Aquaculture Chiller

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued Request for Proposal 26CRDFBKHAWK-0002 on February 2, 2026, seeking a turn-key aquaculture chiller solution for the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery. The procurement requires a qualified aquaculture engineering firm to specify and provide a commercial-grade chiller unit tailored to the Musky Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), which operates with water volumes ranging from 5,900 to 19,250 liters. Deliverables include the chiller equipment itself, detailed professional engineering plans for seamless integration into existing RAS infrastructure, technical guidance and design-level oversight during installation by a third-party contractor, and comprehensive operational support throughout the first year of operation. The successful respondent must demonstrate expertise in aquaculture engineering and the ability to integrate the chiller with the existing system components, including the TM3-EV23 drum filter, 1.6 M3 vertical MBBR biofilter, degassing tower, and oxygen cone. Proposals must be submitted in separate technical and cost proposal files with completed certifications by February 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM CST. Respondents may request exceptions to contract terms using the provided Exceptions Form and must mark any requests for confidential treatment of sensitive information according to Form 22 requirements. The contract contact is Colton Lullmann at colton.lullmann@dnr.iowa.gov, and all contract terms and conditions are available on the Iowa DNR website.

The RFP does not specify set-aside designations, incumbent contractor information, pricing information, or budget ranges in the posted event notice. No restrictions on the types of organizations eligible to respond are noted in the available documentation. The chiller solution must integrate with the existing Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery's Musky RAS infrastructure, which currently draws water from city water sources, requiring the respondent to ensure compatibility with these established systems and operational parameters. The State of Iowa reserves the right to award the contract without further negotiation or to negotiate terms with the selected respondent based on the Agency's best interests. Respondents are advised to save their progress frequently and recertify and resubmit their proposals if amendments are posted by the issuing officer or if any changes are made to their submissions.