractor has to review each facilities WSMP. | |
| Are the listed items to price for the entire VISN amongst all locations or for EACH location? | The entire VISN, the totals for each facility is a guide as to the total as each facility. The contract will have the flexibility to take resamples where necessary within the VISN. | |
| There are (7) site visits listed, is this one site visit per location? | Yes | |
| There are 3,462 Legionella, temp, Cl, pH. Is there a list for all of these per site? | Yes. see attached for actual samples billed for the past 2 years | |
| There are (6) low level and (2) high level chlorination's listed. Are these for each site per year? | No, all VISN 6 facilities will have the monitoring systems by the end of next FY | |
| What is the scope of work for the expert site visits- annual resurvey and audit of the existing facilities WMP? | Review each facility’s WSP for 1061 and Joint Commission Compliance | |
| Are the disinfections scheduled out in response to Legionella test results or pre-prescribed to each facility? | The facility will decide if they need a disinfection. | |
| Are all samples from potable water sources? | There are Cooling Tower Samples. | |
| Are all samples from the main hospital building, or are skilled nursing buildings that are on the campuses included? | Multiple buildings are included. They include the main hospital, domiciliary, nursing homes, Fisher Houses, Spinal Cord Injury, Apartments, Inpatient Mental Health, and anywhere there is overnight stays. | |
| Is there a guideline or SOW for the online and offline disinfections? | No specific guideline, just follow the SOW. | |
| Unit of measure. For both the Low-Level Disinfection (6 EA) and Hyper-Chlorination (2 EA) lines, please define what a single "EA" represents. Is one "EA" a single building, an entire campus water system, a defined zone/riser, or a discrete positive-source segment? Offerors cannot accurately price a unit that is not defined. | EA” is equal to one occurrence. For example, it would represent on set up for one building, or portion of a building. Each is per singular set-up. If a site needed 2 buildings done at the same time, that would be 2 setups, so 2 (EA). | |
| Physical parameters needed to estimate. To price these events with any accuracy, offerors need the size of what is being treated. For each site where these events are anticipated, please provide (or state the planning assumption for): total potable system water volume (gallons), approximate linear feet of piping, number of buildings and floors, and approximate number of outlets/fixtures that must be flushed to a target residual | Use best judgement for an average sized building of 12,000 SF | |
| Which facilities and what triggers. At which of the seven facilities are the 6 low-level and 2 hyper-chlorination events expected, and what triggers them (routine, positive-result response, engineering request)? Please also confirm whether scope is whole-system or localized to the affected segmen | The trigger would be a request by the facility. It could be any facility. | |
| Historical remediation actuals. Please provide the scope and scale of any disinfection/hyper-chlorination events performed at these facilities over the prior 2–3 years (buildings treated, volume, labor hours, duration). This is the best available basis for consistent pricing and would let all offerors price to the same expectation | No specific data available at this time, the facilities have performed for bldgs, From 12,000 SF to 53,000 SF. The inclusion of the item is to make it easier for the facilities to execute a disinfection on an as needed basis. | |
| Labor, access, and disposal. For the hyper-chlorination/flushing labor, please confirm whether the awardee performs all flushing labor or whether facility engineering assists; the expected shutdown/access windows (occupied-building constraints, night/weekend work, system isolation); and responsibility for dechlorination/neutralization and discharge of treated water, including any permit requirements | Contractor to provide all materials and personnel required to set up the disinfection. Facility will be present and assist in flushing and will provide any necessary signage. Discharge should be in the sanitary sewer. No permitting requirements. | |
| CLIN structure to manage scope uncertainty. Given the variability above, would the Government consider one of the following so that pricing is fair to both parties rather than heavily padded to cover unknown scope: (a) tiered remediation CLINs by size band (e.g., small/medium/large by system volume or building count); (b) a unit-rate or time-and-materials structure for these events (labor-hour rate plus materials/ODCs, with a not-to-exceed) rather than a single fixed price per "EA"; or (c) issuance of per-event scope specifications before pricing? Absent scope data, a firm-fixed per-"EA" price requires offerors either to build in a large risk premium or to accept significant performance risk, neither of which serves the Government's interest | 1. Bldg count is one per EA. I believe 25,000 SF is a fair approximation. | |
| The solicitation requires the Program Manager to hold an HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) Manager certification. HACCP certification is designed for food safety programs and hazard tracking in food service/kitchen environments, and is not a certification standard applicable to Legionella water sampling or water management. Can the Government confirm whether this requirement was intended, or whether the intended requirement is ASSE 12080 - Certified Legionella Water Safety and Management Specialist, which is the recognized industry certification for this scope of work? If HACCP is confirmed, would ASSE 12080 certification be considered as an equivalent qualification? | Yes to both. | |
| Can the Government clarify the required frequency of testing (e.g., monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually) for both potable and utility water systems at each of the seven facilities listed in the Place of Performance? In our experience, per the VHA Directive 1061(1), VA Medical Centers are generally required to perform quarterly Legionella culture testing for potable water systems; however, some high-risk areas or facilities with specific Water Management Plans may require more frequent monthly monitoring for certain parameters. Please confirm if any facility-specific monitoring requirements apply beyond the standard quarterly schedule. | Sampling is quarterly. Resampling follows the sampling. If there are any quarterly positives above threshold, then resampling will occur at those facilities after mitigation efforts. |
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