RiverEyes_PWS_Draft_1.docx

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Request for MRG – River Eyes Monitoring Performance Based Work Statement

Background and Introduction The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Upper Colorado Basin Region, Albuquerque Area Office, is seeking contractor assistance with up to daily River Eyes monitoring activities in the Middle Rio Grande during periods of potential river intermittency. The River Eyes program (https://webapps.usgs.gov/MRGESCP/data/river-eyes) is a cooperative interagency monitoring effort established to assist federal and state agencies in complying with 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Biological Opinion (https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/NewMexico/BO_MRG.cfm) requirements. The program provides field observations of conditions that lead to river intermittency and drying. These field reports, together with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stream gauge data and weather conditions, are used to assist USFWS with daily planning of rescue and relocation of stranded Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (RGSM). The information is also used to assist federal and state water operations and resource managers with managing river flows to reduce the amount and rate of river drying that may occur daily, and coordinating RGSM egg collection efforts for transport to authorized facilities.

A. Scope The primary objective of this contract is to provide up to daily monitoring of river conditions to support river managers in their operations when there is the potential for river intermittency, generally from April to October each year. Monitoring may occur between Cochiti Dam and Elephant Butte Reservoir in the Cochiti, Angostura, Isleta, and San Acacia reaches (see attached map; these areas correspond to the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District’s Cochiti, Albuquerque, Belen, and Socorro Divisions) when gauged flows indicate that river drying is imminent or has already occurred. The majority of the work is anticipated to occur in the Isleta and San Acacia reaches.

Key River Eyes activities to be performed by the contractor will include observations of flow intermittency and pool formation, stage readings at established staff gauges, discharge measurements to confirm gauged flows or to determine flows in ungauged portions of the river, photo documentation and GPS surveying of river drying, and other pertinent observations as detailed by task in Section 3. Following data collection, data shall be compiled and presented in tabular, graphical, and map formats, as appropriate. Text messages on river conditions and extent of drying will be sent daily, verbal summaries will be provided during operations conference calls, and written notes shall be prepared for every day that field observations are made and distributed via email as soon as possible. A draft and final summary annual report shall be prepared to compile the data collected.

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, vehicles, supervision, and other items and services necessary to safely complete the tasks defined in this Performance Work Statement. The Contractor shall perform to the standards in the contract.

Scientific integrity is vital to Department of Interior (DOI) activities under which scientific research, data, summaries, syntheses, interpretations, presentations, and/or publications are developed and used. Failure to uphold the highest degree of scientific integrity will result not only in potentially flawed scientific results, interpretations, and applications but will damage DOI’s reputation and ability to uphold the public's trust. All work performed shall comply with the DOI Scientific Integrity Policy posted to https://www.doi.gov/scientificintegrity, or its equivalent as provided by the Contractor's organization or State law.

General Requirements and Information A. Contract Administration The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances will the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. The Contractor shall manage the timeliness, completeness, and quality of all work performed. The Contractor shall ensure customer satisfaction and professional and ethical behavior of all Contractor personnel.

The Contractor shall assign work effort and maintain proper and accurate timekeeping records of personnel assigned to work on the project. The Contractor shall provide administrative support to employees in a timely fashion (e.g., timekeeping, leave processing, pay, emergency needs).

B. Personnel Qualifications The Contractor shall provide a contract manager who will be responsible for the performance of the work. The Contractor shall not employ any person for work on this contract if such employee is considered by the Contracting Officer (CO) to be a potential threat to the health, safety, security, general well-being, or operational mission of Reclamation and its employees. The Contractor shall not employ any person who is an employee of the U.S. government, if employing that person would create a conflict of interest or the impression of such.

The Contractor shall provide sufficient field staff capable of safely performing the required tasks and the field transportation, data collection, and monitoring equipment needed for monitoring tasks. The contract manager and field staff, together, must have the following qualifications:

· Ability to clearly communicate the results of requested data collection in written and oral formats sufficient for daily texts, emails, operations conference calls, and annual reporting.

