NC26-85 Laboratory Services for the Identification and Enumeration of Cyanobacteria

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing, conducting procurement on behalf of the Division of Water Quality, is soliciting bids for laboratory services to identify and enumerate cyanobacteria in Utah waterbodies under IFB NC26-85, with bids due July 7, 2026.

The scope comprises rapid phytoplankton analysis to support harmful algal bloom (cHAB) detection and confirmation. Services include Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB) analysis with turnaround times of approximately 24 hours (limited to 10 samples per shipment) or 72 hours for rapid cHAB confirmation; IFCB complete assemblage analysis with biovolume within 1 to 2 weeks; and manual taxonomic identification and enumeration at multiple resolution levels with turnaround times ranging from 72 hours to 14 to 16 weeks. The contractor must maintain updated taxonomic nomenclature consistent with current phycology literature and other agencies' classifications, communicate taxonomic changes to the Division on an annual basis or as they occur, and deliver detailed reports with sortable spreadsheets containing phytoplankton enumeration, sample identifiers, site information, collection dates, taxonomic classifications, and relative abundance data, submitted electronically and populated in a shared Google Sheets document within the turnaround window.

The total contract value is $385,000 over a five-year term. The contractor must guarantee pricing for the initial 12 months; any subsequent price increases require comprehensive market research documentation and project manager approval, with each approved adjustment fixed for a minimum of 12 months from its effective date. No mandatory site visit is required. The State will award to the lowest cost responsive and responsible vendor. Contractors must maintain commercial general liability insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate, workers' compensation insurance, and comply with Utah Code anti-boycott provisions and E-Verify requirements if employing Utah-based personnel. Pricing is public information and cannot be classified as confidential. Bids containing exceptions to standard terms and conditions will be rejected.