Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project –Environmental Services during Construction

The City of Santa Cruz Water Department is conducting a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify three to four environmental consulting firms to provide specialized environmental services during construction of the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project, a $100 million+ progressive design-build initiative on an active water treatment facility. The procurement seeks environmental compliance and construction monitoring services including general project management, worker environmental training, and specialized oversight of biological resources (Mount Hermon June Beetles, nesting birds, San Francisco dusky-footed woodrats, and roosting bats), arborist services, and cultural and paleontological resource monitoring. Required qualifications include a multi-disciplinary team comprising qualified biologists, qualified monitors, ISA Certified Arborists, archaeologists, and paleontologists capable of managing a four-year construction program anticipated to commence in the first quarter of 2027 and continue through 2030. The Statement of Qualifications submission deadline is May 14, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. via the City's electronic procurement portal, with a pre-SoQ conference held on April 15, 2026. Evaluation criteria consist of adherence to RFQ requirements (5%), firm background information (5%), firm qualifications and expertise (25%), key personnel qualifications and expertise (30%), time commitment, availability and approach (25%), and references (10%). Pre-qualified firms will be eligible to partner with pre-qualified construction management firms to submit proposals in a subsequent Request for Proposals phase; only these short-listed firms are eligible for the integrated Construction Management and Environmental Services During Construction contract award.

All work is subject to prevailing wage requirements under California Labor Code sections 1720 et seq., and consultants must comply with federal and state funding requirements, including those related to EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) and California Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans. The project location is the existing Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant at 715 Graham Hill Road in Santa Cruz, California, with potential use of a temporary staging area at 1941 Ocean Street Extension; work will typically occur during standard weekday business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Selected consultants will be required to maintain comprehensive insurance coverage, including professional liability of $2,000,000 per occurrence, and provide proof of registration with the California Department of Industrial Relations if work qualifies as public work. The agreement is expected to become effective in fall 2026, and the City retains the right to terminate for any reason with 10 calendar days' notice. The project was evaluated in an Environmental Impact Report certified by the Santa Cruz City Council on September 10, 2024. Specific pricing and fee schedules will be addressed during the subsequent RFP phase rather than at the pre-qualification stage, and no set-asides or disadvantaged enterprise restrictions are specified in the available procurement documentation.