RFQ 2025-06 WaterSMART Consultant

The Town of Paonia, Colorado, is issuing Request for Qualifications (RFQ 2025-06 WaterSMART Consultant) to solicit Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from experienced consulting firms to assist in the development of a comprehensive Water Strategy under the Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART Grant Agreement R24AP00466 (Attachment A). This federally funded initiative will provide Paonia with a structured planning process to identify water supply challenges, assess infrastructure needs, and develop prioritized strategies for long-term water system resiliency. The Water Strategy will integrate technical analyses, stakeholder input, and regulatory requirements into a forward-looking plan that positions the Town for successful implementation of water infrastructure improvements. The consultant selected through this RFQ will be responsible for: • Conducting outreach and partnership building to engage stakeholders, including agricultural users, community organizations, water districts, public land managers, and residents. • Completing technical analyses of Paonia's watershed, raw water collection system, hydraulic capacity, water rights portfolio, and metering and monitoring needs. • Researching legal, regulatory, and institutional requirements for future implementation projects. • Developing and comparing project alternatives based on technical feasibility, financial impact, compliance needs, and community priorities. • Preparing a Water Strategy document that includes an outreach summary, statement of problems and needs, project alternatives and prioritization, implementation strategies, and lessons learned. The project milestones, originally structured from late 2024 through September 2026, will be updated to reflect a revised timeline beginning in late 2025 and extending through September 2027. The Town will seek an official update to the project schedule from the Bureau of Reclamation to ensure that all milestones, including environmental and cultural compliance, stakeholder engagement, technical investigations, comparative analysis of alternatives, and completion of draft and final Water Strategy deliverables, are achieved in full compliance with program requirements. Through this process, Paonia will establish a clear roadmap to secure, manage, and optimize its water resources. The resulting Water Strategy will guide future infrastructure investments, strengthen drought resiliency, and ensure the Town can continue to provide reliable and sustainable water service for its community.