Turnkey Ultrapure DI Water System

The University of Texas at Austin is requesting proposals for design, installation, commissioning, and delivery of a turnkey ultrapure deionized water system, with proposals due June 24, 2026. A completed VetHUB Subcontracting Plan is a mandatory submission requirement; vendors must demonstrate good faith efforts to recruit certified VetHUB subcontractors for any subcontracting opportunities, with written documentation of notification to at least two VetHUBs for each lot with minimum seven business days' notice.

The scope encompasses a 300 GPM primary ultrapure DI water plant (expandable to 400 GPM) located in the Central Utility Building with storage tanks on the east side, and a 250 GPM point-of-use polishing system (expandable to 350 GPM) operating inside the building. The system must operate continuously 365 days per year, 24 hours daily, meeting stringent performance specifications: resistivity greater than 18.18 Mohm/cm, total organic carbon less than 2 ppb, dissolved nitrogen 8–18 ppm, and specified particle count thresholds. The vendor must provide comprehensive design documentation, piping and instrumentation diagrams, Allen Bradley PLC-based SCADA controls, ultraviolet sterilization (Avant brand with electropolished 316L stainless steel), reverse osmosis units with N+1 redundancy, variable-speed drives (ABB ACS880 series), and high-purity PVDF or polypropylene piping. Deliverables include operations manuals, training for four owner employees (minimum one week classroom plus one month supervised operation), and 30-day certification testing. Cost estimates must use specified utility rates of $5.57 per 1,000 gallons for water and $0.04 per kilowatt-hour for electricity. Separate proposals are required for system operation and maintenance including staffing plans, spare parts, and facility charges.

Proposers must submit a completed Execution of Offer with extensive certifications covering federal and state compliance, tax, antitrust, equal opportunity, occupational safety, conflict of interest, and Texas-specific certifications (non-involvement with boycotts of Israel, non-engagement with Iran or Sudan, firearm entity discrimination compliance, COVID-19 vaccination non-discrimination, and TX-RAMP cloud computing compliance). A Certificate of Interested Parties (Texas Form 1295) must be filed with the Texas Ethics Commission and submitted with the signed agreement. Insurance requirements include workers' compensation at statutory limits, commercial general liability at $1 million per occurrence, and auto liability at $1 million combined single limit. All electronic and information resources must comply with Texas accessibility standards (1 TAC 213 and 1 TAC 206.70), with the contractor responsible for remediation at no cost to the University or contract termination with full refund if non-compliance occurs. The contract is contingent on appropriated fund availability and may be terminated at the end of any fiscal year with 30 days' written notice if funds are not appropriated.