Request for Proposals for Construction Management and Environmental Services for the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facilities Improvement Project

The City of Santa Cruz Water Department is requesting proposals from pre-qualified firms to provide construction management and environmental services for the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facility Improvements Project, a $100 million+ progressive design-build project on an active water treatment plant, with proposals due July 10, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. This is a restricted RFP: only firms pre-qualified in the May 14, 2026 qualifications round are eligible to submit, and a construction management firm must partner with a pre-qualified environmental services firm to submit a joint proposal. The pre-qualified construction management firms are Ardurra Group, Inc. and Carollo Engineers, Inc.; the pre-qualified environmental services firms are BKF Engineers, Jodi McGraw Consulting, and Panorama Environmental, Inc.

The scope encompasses project management, construction management, inspection, and environmental monitoring for a design-build project on an active water treatment plant with an estimated construction duration of approximately four years through 2030. The City will provide unfurnished office space of approximately 1,000 square feet at the treatment plant site with some utilities included; the consultant is responsible for furnishing all additional equipment, supplies, and services. Consultant fees will be compensated based on a detailed fee schedule submitted with the cost proposal, organized by task structure, with all costs including direct labor, overhead, fringe benefits, profit, subcontractors, and other direct costs not to exceed a specified budget limit without written authorization.

The project is funded in part by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program and a loan and grant from the California State Water Resources Control Board's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). Federal provisions applicable include debarment and suspension restrictions, lobbying restrictions, civil rights and non-discrimination requirements, American Iron and Steel provisions, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts compliance, and prohibitions on certain telecommunications and video surveillance services.

Evaluation criteria weight adherence to RFP requirements at 5%, team qualifications and experience at 20%, technical approach and work plan at 50%, presentation and interview at 20%, and cost proposal at 5%. A pre-proposal meeting and site walkthrough is scheduled for June 22, 2026, limited to four attendees per proposer. The City anticipates issuing a Notice of Intent to Award on July 24, 2026, with presentations and interviews scheduled for July 17, 2026. Contract work is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 for design-builder administration and first quarter of 2027 for construction.