Chesnut ASR & MAR surface facilities - engineering design, permtting and construction oversight

Pinellas County is procuring professional engineering and design services through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Chesnut Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) and Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) Surface Facilities project, issued February 12, 2026, with a mandatory site visit on February 24, 2026 at 10:00 AM and a proposal submission deadline of March 12, 2026 by 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Written questions must be submitted by February 27, 2026. The procurement seeks a qualified firm to provide comprehensive engineering design, permitting assistance, and construction oversight for surface water intake facilities, treatment systems, and conveyance infrastructure that will support water collection from Brooker Creek and Lake Tarpon, treatment to meet regulatory requirements, and conveyance to existing ASR wells and a new MAR well (scheduled for completion in 2027), with potential bypass capability to the North County Reclaimed Water System (NCRWS). Deliverables include meetings and project management, permitting assistance for environmental and water use permits, water quality testing and pilot-scale treatment evaluation, design phases at 60%, 90%, and 100% completion levels, construction oversight, and preparation of operations manuals, with all plans and specifications provided in Civil 3D electronic files and two sets of signed and sealed paper documents. The contract will be a five-year non-continuing professional services agreement under the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) with negotiated rates based on a maximum ceiling fee schedule. Evaluation will be based on 1,000 written points plus up to 1,000 additional oral presentation points for a maximum of 2,000 points, with criteria including firm ability and qualifications (425 points), project team experience and past performance (375 points), volume of work previously awarded (50 points), minority business status (25 points), Pinellas County Small Business Enterprise certification (100 points), and office location (25 points). Mandatory insurance requirements include General Liability coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) coverage of $5,000,000 per occurrence and aggregate, and Pollution Legal/Environmental Legal Liability coverage of $1,000,000 per claim, with all submissions required electronically through the OpenGov procurement platform.

The RFQ does not identify specific set-asides or restrictions limiting response to particular organization types, though evaluation criteria provide 100 points for Pinellas County Small Business Enterprise certification and 25 points for minority business status, creating advantages for firms holding these designations. The contract does not identify any incumbent vendors or current contractors, and no renewal options are specified in the procurement documents. The project must integrate with existing ASR well infrastructure (ASRTP-1 well with permitted injection capacity of 1,389 gallons per minute and 2 million gallons per day maximum) and the newly constructed MAR well (MAR-1 with permitted injection capacity of 6,944 gallons per minute and 10 million gallons per day), both of which are subject to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Class V Underground Injection Control permits issued in May 2025 and September 2025 respectively. Supporting site documents provided include topographical surveys, wetland delineation reports, environmental assessments identifying gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, and bald eagle considerations, water quality baseline data from Lake Tarpon, and a technical project report and third-party review prepared by RESPEC. The Engineer's Opinion of Probable Construction Cost (EOPCC) for the surface facilities project totals $27,424,000 plus $100,000 for an Independent Performance Evaluation, suggesting the professional services budget is likely proportional to this construction cost range, though the specific design contract ceiling fee is not explicitly stated in the solicitation documents.