Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project – Construction Management Services

The City of Santa Cruz Water Department is conducting a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify three to four Construction Management (CM) firms for the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project, a $100 million+ progressive design-build project. This is a two-step procurement process in which selected CM firms will subsequently partner with pre-qualified Environmental Services firms to submit integrated proposals under a single Construction Management and Environmental Services During Construction contract. The solicitation seeks firms capable of providing comprehensive construction management, inspection, and project management services for a four-year modernization project on an active water treatment plant, with construction anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2027. Key deliverables include project management oversight, construction administration, quality assurance inspections, safety coordination, and stormwater pollution prevention planning. To be considered responsible, proposing firms must demonstrate prior experience providing construction management services for at least one $100 million+ progressive design-build water or wastewater treatment plant project completed within the past five years while the facility remained operational during construction. Required key personnel include a Construction Manager with minimum 15 years of experience, a Site Safety Consultant with 10 years of experience, Inspectors with 5 years of treatment plant quality assurance experience including SWPPP qualifications, a Qualified Stormwater Developer with 5 years of experience, and a Scheduler with 10 years of experience on complex projects including at least two $50 million+ treatment plant projects. The Statement of Qualifications submission deadline is May 14, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. via the City's eProcurement portal, with a pre-SoQ conference scheduled for April 15, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. via Microsoft Teams, and short-listed respondents to be notified on May 22, 2026.

The project is funded through anticipated EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) and State of California Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) low-interest loans combined with the City's capital improvement budget, with all work subject to federal and state prevailing wage requirements, Davis-Bacon wage compliance, and Equal Employment Opportunity regulations. No pricing information or fee schedules are requested during this pre-qualification phase; those details will be required during the subsequent RFP step, with the resulting contract anticipated to commence in fall 2026 and extend through the four-year construction period. The RFQ documentation does not specify explicit set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises, though federal funding sources may trigger associated requirements to be detailed in supplementary provisions. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are referenced in this pre-qualification phase. The specific contract award value will be determined following the RFP evaluation process, though the project construction value exceeds $100 million, and the construction management and environmental services contract pricing will be established during the subsequent proposal phase.