Fort Thompson Intake/Pumphouse Construction

Pre-Solicitation Notice W9128F26BA018

Construct a wet well, intake, and pumphouse on Lake Sharpe, Fort Thompson, South Dakota

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District intends to issue a Two-Step Invitation for Bid (IFB) following FAR Part 14.5 procedures in January 2026.  The solicitation will result in one (1) Firm Fixed-Price contract for installing a new raw water intake system and constructing a new pump house on Lake Sharpe at Fort Thompson in South Dakota. This solicitation is Set-Aside to SMALL BUSINESS FIRMS. Contractors must be registered and have active and verified accounts in both the System for Award Management (SAM) to receive a contract award from any DoD activity.

Contractors may access the website SAM.gov at https://www.sam.gov/ to register and/or obtain information about the SAM program. Contractors must ensure that the applicable NAICS Code 237990 Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction is included in their profile prior to submission of offer.  The current size standard is $45,000,000.00.

Site Visit:  A site visit is tentatively planned for Tuesday, 13 January 2026; however, the formal site visit information will be included within the solicitation.

DO NOT submit requests for plans and specifications. See ‘Obtaining Solicitation Documents’ below.

Project Description: The upcoming solicitation for the construction of a wet well, intake, and pumphouse on Lake Sharpe, Ft. Thompson, South Dakota.

The project will require construction of a new Flight Simulator Facility at Ellsworth Air Force The project will construct a 14’x16’ CMU building with climate control, a rooftop hatch opening, a gravel road from the main road to the building, and a concrete pad for loading/un-loading heavy equipment will be provided to house a wet well, vertical turbine pumps, an airburst system, a zebra mussel mitigation system, portable eye wash station, and SCADA equipment. A new raw water line will be installed to connect the new intake to the existing water line. The new water intake system will also be equipped with a backup generator.

The intake screen structure will reside at approximately elevation1377 to 1382 ft placing to the top of the screen at elevation 1382 to 1387. With Lake Sharpe mean pool elevation of 1420 and the minimum operating pool of 1415 (for electrical power generation), the new intake screen will be placed within acceptable operating conditions of the Lake. A screen interior manifold and 2” HDPE pipe and 1” polyethylene tubing provide a cleaning air burst and/or transport molluscicide for prevention and control of zebra mussels. The intake screen is connected to 14” pipeline to transport raw water to a 6 feet diameter caisson located approximately 265 ft away on land and enclosed by a 14’x16’ CMU building for all equipment, including air burst system, chemical feed equipment and potable eyewash station. Two vertical turbine 40 hp pumps will be provided as redundancy to transport raw water through a 12-inch pipeline from the caisson to the existing 10-inch PVC raw water pipeline just right outside the existing pump house and pushing raw water all the way to the influent line at the Ultrafiltration Water Treatment Plant.

Invitation For Bid (IFB) Evaluation Criteria: This solicitation and resulting contract are using a Two-Step Sealed Bidding procurement method as described in FAR Part 14.5

The two-step procedure is a combination of competitive procedures designed to obtain the benefits of sealed bidding while ensuring only technically acceptable firms participate in the priced sealed bid. The process allows for the Step One technical proposal submission and evaluation to be performed concurrent with the development of the final 100% technical specifications and construction drawings. Step One ensures that only technically acceptable firms participate in the Step Two sealed bid process.

Contractors participating in the solicitation will submit technical requirements in accordance with the solicitation, Section 00 22 00 EVALUATION CRITERIA for Step 1. Submissions will be evaluated for acceptability considering technical elements for evaluation.  An adjectival method of evaluation will be used to evaluate all technical factors. Price will be evaluated separately for reasonableness and realism. A best value selection will be considered after reviewing price and technical factors.

The Step One solicitation, issued as a Request for Technical Proposal, is expected to be available on or about January 2026 via Contract Opportunities at https://sam.gov/.

The submission requirements of Step One, Request for Technical Proposal, shall not include any prices or pricing information. Bid bonds / guarantees are not required to be submitted with the Step One technical proposal.

Under this bidding process, Step One consists of the request for submission, evaluation and (if necessary) discussion of a technical proposal. Only one (1) technical proposal may be submitted by each offeror. The proposals will be evaluated for technical acceptability. Again, the technical proposal must not include prices or pricing information.

A notice of “acceptable” or “unacceptable” will be forwarded to each Step One offeror upon completion of the technical proposal evaluation and final determination. The names of the offerors that submitted acceptable technical proposals will be listed on the Government’s https://sam.gov/ website for the benefit of prospective subcontractors.

In Step Two, an amendment to the solicitation will be issued along with the final 100% technical specifications and construction drawings to only those bidders whose technical proposals are determined to be acceptable in Step One. The normal sealed bidding process in FAR Part 14 will be followed in Step Two. Only bids based upon technical proposals determined to be acceptable, either initially or as a result of discussions for Step One, will be considered for award. Each bid in Step Two must be based on the bidder's own technical proposal that was submitted, evaluated and determined to be acceptable in Step One. Bidders must comply with the 100% technical specifications and construction drawings and the bidder’s acceptable technical proposal.

Bid bonds will be required to be submitted with the Step Two bid submission. Payment and Performance Bonds will be required for the full amount (100%) at the time of contract award before the Notice to Proceed (NTP) can be issued.

Magnitude: The estimated construction cost of this project is between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000.

Contracting Office Address:

USACE Omaha District 1616 Capital Ave Omaha, NE 68102-4901

Point Of Contact: All questions shall be submitted on ProjNet (ProjNet access, and additional guidance, will be given at time of solicitation issuance).

Place of Performance: Fort Thompson, South Dakota

Obtaining Solicitation Documents:

Solicitation documents will be posted on SAM.gov.

Use the “Keywords” search function to locate the project (by entering the solicitation number) or use the advanced search features offered in the “Federal Organizations” (towards the middle of the page) or use the “Federal Organizations” search feature followed by the “Advanced Search” feature.

1. By using the “Sign In” feature, it allows additional search features and allows you to keep your searches. Sign In might be required on some solicitations that are considered restricted.
2. Once you have located your project, click on hyperlinked title of the solicitation to view the project. Files may be downloaded from the “Attachments/Links” section of the solicitation.

Note: Offerors please be advised that an online registration requirement in SAM.gov database exists and directed solicitation provisions concerning electronic annual Representations and Certifications on SAM. Representations and certifications are required to be up-dated annually as a minimum to keep information current, accurate and complete. The electronic annual representations and certifications are effective for one year from date of submission or update to SAM. Solicitation documents will be posted to SAM.gov. Registration is required to access solicitation documents. SAM.gov provides secure access to acquisition-related information, synopsis or pre-solicitation notices and amendments.

Please direct procurement questions to the Contracting Specialist, Sam McGuffey via email at Sam.k.mcguffey@usace.army.mil, add the Solicitation Number and Name in the Subject Line of the email.

PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. DATES ARE ESTIMATES AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE.