Bottled Drinking Water

The California Department of General Services, Procurement Division is requesting bids on bottled and boxed drinking water for a multi-year statewide contract under IFB #0000037255, with bids due October 14, 2026. The contract is available for use by California state departments, participating local agencies, other states, and local agencies in other states as a cooperative purchasing vehicle. Awards will be made by individual region and separately for each product group within that region to the responsible lowest-cost bidder.

The service area is divided into six geographic regions encompassing all California counties. Products include bottled and boxed water with no added ingredients in 16 fl-oz plastic bottles, 0.5-gallon containers, 1-gallon containers, and 16 fl-oz carton boxes, plus bottled water with added electrolytes in 16 fl-oz plastic bottles. All products must comply with 21 CFR 110 and 129, California Health and Safety Code Articles 12, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Water must be purified through distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or equivalent methods to achieve total dissolved solids between 30 and 250 ppm, with no E. coli present and total trihalomethanes not exceeding 10 ppb. Bidders must provide water laboratory analysis performed within 12 months of bid submission. All plastic bottled water products must contain a minimum of 20 percent postconsumer recycled content by weight, excluding caps. Primary shipping cases shall not exceed 50 pounds gross weight. Bidders must describe distribution plans, capacity to fulfill emergency orders within 12–24 hours including remote locations, and willingness to accept Cal-Card payment.

The contract term is three years with two optional one-year extensions. Pricing will be evaluated on a cost basis with tiered pallet purchase discounts. Bidders must submit customer references attesting to performance on bottled water delivery within the last five years. Extensive federal compliance obligations apply under FEMA provisions, including equal employment opportunity, debarment certifications, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act compliance, and Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment requirements for contracts of $100,000 or more.