RFP 27-19-3320 Sewer Flow Monitoring Services.pdf

Forsyth County Procurement Department 2435 Freedom Parkway, Suite 3100

Cumming, GA 30041 | Phone 770.888.8872

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP NO. 27-19-3320

Sewer Flow Monitoring Services

Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Cumming, GA

Closing Date and Time:

October 15, 2026 / 2:00 p.m.

FORSYTH COUNTY, GEORGIA

Request for Proposal No. 27-19-3320

Sewer Flow Monitoring Services

1. PURPOSE OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Forsyth County, a political subdivision of the State of Georgia (“County”) is soliciting Proposals from qualified firms to the following provide Sewer Flow Monitoring Services for the Forsyth County Department of Water and Sewer.

All interested qualified firms are invited to submit a formal proposal with pricing information to accomplish the Scope of Work described herein, in conformance with the prescribed format. The proposal is to be signed by a principal in the firm.

It is the County’s intent that this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) permit competition. It shall be the offeror’s responsibility to advise the Procurement Agent in writing, if any language, specification, etc., or any combination thereof, inadvertently restricts or limits the requirements stated in this RFP to a single source. Such notification must be received by the Procurement Agent not later than ten (10) days prior to the date set for acceptance of the proposal.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information in the RFP, we recognize that the information may not be complete in every detail and that all work may not be expressly mentioned in these specifications. It is the responsibility of the proposing firm to include in their proposal all pertinent information in accordance with the objectives of the County.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION

Proposals MUST be submitted in the format prescribed herein. Failure to comply with the directions listed in this RFP, or omission of requested information could result in disqualification of your firm’s proposal.

Forsyth County uses a procurement portal powered by EUNA Procurement formerly Bonfire Interactive (“EUNA”) for accepting and evaluating bids, statements of qualification, and proposals digitally, found by using the link:

https://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Procurement/Bids-Results

Proposals shall only be accepted online through the EUNA Portal.

Proposals are due 2:00 p.m., (EST) October 15, 2026. Names of submitting firms will then be read aloud at 2:30 p.m. (EST), October 15, 2026. All interested parties and the general public are invited.

ALL QUESTIONS are to be asked via EUNA under Opportunity Q&A. Responses to substantive questions will be provided as written Addenda and will be posted under Public Files in EUNA. The deadline for questions is October 6, 2026, 12:00 p.m. (EST).

https://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Procurement/Bids-Results

Proposals and Pricing Information received will become the property of Forsyth County and shall be used as the County sees fit. All information contained in the Proposals and Pricing Information will remain confidential until after the awarding and signing of the contract.

3. COST OF PROPOSAL

Forsyth County assumes no responsibility or liability for the costs incurred by the submitting firm to prepare and/or submit a proposal. The entire cost of preparing and submitting Proposals and Pricing Information, or any work in connection therewith will be borne by the submitting firm or team of firms.

4. RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPOSER

Proposals must be signed by an authorized official to bind the offeror, and it shall contain a statement to the effect that the Proposal is firm for a period of at least ninety (90) days from the closing date for submission.

5. CONNECTIVITY

The County shall not be responsible for errors of any kind or nature occurring in the transmission or downloading/uploading of any documents from the website. The County does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, or secure access to this or other related websites. Operation of this website may be affected from time to time by numerous factors outside of our control. Site problems, user problems, internet problems, power outages, or routine maintenance may interrupt or prevent access to information, documents, and/or submission capabilities.

6. PROHIBITION OF GRATUITIES

Firms shall not offer any gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value to any official, employee, or agent of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners for the purpose of influencing consideration of this proposal.

7. CONTACT

To ensure all prospective respondents have the same level of knowledge relative to the project, as well as ensuring any additional data is made available to all proposers, no vendor shall contact or discuss any aspect of this RFP with any County employee, elected official, evaluation/selection committee member, or project team member, during the RFP process up until award has been made. If contact is made, that vendor may be disqualified from the process. All questions in regard to this RFP are to be submitted via EUNA under Opportunity Q&A as detailed in the General Information section of this document. Any information obtained about this solicitation through any means other than the solicitation itself or the addendums thereunto is not valid and should not be considered in any response to this solicitation.

8. OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL

Ownership of all data, material, and documentation originated and prepared for the County pursuant to the Contract shall belong exclusively to the County.

9. TERM

The Term of this Contract shall begin on January 1, 2027 and will end on December 31, 2031.

10. AGREEMENT

Attached to this RFP is a draft form of a General Services Agreement which contains terms and conditions of the contractual arrangement for the services. Such form of agreement will be modified as appropriate, in the County’s discretion, to include any additional specific terms related to the services being provided. Any questions regarding the form of the General Services Agreement must be submitted in writing by the deadline for questions specified in this RFP. “Agreement” and “Contract” refer to the same instrument.

11. CHANGES

No change will be made to this RFP except by written modification by the County Procurement Department. Requests for interpretation or changes must be in writing and received at least seven (7) calendar days prior to the time set for opening of the proposals.

12. WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSAL

Proposals may be withdrawn by written request only if the request is received prior to the time and date set for the opening of proposals. Negligence on the part of the Proposer in preparing its proposal confers no right of withdrawal or modification of its proposal after proposal has been opened. No proposal may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after time has been called on the date of opening.

13. SUBSTITUTIONS

When references are made in these documents to trade names or to the brand names of manufacturers, such references are made solely to designate and identify the quality of materials or equipment to be furnished and are not intended to restrict proposals. If comparable materials or equipment of trade names or of manufacturers' names which are different from those mentioned in the RFP specifications are offered, the burden of proving equality of a proposed substitution rest on the submitting firm and must be provided with the proposal.

14. EXCEPTIONS TO SPECIFICATIONS

Any award resulting from this RFP shall bind the Proposer to all terms, conditions and specifications set forth in this RFP. Proposers whose proposals do not conform should so note on separate page if necessary. While the County reserves the right to make an award to a nonconforming proposer when in the best interest of the County, such awards will not be readily made, and proposers are urged to conform to the greatest extent possible.

No exceptions will be considered to have been taken by a Proposer unless it is properly set out as provided above. No exception will be deemed to have been taken by the County unless incorporated in an award resulting from this RFP and so stated.

15. RESERVATION OF REJECTION OR CANCELLATION

The County reserves the right to cancel the RFP or to reject any and all proposals submitted in response to any solicitation, to reject any portion thereof, or to waive any minor irregularity or administrative requirement, if it determines, in its sole discretion, that such cancellation, rejection, or waiver is in the best interests of the County. The

County further reserves the right to reject a proposal in which the unit prices are determined to be materially unbalanced.

16. AFFIDAVIT

The Proposer will be required to execute an Affidavit of Non-Collusion and submit it with the RFP Documents.

17. INSPECTION OF RECORDS

The records of the Procurement Department are open and accessible to the public in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Open Records Act. Requests for inspection of records must be in writing, must be reasonable, must contain sufficient information to facilitate retrieval, and must not interfere with the orderly operation of the Procurement Department.

Proposers are cautioned that any documentation submitted with or in support of a bid or proposal will become subject to public inspection under the Georgia Open Records Act.

Labeling such information “Confidential,” “Proprietary,” or in any other manner will not protect this material from public inspection upon request.

18. TRADE SECRETS

Careful consideration should be given before submitting confidential information to the County. The County’s disclosure of records and documentation is governed by the Georgia’s Open Records Act, which permits public scrutiny of most materials collected as part of this process. If Proposer submits information that contains trade secret information and if Proposer wishes to keep such information confidential, Proposer must submit and attach to such information an affidavit affirmatively declaring that specific information constitutes trade secrets pursuant to the Georgia Trade Secrets Act of 1990, O.C.G.A. §10-1-760 et seq., and the Proposer and County will follow the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(34) related thereto.

19. REGULATORY AGENCIES

Successful Proposer will be responsible for all required permits or license required by any regulatory agency of the city, county, state or federal governments. Further, successful proposer will be responsible for meeting all requirements of any regulation(s) or guideline(s) of any of the said governments or any independent agency recognized by said governments as publisher of any such regulation(s) or guideline(s).

20. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

The Proposer represents to Forsyth County that it is fully experienced and properly qualified to perform the functions provided for herein and that it is properly equipped, organized and financed to perform such functions. The Proposer shall finance its own operations hereunder, shall operate as an independent contractor and not as the agent of Forsyth County and nothing contained in this RFP or a contract resulting from same shall be construed to constitute the Proposer or any of its employees, servants, or agents or subcontractors as a partner, employee, servant or agent of the County nor shall either party have any authority to bind the other in any respect, it being intended that each shall remain an independent contractor.

21. REQUIRED FORMS

All Proposing firms will be required to complete, execute, and submit with its proposal the following:

• Affidavit of Non-Collusion

• Contractor Affidavit and Agreement

• Subcontractor Affidavit (if applicable)

• Addendum Acknowledgement

22. EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA

The County will evaluate all responsive proposals to determine which proposal best meets the needs of the County based on the evaluation criteria. Evaluation will be made by a committee established for this purpose. The County shall be the sole judge of its own best interest, the proposals, and the resulting agreement. Award will be based on a review of all information submitted. Finalists may be asked to appear before the Evaluation Committee, if required.

At the completion of the technical evaluation process, the proposals will be ranked, and the firms submitting the highest ranked proposals, based upon technical merit, may be scheduled for interviews. The County will negotiate with the top ranked proposer or proposers. If negotiations are not satisfactory to the County, then the County reserves the right to negotiate with the next ranked proposer, and so forth. Negotiations may include confirmation of the cash allowance amounts, and the County may request current equipment pricing from the proposer with which it is negotiating for that purpose.

The County evaluation criteria include the following:

• Cover Letter – Pass / Fail. Completeness and responsiveness of the required disclosures, addenda acknowledgement, and comments on the Sample Agreement.

• Forms - Pass / Fail. Submittal of all required affidavits and County forms.

• Project Approach - 20 points. Quality of the proposed installation, monitoring, data review, editing, and quality control process; the transition plan; management of routine service and non-routine response; and the capability of the data platform.

• Key Staff Experience - 20 points. Experience and qualifications of the assigned staff, and the adequacy of the staffing and response plan, including proximity of resources to Forsyth County.

• Firm Experience and Project References - 20 points. Relevant firm experience with comparable flow monitoring programs, equipment and platform capability, demonstrated capacity to support the program from a local or regional office, and the quality and relevance of the comparable projects and client references provided.

• Cost Proposal - 40 points. Completed unit-price Cost Proposal workbook and overall value.

Cover Letter and Forms. The cover letter and all required County forms and affidavits are evaluated on a pass/fail basis and are not assigned points. Omission of a required form or affidavit, or of a disclosure required in the cover letter, may result in the proposal being determined non-responsive. The County will use the disclosures required in the cover letter in determining whether a proposer is responsible.

Minimum Technical Score. A proposal must receive at least forty-two (42) of the sixty (60) available technical points, being seventy percent (70%) of the combined points available for Project Approach, Key Staff Experience, and Firm Experience and Project References, in order to be considered for award. A proposal scoring below this minimum will not be considered further, without regard to its price.

Cost Proposal Scoring. The Base Evaluation Price for each proposer will be calculated from the completed Cost Proposal workbook as the sum of the total estimated cost for Contract Years 1 through 5, excluding the cash allowance pay items. The cash allowances are fixed by the County and are identical for every proposer, so they are not included in the Base Evaluation Price. The workbook calculates this value on the Cost Basis tab.

Price Proposal. The lowest Base Evaluation Price will receive the full forty (40) points. All other proposals will receive points in proportion to the lowest Base Evaluation Price, calculated as follows:

Score = (Lowest Base Evaluation Price ÷ Proposer’s Base Evaluation Price) × 40 points

Evaluation quantities are provided solely for consistent proposal comparison. The County does not guarantee the quantities of work performed under the Agreement.

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SCOPE OF SERVICES

1. Purpose

The Forsyth County Department of Water and Sewer (FCDWS) is soliciting proposals from qualified firms (Contractor) to provide sanitary sewer flow monitoring services, including installation and removal of monitoring equipment, operation and maintenance of that equipment, field confirmation and verification, data collection and quality control, hosted web-based data management, alarming and notification, reporting, and supporting engineering analysis. The selected Contractor must be fully capable of providing the services described herein and shall perform such services under the direction of FCDWS.

This solicitation continues an established FCDWS program. The Contractor will assume operation of County-owned equipment currently in service, transition the program and its historical data onto the Contractor’s data platform, and expand and refine the monitoring network over the contract term in accordance with the five-year monitoring plan described in Article 4.

Four documents work together to define this program. The Flow Meter Monitoring Sites (Attachment A) and Rain Gauge Monitoring Sites (Attachment B) establish the monitoring network, the site characteristics, and the equipment at each site. The Cost Proposal (Attachment D) establishes the pay items, units, and estimated quantities. Measurement and Payment (Attachment E) establishes how each pay item is measured and what each unit price includes. This Scope of Services describes the work to be performed.

2. Background

The FCDWS sanitary sewer collection system includes approximately 640 miles of gravity sewer main and approximately 19,400 manholes. FCDWS operates a long-term sewer flow monitoring program that produces continuous depth, velocity, and flow data. FCDWS uses this data to evaluate inflow and infiltration (I/I), calibrate and update the County hydraulic model, monitor surcharge conditions, confirm the timing and sizing of planned infrastructure, and verify flows exchanged with adjacent systems for billing.

FCDWS owns the monitoring equipment currently in service. Equipment presently deployed includes Telog RU-35 data loggers paired with FloWav PSA-A/V and Beluga area-velocity sensors, FloWav StingRay ultrasonic sensors at selected sites, and Telog RG-32A loggers with Texas Electronics TR-525I six-inch tipping bucket rain gauges. The monitoring sites, site characteristics, and existing equipment at each site are identified in Flow Meter Monitoring Sites and Rain Gauge Monitoring Sites. Monitoring Sites Location Map (Attachment C) shows the monitoring site locations.

3. Program Goals and Monitoring Objectives

The data collected through this program supports a wide variety of operational and planning activities. Every requirement in the Scope of Services relates to one or more of the following objectives:

• Estimate I/I by sewershed so that FCDWS can identify targeted rehabilitation projects.

• Assess conveyance capacity and identify where the system surcharges or is at risk of a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO).

• Measure system performance before and after rehabilitation.

• Confirm the timing, sizing, and design of planned infrastructure improvements.

• Calibrate and update the hydraulic model and support future capacity planning.

• Prioritize preventative inspection and cleaning, including early warning of potential blockages.

