Northwest Well Treatment Facility

The City of Tucson is requesting professional design services for the Northwest Well Treatment Facility through Request for Qualifications (RFQ) No. 240220, which will address groundwater contamination in the northwest portion of the city's water service area. The project involves designing a centralized treatment facility to treat raw water from three wells (Z-013, Z-014, and Z-015) for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane, with the objective of restoring potable water capacity and system redundancy to produce up to 3.7 million gallons per day (MGD) of potable water. The design consultant will be responsible for comprehensive services including project management, site plan development, pipeline route refinement, preliminary and detailed design, permitting, and construction phase services. The project will be delivered using a construction manager at risk (CMAR) method and is funded through the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), potentially involving American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The solicitation was published on June 4, 2024, with a submittal due date of Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 2:00 pm local time, and a pre-submittal conference is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at 10:00 am via Microsoft Teams. The evaluation will be conducted in two phases: an initial qualifications review followed by interviews with up to three shortlisted firms.

The project includes specific provisions for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation, requiring contractors to make good faith efforts to include DBE firms certified under the Arizona Unified Certification Program. Contractors must comply with various local, state, and federal regulations, including American Iron and Steel (AIS) and Build America, Buy American (BABA) Act requirements. The project involves replacing nine production wells that were previously taken out of service due to contamination, with the potential for significant infrastructure improvements in the northwest Tucson area. While specific budget details are not explicitly stated, technical memoranda suggest total capital costs ranging from $19.6 million to $33.5 million, with annual operations and maintenance costs between $110,000 and $1.09 million. The project aims to reactivate three dormant wells to withdraw and treat up to 4,144 acre-feet per year, improving water supply reliability and quality for Tucson Water customers while addressing emerging contaminants in the groundwater supply.