Airport Reservoir Rehabilitation Project

The City of Watsonville, California is requesting sealed bids for the Airport Reservoir Rehabilitation Project (WA-26-14826), a comprehensive rehabilitation of an existing 150-foot-diameter welded steel potable water tank, with bids due August 25, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and a mandatory pre-bid meeting on August 5, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. The contract is subject to a Project Labor Agreement for projects $1.5 million or greater employing three or more crafts; the estimated contract value is $2 million, triggering PLA requirements through December 31, 2028.

Bidders must hold a valid Class A General Engineering Contractor's License and be registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations for public work. The scope includes tank structural repairs to shell, bottom, and roof; interior surface cleaning and recoating with NSF-61 and NSF-600 certified coating systems; removal of lead-bearing coatings per specification 099198 and hazardous waste management; exterior recoating as an add/alternate; and abrasive blast cleaning to white metal standards. Lead testing detected 23.7 mg/kg in interior samples and 19.4 mg/kg in exterior samples. Tank repairs shall conform to API 653 standards; all structural steel construction to AISC 360-16 and AISC 341-16; and all welding to AWS D1.1 and D1.8 with AWS-certified welders using E-70XX electrodes. Special inspection by an approved agency is required for all structural steel and welding per California Building Code Section 1704.

The contractor must maintain continuous dehumidification and temperature control at 60°F minimum and relative humidity not exceeding 11% from abrasive blasting through at least four days post-final coat. Construction hours are restricted to 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The contractor must provide a Class C-33 contractor license, minimum five years' experience applying specified coatings to potable water tanks, and a certified standby hole watch trained in CPR and confined space operations. A bid bond of 10 percent of the bid amount is required; performance and payment bonds are 100 percent of contract price. Prevailing wage requirements apply. The City will award to the lowest responsible bidder within 45 calendar days of bid opening. An eleven-month post-completion warranty inspection is required per AWWA D-102 standards.