Water Treatment Plan and Distribution System Facilities Plan

The City of Bradenton is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for engineering services to develop a comprehensive Water Treatment Plant and Drinking Water Distribution System Facilities Plan. This is a professional services procurement solicited on April 1, 2026, with proposals due by May 1, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. The scope requires qualified engineering firms to prepare a 20-year facilities plan that addresses Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) requirements under Rule 62-552, F.A.C., and must specifically document damage, impacts, loss of service, and disruption caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Deliverables include detailed planning documentation addressing drinking water supply, storage, transmission, treatment, disinfection, distribution, residuals management, and appurtenant facilities, with the final plan required by October 30, 2026. Key qualification requirements include registration with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to provide engineering services and at least one key employee holding Professional Engineer licensure from the Florida Board of Professional Engineers. Evaluation criteria are weighted across three areas: ability of professional personnel (30 points), proposer's past performance and relevant experience (35 points), and project approach including management techniques and public outreach strategy (35 points), with preference given to proposers demonstrating experience with FDEP facilities plans for municipalities and at least three completed plant expansion projects within the past ten years. The RFQ schedule includes a pre-proposal meeting on April 8, 2026, a question submission deadline of April 15, 2026, an evaluation meeting on May 15, 2026, short-listed proposer presentations on June 1, 2026, notice of recommended award on June 2, 2026, and contract award on June 24, 2026.

The project is funded through the Supplemental Agreement for Helene and Milton (SAHM) program, a disaster recovery funding mechanism supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and all consultants must adhere to 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance compliance requirements and applicable federal mandates. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises are explicitly stated in the RFQ materials; however, the federal compliance requirements mandate affirmative contracting with small and minority businesses and women-owned enterprises. The contract includes extensive federal compliance obligations including Davis-Bacon Act wage provisions, Equal Employment Opportunity mandates, debarment and suspension certifications, Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment certifications for contracts exceeding $100,000, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requirements, Clean Air Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act compliance, and procurement of recovered materials under EPA guidelines. All data and work products created during contract performance must be licensed to the City on a paid-up, royalty-free basis, and the contractor must provide access to records for audit by FEMA, the Comptroller General, and authorized representatives. The City may terminate for convenience with 30 days' notice or for cause with 10 days' cure opportunity; the contractor may terminate only if the City fails to pay within 90 days or suspends the project beyond 90 days. No specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the solicitation documents, though the FDEP State Revolving Fund program documentation references a minimum construction loan amount of $75,000 and indicates principal forgiveness eligibility ranging from 20% to 90% for construction loans depending on community financial disadvantage status.