· Ability to understand, interpret, and present scientific data.

· Ability to meet deadlines, stay within budget, and communicate well with others.

Close coordination will be required with other activities on the river including the USFWS-led RGSM fish rescue, egg collection, and interagency water operations. Depending on river conditions, the Contractor shall participate in water operations calls, which will occur at least weekly but may be daily. Details pertaining to discrete tasks are outlined below.

C. Travel The Contractor shall use the appropriate government rates as posted on www.gsa.gov for mileage costs to perform monitoring work. No other travel is expected.

D. Access The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining access permissions and keys from various landowners, tribes, and government agencies as appropriate to perform work under this contract.

E. Training The Contractor is responsible for all training for its employees.

F. Performance Period, Schedule, and Locations The performance period for River Eyes support extends from February 1 for a duration of 12 months, though the work should be complete by January 31 of the following calendar year. In addition to the Base Period (Year), this contract will include four Option Periods (Years). Scheduled activities for each period are as follows:

The field season may start as early as March 1 and extend through October 31. The Contractor may be required to provide services on holidays and weekends. However, the Contractor may not be allowed access to Pueblo lands on holidays, Pueblo cultural days, or when the tribe declares their lands to be closed. In these cases, observations above and below Pueblo lands may suffice.

Work may occur in the Cochiti and Angostura reaches, but will most likely only occur in the Isleta and San Acacia reaches of the Rio Grande, with occasional monitoring of the Angostura Reach. Locations may be difficult to access and muddy. Use of uncrewed aircraft (drones) is acceptable as long as the Contractor follows U.S. Department of Interior policy (see links in Government Furnished Materials, below) and the drone is capable of providing data collection meeting specifications.

G. Government Furnished Materials Reclamation will provide all relevant Reclamation policy and guidance in electronic format within 5 days of contract award, to include the following:

· DOI Scientific Integrity Policy (https://www.doi.gov/scientificintegrity)

· Reclamation's Safety Handbook and Standards (https://www.usbr.gov/safety/rshs/index.html)

· DOI Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Policy Information (https://www.doi.gov/aviation/uas/policy), specifically DOI OPM-11 DOI Use of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) (https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-01/opm-11_0.pdf)

· Contact information for River Eyes participants

· GIS data showing field locations and Reclamation’s river miles (RMs)

· A template for the draft and final reports for the Contractor to use that will assist Reclamation in making the reports accessible in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Performance Requirements Although field observations could begin as early as March 1, a more typical start date for field work is mid-April to early May, and in some years, work may not begin until September. In most years, field work will continue until October 31, but if the river reconnects late in the irrigation season and is expected to remain connected, field observations may be stopped prior to October 31. For each option period of the project, the Contractor will complete all tasks as described below, and provide the specified deliverables to Reclamation:

A. Contract Administration The Contractor shall organize, attend, and document a kick-off meeting within 2 weeks after contract award, to include the Contractor, Reclamation, and the USFWS fish rescue crew. The meeting may be held virtually, or the Contractor may provide a meeting facility in or near the project area (or it may be held at AAO). Contractor shall prepare an agenda, have appropriate staff attend, and provide meeting minutes. The purpose of the meeting is to ensure a common understanding of the work to be performed under this PWS, access procedures, work and safety plans, methods, and schedule for all work activities and deliverables.

At the kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall provide a written copy of the Contractor’s river and field safety guide, and standard operating procedures concerning field measurements. The safety plan shall conform to Reclamation Safety and Health Standards (RSHS) (www.usbr.gov/ssle/safety/RSHS/rshs.html) and include discussions of safe monitoring, disgruntled landowners, travel and open water safety, inclement weather, heat and cold related problems, dehydration, wildlife interactions, poison ivy, tick- and water-borne diseases, and hanta virus. If needed, Reclamation shall provide comments within 15 days, and the Contractor shall incorporate Reclamation's feedback and submit final documents within 15 days of receiving feedback from Reclamation, but not later than the start of field work.

