Wapato Drop One Water Screens

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs is seeking construction services for the Wapato Drop One Water Screens project, which involves installing traveling water screens, gate actuators, and safety improvements at the Drop 1 Pumping Plant of the Wapato Irrigation Project near Yakima, Washington. This project aims to modernize the current unsafe manual cleaning process by constructing new water screening infrastructure including seven traveling water screens, fabricated steel support structures, debris conveyance systems, automated gate actuators, fall arrest systems, improved lighting, telecommunications lines, and a mobile diesel generator for backup power. The solicitation uses a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) evaluation method where price will be evaluated first, followed by technical acceptability assessment focusing on construction approach, project management capabilities, proposed contract duration, summary schedule, and relevant experience and past performance. Offerors must submit two-volume proposals with a price proposal and technical proposal limited to 40 pages. The original proposal submission deadline was July 30, 2025, but has been extended to August 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time through Amendment 0001.

This competitive solicitation is set aside exclusively for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEE) under the Buy Indian Act, with no incumbent contractors identified in the documentation. The estimated contract value ranges between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000, with a proposed contract duration of 295 calendar days and specific completion requirements within 3 weeks after Notice to Proceed is issued. The project includes 14 bid items priced on a lump sum basis, with a 3% Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance addition applied to the total project cost. Work is scheduled to occur between November 2025 and April 2026, with critical canal access phases from November 18, 2025 to February 28, 2026, and functional testing completion required by February 14, 2026. Performance will take place at the Drop 1 Pumping Plant located at coordinates 46°29.055' North, 120°31.420' West within the Yakama Nation Reservation, supporting an irrigation system that serves approximately 140,000 acres of farmland.