• Measure intergovernmental flows for billing verification at the interconnection sites.

4. Five-Year Monitoring Plan and Estimated Quantities

FCDWS has developed a five-year monitoring plan for the program. The plan is reflected in the pay item quantities in the Cost Proposal and is summarized in Table 1 and in the narrative that follows. The quantities are planning estimates provided so that all proposing firms price the work on a consistent basis. They are not guaranteed quantities. This is a unit-price contract, and actual quantities may be adjusted up or down over the life of the Agreement as monitoring needs change, without renegotiating the Agreement.

Table 1. Five-Year Monitoring Plan Summary

Program element Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Long-term flow meter sites, County-owned equipment

24 23 22 22 22

Sites with redundant depth measurement

16 16 16 16 16

Short-term flow meter service (Monitor-Months)

12 12 12 84 84

Rain gauge sites, County-owned equipment

8 8 8 8 8

Short-term rain gauge service (Monitor-Months)

12 12 12 12 12

Flume monitoring sites 0 1 2 2 2

Install flow meter, new site 5 0 0 0 0

Reinstall flow meter, previously monitored site

1 5 5 5 5

Remove flow meter 1 6 6 5 5

Install rain gauge 1 1 1 1 1

Remove rain gauge 1 1 1 1 1

SCADA integration and programming

0 1 1 0 0

Quantities shown are the annualized site counts and event counts used to develop the pay item quantities in the Cost Proposal. Note the short-term monitoring services are shown in Monitor-Months (MM) as defined in Measurement and Payment. Where a quantity in the Cost Proposal differs from the counts shown above, the Cost Proposal governs proposal evaluations.

Year 1

The Contractor assumes operation of nineteen (19) existing long-term flow meter sites and installs five (5) new sites bringing the long-term network to twenty-four (24) sites. All eight

(8) rain gauge sites are in service at the start of the contract, and the network is not expanded.

Redundant depth measurements are provided at sixteen (16) sites. The Contractor establishes the hosted data platform, migrates available historical data, and completes the initial field confirmations at every site.

FCDWS budgets the planned replacement of the oldest County-owned rain gauge in every Contract Year, beginning in Year 1. Short-term flow meter and rain gauge services are budgeted in every Contract Year to cover major County-owned equipment failures while replacement equipment is procured. Temporary removal and reinstallation of one (1) flow meter is also budgeted in every year for maintenance or construction activities.

Years 2 through 3

The long-term flow meter network is refined rather than expanded, reducing from twenty-four (24) sites to twenty-two (22) over the two years. FCDWS budgets the planned replacement of four (4) aging County-owned flow meters and one (1) aging County-owned rain gauge in each year, to keep the inventory of County-owned equipment in good operating condition. Planned replacement is a County-directed removal of the equipment being retired and installation of its replacement at the same site. Retired equipment may be kept for spare parts or auctioned by the County.

The flow meter at MH 903 and MH 1542 are anticipated to be replaced by a permanently engineered flume as new facilities are constructed. Flume monitoring begins in Year 2 at the Lower Caney Creek Diversion Structure (near MH 903), and a second flume site is added in Year 3 at the County Way Diversion Structure (near MH 1542). SCADA integration and programming is anticipated to be authorized once for each flume site to bring that data onto the monitoring platform. As each flume site is placed in service and the flow meter it replaces is retired, FCDWS will direct the Contractor to relocate the redundant depth measurement equipment from that site to a different long-term flow meter site, so that redundant depth measurement remains in service at sixteen (16) sites throughout the term.

Years 4 through 5

The planned replacement of four (4) aging flow meters and one (1) aging rain gauge continues in each year on the same basis described for Years 2 and 3. Short-term flow monitoring expands substantially, from twelve (12) Monitor-Months per year to eighty-four (84) Monitor-Months per year, to support focused basin studies.

5. Monitoring Services

The Contractor is responsible for delivering complete, valid, and well-documented data for every site in the program. The Contractor operates the equipment at each site, whether County-owned or Contractor-furnished, and is responsible for the data it produces. The work falls into four phases.

• Planning. Project kickoff, confirmation of target monitoring locations, and desktop review of each site using County records and Geographic Information System (GIS) data.

The Contractor also reviews the equipment already in place at each site, determines what is needed to bring each location into service, confirms the monitoring objective for each site and prepares its mobilization and installation plan.

• Installation. Field investigation of each site and the installation, recommissioning, or logger and telemetry changeover needed to bring each monitor onto the Contractor data platform, followed by initial validation that each monitor is producing reasonable and expected data.

• Monitoring period. Continuous operation, maintenance, remote data review, and quality control for the duration of the Agreement. The Contractor keeps equipment running to the data uptime standard, reviews data on the defined schedule, responds to failures and alarms within the required times, and delivers monthly data and reports.

• Data delivery. Review, editing, and finalization of the data, followed by delivery of both the raw and final records.

The Contractor shall remain responsible for the quality control of its own work in every phase.

