Inspection & Exercising Water&Sewer Valves_Annual

Gwinnett County is requesting sealed bids for inspection and exercising of water and sewer valves on an annual contract with four optional one-year renewals under ITB BL089-22, with bids due August 8, 2022 at 2:50 p.m. and public opening at 3:00 p.m. the same day. This is an open-end, as-needed agreement with no guaranteed minimum or maximum work quantities.

The scope encompasses valve locating, inspection, exercising, valve box adjustment and replacement, GPS coordinate collection, and surface restoration work on distribution and fire hydrant isolation valves ranging from 2 to 48 inches in diameter across diverse terrain including major thoroughfares, streets, highways, rural roadways, and difficult-access easement areas adjacent to waterways. The County maintains a system of 57,606 distribution and fire hydrant isolation valves (6–20 inches); approximately 5,000 cannot-access or cannot-exercise fire hydrant isolation valves will be assigned during the contract life. The annual workload includes approximately 9,000 valve inspections and exercises, 200 to 1,000 valve box straightening and adjustment operations depending on pavement type and depth, 500 concrete collar installations, 500 valve marker installations, and 150 hours of extended search time. Unit pricing ranges from $1.00 per square yard for surface restoration to $430–$950 per valve box straightening operation. Contractors must not be compensated for location efforts when a valve is identified as cannot-locate; valves receiving two consecutive cannot-locate inspections will be removed from future assignments. Sidewalk repairs must be replaced joint to joint to match existing conditions; driveway repairs extend to the first joint or right-of-way boundary, whichever is less.

The contract is intended to commence September 14, 2022. Prospective bidders must demonstrate three minimum verifiable references with at least 9,000 similar inspections annually including 250 valves on mains 36 inches or larger within the previous seven years. Bid security of five percent of the maximum base bid price, 100% performance and payment bonds extending twelve months beyond final payment, current workers' compensation insurance, and commercial general liability coverage of at least $500,000 with an A.M. Best rating of A-5 or higher are required. Award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. All unit pricing must be all-inclusive with no separate line items for administrative, traffic control, or incidental costs. Firm pricing is required for the initial term; renewal options allow percentage increases of 2, 3, 5, and 8 percent in years one through four. Contractors must comply with OSHA, DOT, and MUTCD regulations and submit weekly reports to the county contract manager. Acknowledgment of Addendum #1 on the bid form is mandatory.