Specialty Lab Water

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, is seeking a contractor to provide comprehensive maintenance and support services for laboratory water purification systems at their Research Triangle Park, North Carolina facility. The contract encompasses quality assurance, preventive maintenance, emergency repairs, installation, removal, and relocation of Point-of-Use (POU) Laboratory Water Purification Systems, Reverse Osmosis equipment, and leak detection systems with shut-off valves. The government intends to award this as a sole source contract to Hydro Service and Supplies, Inc., which has been identified as the exclusive OEM-authorized provider with factory-trained certified technicians capable of meeting the technical requirements. Critical performance standards include maintaining water quality with Total Organic Carbon levels below 35 ppb and resistivity of 18.3 megohm-cm at 25°C, along with stringent response time requirements of 2 hours for weekday repairs and 4 hours for emergency situations. The contractor must maintain a service office within a 10-mile radius of NIEHS facilities and provide 24/7 on-call service personnel. This pre-solicitation notice was posted on August 6, 2025, with responses due by August 20, 2025.

This opportunity is designated as a Total Small Business set-aside, though the government's market research indicates only one capable source exists in Hydro Service and Supplies, Inc., which serves as both the incumbent and intended sole source contractor. The contract will cover maintenance services for a substantial equipment inventory consisting of 196 POU systems and 6 RO systems on an annual basis. Service requirements include preventive maintenance every six months for POU systems and monthly maintenance for RO systems, ensuring continuous laboratory operations at this critical research facility. The contractor must demonstrate specialized capabilities with specific equipment specifications for service carbon tanks and mixed-bed deionization tanks, reflecting the highly technical nature of the laboratory water purification requirements. The government conducted extensive market research through industry consultations and searches of GSA Advantage and DSBS databases before determining that no other sources could meet the combined technical and service requirements for this specialized laboratory equipment maintenance contract.