Deliverables:

1. Kick-off meeting agenda and meeting notes

2. Safety Plan

3. Standard Operating Procedures

B. Daily River Reconnaissance and Communications Daily river reconnaissance shall be performed when there is the potential for river intermittency and it has been requested by Reclamation. Flows that indicate a potential for intermittency are as follows:

· less than 100 cfs at the Albuquerque gauge (USGS 08330000)

· less than 80 cfs at the Bosque Farms gauge (USGS 08331160) and/or

· less than 300 cfs at the San Acacia gauge(USGS 08354900).

Note that these flows are likely to trigger increased monitoring of stream gauges, but field observations may not be needed immediately. The following daily tasks shall be performed when requested:

· Daily reconnaissance of river conditions.

· Obtain GPS coordinates for start and end locations of drying and, using Reclamation’s River Miles (RM), estimate total miles dried in each river reach. Coordinates must be measured to a resolution of not more than one-tenth (1/10th) mile from the top of the dry location (RM).

· As needed, provide visual estimates of flow rate; report any quantitative discharge measurements.

· Document current river conditions, e.g., continuous flow, actively drying, or rewetting.

· As early as possible but not prior to 5:00 AM, provide reports via text message on river conditions and the extent of drying to Reclamation and the designated USFWS fish rescue coordinator.

· Complete field work in time to participate in regularly scheduled weekly to daily water operations conference calls (8:30 AM) and provide observations of river conditions, including extent and location of river drying.

· In rare instances, perform late afternoon follow-up observations of river conditions only as requested by designated Reclamation water operations staff.

For every day that field observations are made, Contractor shall compile and distribute a brief email summary of River Eyes observations to a designated group. The written summaries shall be emailed as soon as possible, but no later than three days after the observations are made. The Contractor shall also report observations on the water operations conference calls. The daily summary shall include the following information:

· General observed river conditions for each location visited

· Visual estimates of flow rate

· Results of any quantitative flow measurements

· Observations on the rate of drying/shrinkage if the river is actively receding or becoming more shallow

· Observations on the rate of rewetting if the river is advancing after a period of drying, and reasons, if known, including area precipitation and/or groundwater influence

· Observations of disconnected lateral pools

· Opinions regarding potential river conditions over the next 24 hours.

If afternoon updates are requested by Reclamation, the Contractor shall provide a brief report via text message as soon as possible upon completion of the task. In addition, observations should be included in the next daily summary that is sent via email.

This task is priced as Time and Materials.

Deliverables:

1. Text messages

2. Participation in operations conference calls

3. Daily email summaries

4. Afternoon updates, as requested

C. Surveys and Discharge Measurements As requested, the following survey and measurement tasks shall be performed:

· Discharge measurements near the USGS Bosque Farms, San Acacia, and Hwy 380 gages, and at other locations as requested during daily water operations conference calls.

· Survey of wasteways and outfalls (see Table 1) with observations and discharge estimates or measurements from locations actively discharging water to the Angostura, Isleta, and San Acacia reaches (see Table 1 and attached map).

· On days when surveys and discharge measurements are obtained, report the discharge measurements to Reclamation so that values reported on the Water Management Toolbox website may be verified. A link to the MRGCD schematic on Reclamation’s Toolbox website follows. Note that more detail for each reach can be obtained via the links on the left side of that page. https://www.usbr.gov/uc/albuq/water/ETtoolboxV2/home.html

This task is priced as Time and Materials.

