Power Plant Water Treatment

Eastern Washington University is requesting proposals for a comprehensive water treatment contractor to service the university's boiler systems, cooling tower systems, and closed-loop chilled water systems, with proposals due October 2, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time. EWU encourages participation by Washington State certified Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (10% goal), Women-Owned Business Enterprises (4% goal), and Veteran-Owned Businesses (3% goal), though no minimum participation requirement exists and proposals will not be rejected on this basis.

The contractor must supply all treatment chemicals, provide technical service, testing, monitoring, consultation, and reporting to maintain effective water treatment programs and system reliability. Key operational requirements include maintaining silica cycles at or above 60 using existing plant equipment, providing staff training at no additional cost, responding to plant upsets with a Certified Water Technician (CWT) qualified team member available virtually within twenty-four hours or physically within forty-eight hours, and conducting monthly onsite visits for chemical testing, reagent supply, staff meetings, and service reporting.

Minimum qualifications include licensure in Washington State or commitment to become licensed within thirty days of selection, absence of willful wage and labor violations within three years, non-requirement of mandatory arbitration clauses for employees, direct chemical supply from the contractor's primary manufacturing facility within four hundred miles of the boiler plant with delivery within five business days, and comprehensive insurance (commercial general liability minimum $2 million general aggregate, professional liability minimum $1 million per claim and $2 million aggregate, business auto liability $1 million per occurrence, and employer's liability $1 million).

The initial contract term is three years with EWU's right to extend for two additional one-year periods not to exceed five years total. Evaluation weighting allocates 40 points to the Technical Proposal, 40 points to the Management Proposal, and 20 points to the Cost Proposal. The evaluation period runs October 2–16, 2026, with the Apparent Successful Contractor announced October 16 and contract work anticipated to begin October 23, 2026. Other Washington State Institutions of Public Higher Education members may utilize the resulting contract at the same prices and discounts if all parties agree.