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APPROVE FINDINGS AND AWARD A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT TO AQUEOUS VETS, LLC FOR THE PURCHASE OF ION EXCHANGE RESIN AND MEDIA EXCHANGE SERVICES
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RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution to:
1. Approve findings pursuant to Stockton Municipal Code Section 3.68.070 which support and justify an exception to the competitive bidding process.
2. Award a five-year contract in the not-to-exceed amount of $1,513,567.59 to AqueoUS Vets, LLC of Redding, CA for ion exchange resin and media exchange services. (Exhibit 1 to the Resolution).
It is also recommended that the City Manager be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this resolution.
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Summary
The Municipal Utilities Department (MUD) includes three utilities supported by user fees and regulated for the protection of public health and the environment. The Water Utility provides drinking water service to the northern and southern regions of the Stockton Metropolitan Area, while the California Water Service Company and San Joaquin County serve the central region. The Delta Water Treatment Plant (DWTP), which began operation in May 2012, supplies up to 30 million gallons per day of potable water from the San Joaquin River Delta and Mokelumne River.
The MUD staff constructed wellhead treatment improvements to rehabilitate South Stockton System Groundwater Well No. 8 (SSS8) located in District 6 next to Ernie Shropshire Park. Wellhead treatment for removal of water quality constituents and contaminants is a standard industry practice to meet new State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Drinking Water Standards and State law detailed in Assembly Bill 756. The ion exchange system uses resins that have a finite service life and require replacement under a regular maintenance program.
If approved by the City Council, this action will award a five-year contract in the amount not-to-exceed $1,513,567.59 to AqueoUS Vets, LLC to replace ion exchange resins under a maintenance program to enhance water quality in south Stockton.
DISCUSSION
Background
As listed in the most recent MUD Water Utility Master Plan and Urban Water Management Plan, there are two drinking water supply sources for the South Stockton System (SSS), including potable water purchased from Stockton East Water District and groundwater wells. Currently, there are a total of five groundwater wells in the South Stockton System, and three wells are in active status. The remaining groundwater wells were placed in inactive status and require rehabilitation prior to being brought back into service.
In 2024, MUD completed construction of wellhead treatment improvements at Groundwater Well SSS8, located in District 6 next to Ernie Shropshire Park in south Stockton. Improvements included the installation of an ion exchange system that uses Purolite Purofine resins in the filtration process to provide south Stockton residents with high-quality drinking water that meets all State and Federal regulations.
The ion exchange system uses Purolite Purofine resins that have a finite service life of approximately 12 months and require replacement under a regular maintenance program. If the resins are not replaced under the maintenance program, drinking water quality may fail to meet State and Federal standards, and Groundwater Well SSS8 may need to halt production.
Present Situation
Ion exchange resins must be replaced periodically to ensure the filtration system continues to perform as designed by the manufacturer. To prevent resins from exceeding their service life, MUD staff have developed a maintenance program to replace them regularly.
AqueoUS Vets (AV) is the only regional supplier able to complete a media change of the ion exchange Purolite Purofine resins and properly dispose of the spent media. The use of a different resin would require staff to design and install a different filtration system.
Staff recommends the approval of a five-year contract with AV to replace ion exchange media (Exhibit 1 to the Resolution). The annual cost of each media exchange is $236,863 with a five percent escalation each year.
Findings
Pursuant to the Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) section 3.68.070, the City Council may approve findings which support and justify an exception to the competitive bidding process. The following findings support and justify an exception:
1. Ion exchange media have a limited service life and must be replaced periodically to preserve the quality of the filtration treatment process and the production of high-quality drinking water.
2. It is in the public interest to establish a maintenance program to preserve system integrity and reliability, meet drinking water standards, and the requirements of State and Federal law.
3. Maintaining the drinking water production system with the current type of resins is more cost-effective than replacing them with a different filtration system due to the supporting infrastructure, piping, structures, connections, electrical, tooling, and instrumentation in place for the existing ion exchange system. Therefore, using the current type of resins is in the best interest of the public.
4. AqueoUS Vets, LLC is the only vendor that supplies the ion exchange resins used in the wellhead treatment and capable of replacing ion exchange media services that are the correct type for Groundwater Well SSS8 wellhead treatment.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The total cost of the estimated media exchanges over the five-year term is $1,513,567.59. There are sufficient funds in the Water Well Production account 6515-000-800001-600-000-00-65-000-000 for the first year of services. Funds for future years will be appropriated as part of the annual budget process.
This action has no impact on the General Fund or any other unrestricted funds.