Attachment 8 -- Solicitation Questions and Answers for HVAC IWT FA930126Q0028.pdf

Question 1: What is the current service frequency for open cooling towers, and closed loops? The equipment list stated service every 7 months yet the bid specified weekly service for open towers and monthly service for closed loops? If it is changing why is this occurring?

Industry standard is quarterly for closed loops and monthly for open cooling towers.

Answer: The “estimated historical interval” in Appendix 3 is for planning purposes and does not supersede the specific monitoring and treatment requirements outlined in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The mandatory frequencies are as follows:

(a) Five (5) open cooling towers require weekly chemical monitoring/documentation, with monthly bacterial analysis.

(b) Chilled-water closed loops are tested monthly, with annual bacterial culture analysis.

(c) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) ice tanks are inspected every seven months only when maintained partially frozen year-round. TES tanks not maintained frozen require monthly inspection and treatment.

Question 2: Emergency Response times state 4 hours? Can we clarify what constitutes an emergency?

Answer: An emergency is a condition that, if not immediately addressed, poses a risk to:

• mission operations

• personnel safety

• environmental compliance

• equipment integrity.

The contractor must acknowledge/respond within one hour of notification and arrive on site within four hours. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Contracting Officer (CO) shall designate a call as an emergency; other calls are routine unless otherwise designated.

Question 3: It states that malfunctioning equipment must be repaired within 24 hours. What if parts are not available? Please clarify what scope of work regarding equipment repair is our responsibility? Industry standard calls for covering pumps and controllers if they were purchased or leased from the water treatment vendor and are under warranty.

Answer: The contractor is responsible for preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of the IWT components identified in PWS paragraph 1.4.1, including

• Chemical Feeders

• water softeners

• injector pumps

• conductivity controllers

• solenoid valves and timers

• strainers and automated valves

• tubing, and associated piping

Repairs must follow manufacturer instructions and commercial/industrial standards. If an OEM part is unavailable, an equal-or-better replacement may be used. The system must be repaired and returned to service within 24 hours unless another completion time is coordinated with the CO or COR.

Work that is outside routine maintenance/O&M-manual maintenance is handled as Over and Above work and requires written Government approval before execution. The contractor must provide applicable warranty documentation after repair.

Question 3: What is the difference between routine monitoring and water sampling and reporting? We view both as the same thing. Yet one states every seven months, and the other states weekly.

Answer: Routine monitoring is the recurring hands-on field activity performed to verify system condition and chemical program performance. This includes sample collection, testing, equipment observations, and necessary chemical adjustments.

Water sampling refers to the administrative documentation and deliverables generated from those field activities. The contractor must measure and document chemical levels weekly, record all active test results and chemical usage, and synthesize written observations and trend analyses into the required monthly maintenance and quarterly system review reports.

Question 4: Please provide a service report that details what is currently being tested for open cooling, Thermal energy tanks and closed loops. The bid states what the ranges should be, but are all these parameters required based on the service frequency?

Industry standard testing for a cooling tower includes:

Conductivity, pH, Calcium, Alkalinity, Chlorides, Biocide, Inhibitor, aerobic Bacteria

Industry standard testing for a closed loop:

Conductivity, pH, Inhibitor, metals, anaerobic bacteria

Answer: The specific tests required depend on the system type, chemical program, and its current condition. The contractor’s post-award plan must include a detailed chemical testing program and inspection checklist for Government approval in accordance with PWS required monitoring, adjustment, reporting, trend analysis, and bacterial analysis results.

The open-loop report records parameters such as conductivity, pH, TDS, Langelier Saturation Index (LSI), inhibitor residual, and bacterial results in accordance with system-specific parameters and acceptable ranges established in the PWS.

The closed-loop report records conductivity, pH, inhibitor residual, bacteria, chemical additions, temperature, glycol percentage, and system comments. In accordance with system-specific parameters and acceptable ranges established in the PWS.

Question 5: Please provide a city water makeup report that shows what water quality is entering the closed loops, Thermal Energy system, and cooling tower. This should include pH, Conductivity, Calcium, Alkalinity, chlorides, and silica.

Answer: A complete, current analysis of the makeup city water is not available. Historical reports include limited makeup-water and operating data but they do not constitute a complete city-water characterization for all requested parameters. The Government will provide any available current source-water report by amendment, if available. Offerors should base their propose on the PWS requirements and plan for confirmation sampling at contract start.

Question 6: Will CWT (Certified Water Technologist) be required? This is the certification necessary for a water treater to have for a federal site.

Answer: A CWT certification is not specifically required by the PWS. However, contractor personnel must hold the necessary professional certifications and licenses required by applicable Federal, state, and local agencies to perform the work, and must have adequate training, skill, and knowledge for performance requirements outlined in the PWS.

Question 7: Please provide the runtime for all open cooling tower systems (24/7?) (365 days per year)

Answer: Operating hours vary by facility and mission demand; continuous, 24/7/365 days per year operation is not guaranteed. As historical operating information shows, some systems were noted as being offline during reporting periods but cooling towers should operate at least six hours per day to support the treatment program. Offerors should price recurring monitoring and service requirements in the PWS, not assume continuous operation of every tower.

Question 8: What is the water volume for each Thermal Energy tank? What is the flow rate and how often does it run?

Answer: Appendix 3 provides limited historical equipment and volume information, but the provided version does not reliably establish complete tank-by-tank water volumes, flow rates, or operating schedules. TES service requirements are based on whether the tanks remain partially frozen.

Partially Frozen year-round seven-month inspection and at least annual microbicide treatment.

Not kept frozen: monthly inspection/treatment.

Question 9: Is existing equipment customer-owned, such as the chemical pumps, chemical tanks and controllers? Will we be able to use it for our chemistry?

Answer: IWT equipment is Government-furnished property where identified as such by the Government. The PWS requires the contractor to inspect, test, maintain, and repair existing IWT components, including chemical feeders, tanks, pumps, and conductivity controllers. The contractor may use the existing equipment only after verifying that it is:

• compatible with the proposed chemical program

• safe to operate

• adequate for required performance

Any modification, replacement, or work outside routine maintenance requires Government coordination and, when applicable, written Over and Above approval before execution.