On-call construction services: underground piping and facilities mecahnical services

The Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) in Riverside County, California, is issuing Request for Qualifications (RFQ) #3925 to establish an on-call construction services contract for underground piping and facilities mechanical services. The procurement seeks qualified contractors licensed in California to provide services supporting scheduled capital projects, urgent repairs, and operational needs across EMWD's water, wastewater, and recycled water infrastructure serving approximately 1 million people across 601 square miles in Southern California. Contractors may qualify for one or both service categories: underground piping services, including installation, rehabilitation, modification, relocation, and repair of pressurized and gravity pipeline systems from 1-inch through 60-inch diameter, and facilities mechanical services, including fabrication, installation, pump replacement, piping reconfiguration, and related work at treatment plants and pump stations. Required qualifications include a current California State Contractor's License General Engineering A classification, a minimum of five years of relevant experience, six customer references from similar public sector projects preferably from water districts, proof of bond ability, prevailing wage registration with the Department of Industrial Relations, and comprehensive insurance coverage including workers' compensation, commercial general liability, commercial automobile liability, and pollution liability. Evaluation criteria encompass organizational experience and qualifications, past performance, price competitiveness, subcontractor qualifications, equipment lists, CARB mobile source compliance, surety bond ability, insurance documentation, and CAL/OSHA safety records. Questions must be submitted by 4:00 PM on March 18, 2026, with responses provided by March 20, 2026; proposals are due electronically by 4:00 PM on March 27, 2026, with proposal review scheduled for April 3, 2026, contractor recommendation forthcoming, board recommendation on June 1, 2026, and an approximate agreement start date of July 1, 2026.

The contract term is two years with one optional one-year renewal at EMWD's sole discretion, and the District reserves the right to award one, both, or neither category to any proposer with no guaranteed minimum work volume. Pricing for urgent work shall be submitted on a time-and-material basis using rate schedules with applicable Caltrans equipment rental rates, while scheduled work pricing may be submitted as fixed price or time-and-expense with a not-to-exceed limit. The RFQ includes extensive federal compliance requirements applicable when federal funds are expended, including Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage provisions, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act compliance, Copeland Anti-Kickback Act adherence, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act standards, and debarment and suspension certifications. Contractors must comply with EMWD's Cal-VPP site requirements, which exceed federal and state safety standards, and must adhere to CARB In-Use Off-Road Diesel regulations, Advanced Clean Fleets requirements, and Truck and Bus regulations. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or minority-owned businesses are detailed in the available documentation, and no incumbent vendors or existing contract holders are identified. Award values or budget ranges are not specified in this RFQ; pricing will be evaluated competitively based on submitted rate schedules and the District's project needs.