Leak Detection Services

Pinellas County School Board is soliciting bids to establish an agreement with one or more Florida-certified leak detection contractors for comprehensive leak detection services on an as-needed basis across district-owned facilities, with bids due September 29, 2026, and a mandatory pre-bid conference at Walter Pownall Service Center with attendance requirement.

Bidders must be currently licensed Florida contractors with certified leak detection specialist credentials — a mandatory qualification filter. Contractors must provide documented evidence of at least five comparable leak detection projects completed within the prior five years and proof of maintaining a business license under the same legal entity for at least five continuous years. A physical business location within Pinellas County, Florida is required. Failure to attend and sign the attendance sheet at the pre-bid conference results in bid disqualification.

The scope encompasses Category A services (smoke testing, domestic water line leak detection, chilled water supply and return, condenser water, irrigation, underground utility, sanitary sewer, and stormwater investigations), Category B natural gas leak locating, and Category C swimming pool and water feature leak detection. Non-destructive testing methods include acoustic leak detection, correlation technology, thermal imaging, infrared thermography, moisture mapping, tracer gas technology, pressure testing, ultrasonic leak detection, dye testing, and ground penetrating radar. Emergency response within one hour of notification is required; non-emergency response within two business days. The contractor must own or have immediate access to professional-grade equipment (acoustic leak detectors, thermal imaging cameras, moisture meters, video inspection cameras, pipe locators, GPS mapping capability, and others) and maintain twenty-four-hour, seven-day-per-week emergency services. Written reports in PDF format are due within one hour of service completion. The contractor must provide a written guarantee of leak detection accuracy with a maximum detection radius tolerance.

The estimated contract value is $75,000 for the initial 365-calendar-day term, with two renewal options available. Work is priced on an all-inclusive basis with no trip charges permitted. The Board reserves the right to award to multiple lowest responsive and responsible bidders by line item, section, or aggregate. Liquidated damages are assessed at $500 per calendar day for failure to meet substantial completion deadlines. A 10 percent retainage is held and paid upon punch list completion within ten working days. General Liability Insurance of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million general aggregate is required; the School Board must be listed as Additional Insured and Certificate Holder.