6. Monitoring Equipment and Measurement Accuracy

Most flow monitoring sites use area-velocity flow meters installed in gravity sewer manholes. A limited number of flow monitoring sites may be permanently engineered structures such as flumes connected to SCADA, which use purpose-built equipment and are addressed in Article 18. Rainfall monitoring sites will utilize tipping bucket rain gauges.

Manufacturer flexibility

The Contractor shall operate County-owned equipment where directed by FCDWS. The Contractor may also propose compatible equipment, rental equipment, or short-term units as needed, provided the proposed equipment meets the minimum performance, accuracy, data management, and reporting requirements in the Scope of Services. Equipment requirements are performance-based and do not require the use of a specific manufacturer or product line.

Measurement accuracy

At a minimum, monitoring equipment shall meet the accuracy limits in Table 2. Sensors shall be selected to suit the installed conditions, including deep flow (water depth greater than 36 inches), shallow flow (water depth less than 2 inches), and high-velocity locations, and shall meet these limits under those conditions. Equivalent technologies may be proposed provided the documented performance meets or exceeds the stated requirements.

Table 2. Minimum Measurement Accuracy Requirements

Measurement Sensor type Minimum accuracy

Depth Submerged area-velocity (pressure)

±0.5 in for depths 15 ft or less

Depth Non-contact (ultrasonic or radar) ±0.1 in for target ranges 7 ft or less

Velocity Submerged area-velocity (Doppler)

±0.2 ft/s from -5 to 10 ft/s; ±2% of reading from 10 to 20 ft/s

Velocity Non-contact (laser, radar, or ultrasonic)

±0.1 ft/s for velocities 20 ft/s or less

Rainfall Tipping bucket rain gauge 6- to 8-inch orifice, 0.01 in per tip, ±1% of reading for rainfall rates up to 2 in/hr

7. Redundant Depth Measurement

Redundant depth measurement provides an independent, secondary determination of depth in the monitored pipe. It allows flow to continue to be calculated if the primary depth sensor drifts or fails, and it allows surcharge conditions to be quantified. A typical configuration pairs a submerged pressure sensor with an ultrasonic sensor.

Redundant depth measurement is an FCDWS-directed adder, not a baseline requirement at every site. Flow Meter Monitoring Sites identifies the sites at which redundant depth measurement is provided. FCDWS may direct the Contractor to activate redundant depth measurement at an additional site, or to discontinue it at a site, during the term of the Agreement.

Where the Contractor determines that a second depth measurement is necessary at a site in order to meet the accuracy requirements of Article 6 or the data uptime standard of Article 13, the Contractor shall furnish, install, operate, and maintain it at no additional cost to FCDWS. A second depth measurement provided on that basis is not an FCDWS-directed adder and is not paid under the redundant depth measurement pay item.

Where redundant depth measurement is active, the Contractor shall compare the primary and secondary depth records continuously and shall report the agreement between them in the monthly report. A sustained average (mean) divergence greater than the sum of the applicable Table 2 depth accuracies, which is six tenths (0.6) inch for a submerged pressure and non-contact sensor pair, persisting for twenty-four (24) consecutive hours shall be treated as an indication of sensor drift. The Contractor shall perform a field confirmation of both depth sensors within seven (7) working days of identifying the divergence, determine which sensor is in error, and correct it as provided in Article 15.

8. County-Owned, Contractor-Furnished, and Short-Term Equipment

FCDWS owns the long-term flow meter equipment and rain gauges, and the Contractor operates, maintains, and verifies that equipment. FCDWS intends to continue purchasing long-term monitoring equipment through the cash allowance pay items in the Cost Proposal, and the Contractor shall operate that equipment as County-owned equipment. Long-term flow meter service and rain gauge service are priced on a County-owned equipment basis.

At County-owned sites FCDWS also furnishes the installation hardware, meaning mounting bands, rings, brackets, straps, and suspension hardware; logger enclosures; sensor and antenna cable; telemetry antennas and masts; and rain gauge poles, bases, and foundations.

This hardware is purchased with the monitor when FCDWS buys a new or replacement unit, and is otherwise purchased through the County-directed contingency, including replacement due to age. The Contractor furnishes the tools, fasteners, and consumable installation supplies, and performs all labor to install, replace, and remove the hardware, at no separate cost. The Contractor shall reuse serviceable hardware already at the site or held in storage before requesting a replacement. Measurement and Payment governs how this hardware is procured and paid, including the circumstances in which the Contractor bears the cost.

The Contractor shall store, inventory, bench-test, and report the condition of County-owned equipment that is not deployed. Bench-testing means verifying that equipment functions correctly before it returns to the field. The Contractor shall use its own facilities for this storage, which shall be secure, dry, and environmentally suitable. Each stored unit shall be bench-tested on receipt into storage and at intervals not exceeding six (6) months thereafter, to confirm that it powers up, communicates, and produces readings within the accuracy requirements of Article 6. The Contractor shall report the tested condition of each stored unit as serviceable, requiring repair, or beyond economical repair. A unit reported as serviceable shall be ready for immediate deployment.

The monthly price for equipment storage covers the full inventory of County-owned equipment that is not in active service at any time during the Agreement, without regard to the quantity stored. FCDWS does not establish a maximum quantity, and no adjustment to the monthly price will be made as the quantity in storage varies. For pricing purposes, proposers should assume that the inventory in storage will not exceed ten (10) flow meters, ten (10) sets of sensors, and four (4) rain gauges at any one time.

Short-term flow meters and short-term rain gauges are Contractor-furnished. These are deployed for focused studies as directed by FCDWS. For pricing purposes, proposers should assume that a typical short-term deployment is three (3) to six (6) months. FCDWS may direct a shorter or longer deployment, and the Monitor-Month quantities in the Cost Proposal govern the estimated quantity of this work. Installation and removal of Contractor-furnished short-term equipment is incidental to the monthly service price for that equipment and is not separately paid.

All sites are held to the same standards regardless of whether the equipment at the site is County-owned or Contractor-furnished, and without regard to deployment duration. Where the Contractor determines that County-owned equipment at a site cannot meet the requirements of this RFP, the Contractor shall notify FCDWS in writing, identify the deficiency, and recommend repair or replacement. FCDWS may authorize replacement equipment through the applicable cash allowance.

9. Monitoring Site Selection and Installation

Site selection authority

FCDWS determines the location of the monitoring sites. FCDWS will, however, seek recommendations from the Contractor regarding the most appropriate locations for flow meter and rain gauge placement, both at the start of the Agreement and as sites are added, relocated, or retired.

Field investigation and alternate locations

Field investigation before installation is required. The site investigation and installation may occur during the same field visit, provided the Contractor confirms that the location is suitable before installing the equipment.

If the preferred site has unacceptable performance or access conditions, the Contractor shall evaluate a designated alternate location. If neither location is suitable, the Contractor shall not install equipment and shall provide FCDWS with a recommended alternative site for approval.

Flow meter site selection

Sites shall be selected for the most uniform hydraulic conditions available. The Contractor should avoid drop connections, junction and bend manholes, the direct influence of pump stations, and any condition outside the sensor specifications. Where silt is present, the Contractor shall record the sensor offset, apply it in the flow calculation, and notify FCDWS if the silt is heavy enough to warrant cleaning.

Rain gauge site selection

Rain gauge sites shall be selected to record rainfall representative of the surrounding area, in general conformance with the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program Observing Handbook No. 2. As a practical test, no obstruction should subtend an angle greater than forty-five (45) degrees measured from the rim of the gauge orifice, and the gauge should not be placed immediately adjacent to an isolated tree, pole, wall, or building.

The gauge shall be mounted level and secure, with the orifice clear of ground splash, vegetation, and overhanging growth.

The Contractor shall document the exposure of each rain gauge site at installation, as part of the site installation report required by Article 10, and at the annual verification required by Article 15. The Contractor shall notify FCDWS in writing when a site no longer meets the criteria above, describe the condition, and recommend corrective action. The Contractor shall not relocate a gauge or remove vegetation beyond the routine maintenance required by Article 15 without written direction from FCDWS.

Flume sites

The location of a flume site is fixed by the permanently engineered metering structure;

therefore, the Contractor will not need to evaluate or recommend alternative locations.

Before placing a flume site in service, the Contractor shall confirm that the approach channel and the level sensor location conform to the flume manufacturer's installation requirements, and shall report any nonconforming condition to FCDWS in writing. The Contractor shall not modify the flume, the primary device, or the structure.

10. Site Installation Reports

Within seven (7) calendar days of installing or reinstalling a monitor, the Contractor shall provide a site installation report, stored on the data platform, documenting the site and the initial monitoring configuration. The report provides the reference information needed to evaluate later changes in site conditions, sensor position, or monitor performance.

A separate report is required for each site. Each report shall include the information required for all monitoring sites and, in addition, the information applicable to each site type.

All monitoring sites

At a minimum, each report for any monitoring site shall include:

• Site name, site type, County GIS facility ID, sewer basin, and any legacy or alternate site designation by which FCDWS has previously identified the site.

• Site coordinates in decimal degrees to six (6) decimal places, street address, and a location map.

• Date of site investigation, date of installation, and the field personnel who performed the work.

• Site access conditions, including the access mode (e.g., drive, walk, off-road), and any secure access, keys, gates, or permissions required, with the property owner or facility contact where applicable.

• Safety conditions, including confined space entry classification, the atmospheric monitoring result recorded at entry, and whether traffic control is required to work the site.

• Observed condition of the structure or mounting location. This is an observation for FCDWS maintenance purposes and does not constitute a condition assessment.

• Sensor(s) and logger type, manufacturer, model, serial number, firmware version, and telemetry configuration.

• Photographs of the site, its approach, and the installed equipment.

• Commissioning record, including the date the monitor was placed in active service and confirmation of successful data transmission.

Flow meter sites

At a minimum, each report for a flow meter site shall include:

• Manhole depth and diameter, and the size, material, and configuration of every pipe entering or leaving the structure.

• Whether the manhole cover is bolted down, and the rim-to-grade height.

• A plan-view or isometric schematic of the manhole and pipe configuration, showing pipe sizes, flow direction, benching, and the pipe in which the sensor is installed.

• Photographs of the interior conditions, including a top-down view with the outgoing pipe at the six o'clock position, up-pipe views of all incoming lines, any visible hydraulic disruptions, and the installed sensor and mounting hardware.

• Upstream and downstream hydraulic conditions, including backwater, surcharge, turbulence, drops, or other flow disturbances.

• Silt depth, the sensor offset, and confirmation that the offset is applied in the flow calculation.

• The pipe shape and dimensions and the flow calculation method configured in the platform.

• Where redundant depth measurement is provided, the type and position of each sensor and the initial agreement between them.

Rain gauge sites

At a minimum, each report for a rain gauge site shall include:

• Gauge type, orifice diameter, and nominal depth per tip.

• Mounting detail, including pole, base, foundation, fence, railing, or other support, and the orifice height above ground.

• Confirmation that the gauge orifice is level.

• A photograph taken from the gauge in each of the four cardinal directions, identification of the nearest obstruction in each direction, and its approximate height and distance.

• Ground surface condition and vegetation within the gauge exposure area, and any vegetation management performed at installation.

Flume sites

At a minimum, each report for a flume site shall include:

• Flume or primary device type, throat or nominal size, and rated capacity range.

• The manufacturer head-to-discharge rating table or equation, and the rating as configured in the data platform or SCADA system.

• Observed condition of the flume, throat, and approach channel, including cracking, spalling, deformation, settlement, siltation, debris, or obstruction of the primary device.

• Approach channel geometry and the straight approach length upstream, and whether approach conditions conform to the manufacturer's installation requirements.

• Level sensor type and mounting location relative to the flume point of measurement, and the measured offset from the flume floor or datum.

• SCADA tag, units, and scaling.

• Whether the flume is operating under free flow or submerged conditions, with the submergence ratio measured at installation.

• Photographs of the flume from upstream and downstream, the approach channel, the level sensor, and the transmitter or control panel.

11. Data Collection and Recording Interval

Flow, depth, velocity, and rainfall shall be recorded at five (5) minute intervals at all monitoring sites. The Contractor shall remotely collect data from each flow meter and rain gauge at least daily.

FCDWS understands that wireless communication cannot be established at some locations due to limited coverage. Where a site has weak cellular coverage, the Contractor shall maintain data uptime by improving antenna reception or by manually collecting data at intervals sufficient to meet the data uptime requirement, and in no case with more than forty-five (45) days between collections. On a site-by-site basis, the data uptime requirement may be adjusted to accommodate sites with low wireless coverage, only with the written approval of FCDWS.

12. Data Ownership, Retention, and Security

All data collected, created, stored, transmitted, processed, or generated under this Agreement, including raw data, derived datasets, analyses, reports, models, configurations, and final deliverables (collectively, County Data), shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the County.

The Contractor shall ensure that all County Data is maintained in an exportable format and that the County may access, retrieve, download, and transfer its data at any time without restriction, penalty, or additional charge. Upon contract termination, the Contractor shall provide the County with a complete export of all County Data, including raw data and associated metadata, in industry-standard formats.

The Contractor shall retain all County Data for the duration of the contract term and for a minimum period of five (5) years following contract expiration or termination, unless a different retention period is provided through written direction from the County.

The Contractor shall comply with applicable County information security requirements and maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for County Data, including access controls, secure transmission and storage, backup and recovery, and notification of any unauthorized access or disclosure.

13. Data Quality: Uptime and Validity

Data quality is measured two ways under this Agreement, and the Contractor shall meet both. Data uptime measures how much data the Contractor captured. Data validity measures whether that data is correct. Data uptime and validity are reported monthly for each monitor, and failure to meet either standard carries the payment consequences stated in this Article and in Measurement and Payment.

Data uptime, measured per monitor

Data uptime is the share of the reporting period for which a valid measurement was available at each timestep, meaning a valid flow measurement for a flow meter and a valid rainfall record for a rain gauge. The Contractor shall maintain at least 90 percent valid data uptime for each monitor, evaluated on a rolling ninety (90) calendar day basis. Data uptime shall be calculated from the final valid data record and reported monthly for each monitor with the finalized data.

Communications availability shall be tracked and reported separately and shall not reduce valid data uptime where data are successfully recorded locally and subsequently recovered.

The Contractor shall separately track and report the availability of communications, depth, velocity, and valid final flow.

For sites that do not meet the minimum data uptime requirement for reasons within the control of the Contractor, FCDWS reserves the right to apply the performance adjustment in Table 3 to the monthly service charge for the affected monitor. Measurement and Payment establishes how that adjustment is applied and which outages are excused and therefore excluded from the data uptime calculation.