Deliverable:

1. Survey and measurement data included in appropriate daily summary.

Table 1. Middle Rio Grande Wasteway/Outfall Sites

ANGOSTURA REACH (2 sites)

ISLETA REACH (12 sites)

SAN ACACIA REACH (7 sites)

D. Annual Draft and Final Report Contractor shall prepare a draft and a final annual summary report to compile the data collected, including changes in river wetting/drying status, discharge measurements at various locations and website reported discharge, GIS mapping of changes in river drying over time, photo documentation, GPS coordinates, and any other observations pertinent to River Eyes activities. It should also include an executive summary with first and last date of drying in each reach; maximum extent of drying and date in each reach and total; dates of any re-wetting, reconnection, and subsequent drying; and any other pertinent information or observations. Field data worksheets, equipment calibration records, health and safety plans, standard operating procedures, and other references will be included in the summary report.

A draft summary report and supporting electronic data deliverables will be provided after the conclusion of the field season, no later than November 30. Reclamation shall provide comments within 15 days, and the Contractor shall provide a final report and supporting materials no later than January 31. The report shall include the following:

· A tabular and spatial record of daily river expansion-contraction flow dynamics

· A record of daily average flow from key U.S. Geological Survey gauges

· Results of any quantitative field discharge measurements as well as the corresponding website reported values.

The draft report shall be submitted for review electronically within 30 days of the last field observations and no later than November 30. Electronic files shall include the report document, all appendices, daily observations, and tabular and spatial records of the extent of river drying. Draft files shall be submitted in their original format (Word, Excel, etc.). Final files shall be submitted in both their original and pdf format. Reclamation shall provide written review comments to Contractor 15 days after the draft is submitted, but in no case later than December 31. The final report shall be provided no later than January 31. The final report and all appendices, all daily observations, and tabular and spatial records shall be provided electronically. If documents are emailed, Contractor should ensure that Reclamation has received them, and may need to submit them via a compact disc (CD) or similar if they are large files. When applicable, data should be submitted in a spatial geodatabase format consistent with Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program database requirements.

Deliverables:

1. Draft Report

2. Final Report

E. GIS Information Contractor shall provide their staff with appropriate maps and equipment to document river measurements as appropriate. The Contractor shall use software that is compatible with Reclamation's GIS (ArcGIS 10.5).

Contractor shall deliver a geodatabase containing all government-furnished and Contractor-developed data and metadata, to include accuracy standards used. All GIS data developed by the Contractor shall be provided electronically using USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic, NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_13N. Reclamation is using the ESRI suite of GIS products; the Arc/GIS software version currently in use is ArcMap version 10.5. All GIS data must be in a personal geo-database. All geospatial deliverables shall comply with applicable federal and state geographic information standards, particularly those determined by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) as supporting the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. The Contractor shall provide complete geospatial data to include a spatial component, attribute information, and metadata in accordance with the 1998 Federal Geographic Data Committee standards.

Deliverable:

1. ArcGIS Pro compatible Geodatabase

Performance Requirements, Standards, & Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs)

b) Submitted 2 weeks after the kick-off meeting 99% 95%

b) Draft submitted at kick-off meeting; final 2 weeks later 100% 95%

b) Draft submitted at kick-off meeting; final 2 weeks later 100% 95%

b) Address all required tasks 99% 99%

b) Information provided is complete and accurate 99% 99%

b) Address all required tasks 99% 99%

b) Address all required tasks 99% 99%

b) Address all required tasks 99%

99%

b) Relevant information

c) Timely: due November 30 95% 95% 90%

b) Timely: due January 31 100%

100%

b) All data assembled delivered to Reclamation by end of contract 100% 100%

Reclamation Points of Contacts River Eyes Coordination Contact: Carolyn Donnelly, 505-917-0650, cdonnelly@usbr.gov Alternative River Eyes Coordination Contact: Eric Joseph, ejoseph@usbr.gov Contracting Officer's Representative: Genevieve Allan, 702-275-7893, gallan@usbr.gov Contract Officer: Kristen Ruiz Jimenez, 505-462-3669, kruizjimenez@usbr.gov

Reclamation River Eyes Performance Work Statement 1