Table 3. Data Uptime Performance Adjustment

Rolling 90-day data uptime Performance adjustment

90% or greater No adjustment

85% to less than 90% 10% reduction in monthly service charge

50% to less than 85% 50% reduction in monthly service charge

Less than 50% No monthly service charge

Data validity

The Contractor shall demonstrate that data delivered to FCDWS are suitable for engineering analysis and are supported by documented quality control procedures. Final data may consist of either directly measured data or approved reconstituted estimates.

• Directly measured data. Data recorded by sensors operating within the manufacturer specified conditions and reviewed through the Contractor quality control process.

Validation shall include field confirmations, sensor diagnostics, rainfall response, and upstream and downstream flow relationships.

• Reconstituted estimates. Data estimated where direct measurements are unavailable, incomplete, or determined to be invalid. Reconstituted data shall be developed using the procedures in Article 14 and shall be clearly identified in the final dataset, including in exported data, so that it can be distinguished from directly measured data.

The Contractor shall review each monitoring site for data validity no less than twice per week, and that review shall be performed by an experienced data analyst. The Contractor shall document material anomalies, sensor drift, hydraulic changes, data gaps, and corrective actions. Hydrographs shall be reviewed for reasonable dry-weather patterns and wet-weather response. Where upstream and downstream monitors permit flow balancing, the Contractor shall evaluate the relationship between monitored flows and investigate material inconsistencies.

If quality-controlled data are not submitted within sixty (60) days of the required delivery date, or if delivered data materially fail to meet the requirements of Articles 13 and 14, FCDWS may withhold or adjust the applicable service charge until the deficiency is corrected or otherwise resolved to the satisfaction of FCDWS.

14. Data Editing and Reconstitution Controls

Reconstitution means editing recorded data, such as replacing invalid velocity readings with estimated values. The following controls apply:

• The Contractor shall retain the raw, unedited data for every site and deliver it alongside the final data. Final depth, velocity, and flow shall be written to dedicated final data channels containing only data that has completed the finalization process, so that preliminary values are never mistaken for final values.

• The Contractor shall document its general reconstitution procedure and submit it to FCDWS for review and approval within thirty (30) days of notice to proceed.

• The Contractor shall identify, each month, every site where the data required reconstitution and the percentage of data edited on both a monthly and cumulative basis. This reporting is a screening tool used to focus attention on sites with elevated reconstitution and is not, by itself, a basis for a performance adjustment.

• The Contractor shall not reconstitute wet-weather data without prior written approval from FCDWS. Approval may be provided by email. If approval is not received, the affected data shall remain unreconstituted and shall be identified accordingly in the monthly submittal.

• All adjustments to raw data shall be documented and made available to FCDWS on request, including the editing method used (for example, point estimation or design-curve fitting), the amount of data affected, and the reason for each edit.

• Where redundant depth measurement is provided, the secondary depth record shall be used to reconstitute flow when the primary depth measurement fails. Each period in which the secondary record was used shall be documented and identified in the final dataset.

15. Field Confirmations and Maintenance

Confirmations

A confirmation is an independent field check in which the Contractor verifies the monitor's depth and velocity measurements against independent field measurements taken at the same time, using the methods required below. Confirmations shall be performed while the monitor is operating and producing live measurements so that the field measurements can be compared directly with the monitor readings. At sites with redundant depth measurement, each confirmation shall include both the primary and secondary depth sensors, and each shall be verified independently by the method applicable to its sensor type.

The Contractor shall perform a confirmation at each flow meter:

• At the time of installation, reinstallation, recommissioning, or whenever a depth or velocity sensor is replaced, recalibrated, repositioned, or adjusted, as part of that work, and a second confirmation within thirty (30) calendar days thereafter, not less than ten

(10) calendar days after the first.

• Thereafter, at intervals not exceeding ninety (90) calendar days.

• Whenever the data indicate sensor drift or a hydraulic shift that could affect measurement accuracy.

Each confirmation visit shall also include inspection of the monitoring equipment and routine preventive maintenance as needed. Each confirmation shall document the manually measured depth and velocity, the corresponding monitor readings, the date and time, the observed differences, and any corrective action taken. All confirmation results shall be plotted on the applicable hydrographs and scattergraphs and included in the monthly reporting required by Article 21.

The confirmation intervals stated in this Article are minimums. Additional verification and confirmation measurements necessary to maintain data within the accuracy requirements of Article 6, or directed by FCDWS following a data quality deficiency, are included in the monthly service pay items and are not separately paid.

Confirmation methods

Manual depth shall be measured in the monitored pipe using a graduated rod or rule, read and reported to the nearest one eighth (1/8) inch.

Velocity shall be measured using a portable velocity meter and a documented profiling technique. The portable instrument shall meet or exceed the velocity accuracy specified in Table 2 for the installed sensor and shall be zero checked in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions before each confirmation.