To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Castle Rock Water Director
Title
Resolution Approving a Construction Contract with T. Lowell Construction, Inc. for the CR-1 Diversion Project [Along East Plum Creek, near the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility on Liggett Road]
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Castle Rock Water is seeking Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) awarding a construction contract (Exhibit 1) to T. Lowell Construction, Inc. (T. Lowell), for the CR-1 Diversion Project. The T. Lowell project cost is $500,000. This cost includes construction services to construct a new diversion facility along East Plum Creek, near the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility (PCWPF). This project is critical to meet the Town’s renewable water goals, as well as anticipated water demands this summer due to the Town’s continued growth. This project will allow the Town to capture its renewable water and free river water from East Plum Creek. Invitations to bid were sent to seven qualified contractors and two bids were received. The two bids were received from T. Lowell and Moltz Construction. T. Lowell’s bid is the lowest.
T. Lowell shall undertake the work upon execution of the agreement and receipt of a notice to proceed from the Town. Work is scheduled to be complete by June 2017. Staff also requests approval for a ten percent staff-managed contingency, $50,000, for a total project authorization of $550,000. A location map for the proposed CR-1 Diversion facilities is provided (Attachment B). Funding for this project was budgeted in the 2017 budget line item “Plum Creek Diversion Structure” (account no. 211-4375-443.77-54), which has a current balance of approximately $4,000,000.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
Castle Rock Water staff presented the specifics of this project to the Castle Rock Water Commission at their regularly scheduled meeting held on February 22, 2017. The presentation highlighted the scope and complexity of this capital improvement project. These types of renewable water projects support the Town’s long-term water goal of providing a 75 percent renewable water supply for the community by 2050. The Castle Rock Water Commission voted to recommend Town Council approval of this project.
Discussion
A need for a sustainable, long-term water supply was identified in the Town’s Water Resources Strategic Master Plan (WRSMP). One of the major goals of that plan is to establish a renewable, sustainable water supply that accounts for 75 percent of the annual demand for water in Castle Rock. Renewable water sources include existing surface water rights along East and West Plum Creek, reusable lawn irrigation and sewered return flows, and imported surface water from outside of the Plum Creek Basin.
The majority of the water supply for the Town of Castle Rock currently comes from Denver Basin groundwater, with approximately eleven percent on an annual average coming from the renewable water supply pumped from alluvial wells along East Plum Creek. A continued need to work towards a sustainable long-term water supply was reinforced in the Town’s most recent 2016 Water Resources Strategic Master Plan (WRSMP). The Town has plans to construct a diversion downstream of the Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority, but Federal permitting requirements are causing delays. This surface diversion project at CR-1 consists of capturing water on East Plum Creek, to which the Town has rights, and conveying that water to the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility for treatment with no or minimal Federal permitting requirements. In addition to being able to capture existing East Plum Creek water rights, the CR-1 Diversion will also allow the Town to capture “free-river” available flows, essentially free renewable water. At an estimated market cost of $25,000 to $30,000 per acre-feet of renewable water supply, investment in the permanent CR-1 Diversion makes fiscal sense. Castle Rock Water treated 51.6 million gallons (MG) of water from the temporary CR-1 Diversion last year. This translates to roughly $4,000,000 in renewable water supply value if we had to import this water.
The permanent CR-1 Diversion Project is designed to capture and pump up to 3.7 million gallons per day (MGD) of renewable East Plum Creek water to PCWPF, much more than the temporary diversion was capable of pumping. The project consists of modifying an existing 24-inch pipe (see photo), which is exposed in East Plum Creek, into a diversion structure.
A portion of the 24-inch pipe will be removed and replaced with a screen, to allow water to flow into the pipe. Since the pipe is an existing structure and the pipe modification will not disturb the stream, permitting is not required to complete these modifications. A new pump station and pipeline will be constructed to convey this water to PCWPF. Approximately 1,300 linear feet of twelve-inch pipe will be installed between a new pump station and the existing raw water transmission pipeline that feeds PCWPF. Additional facilities that will be constructed with this project include a flow monitoring station and control facilities for operations.
Castle Rock Water sent the invitation to bid to seven qualified contractors. Interested contractors were required to attend a pre-bid meeting to receive an overview of the project and site tour. The three contractors that attended the meeting include T. Lowell Construction, Mortenson Construction, and Moltz Construction. The following table lists the total bid cost received from each of the three general contractors.
|
Consulting Firm |
Total Cost |
|
T-Lowell Construction |
$500,000 |
|
Moltz Construction |
$606,501 |
|
Mortenson Construction |
No Bid |
|
Engineer’s Estimate |
$530,700 |
T. Lowell has constructed a variety of projects in recent years for Castle Rock Water. In 2015/2016, T. Lowell constructed the Front and Allen PRV Improvements Project. Other notable projects that T. Lowell has completed for Castle Rock Water include the Briscoe PRV and Founders Force Main Projects. T. Lowell has the experience and resources to construct the CR-1 Diversion Project. Castle Rock Water has pre-purchased $122,910 worth of equipment to ensure this project is online in June, which brings the total project cost to $622,910.
Budget Impact
Castle Rock Water budgeted approximately $4,000,000 in 2017 for the Plum Creek Diversion Projects. Funds for the CR-1 Diversion Project will come from the Plum Creek Diversion account (account number 211-4375-443.77-54). This account currently has a balance of approximately $4,000,000. Castle Rock Water has identified key components of the project that needed to be purchased in advance of the approval of the construction contract in order to meet the completion schedule. These items included a flow meter, PLC/RTU, diversion screen, and pumps. The total funds encumbered for these items are $122,910. There are sufficient funds in this account for the CR-1 Diversion Project. Staff requests $500,000 for the construction of the CR-1 Diversion Project and an additional $50,000 (Town-managed ten percent contingency) be authorized, for a total project authorization of $550,000, and a total estimated project cost of $622,910. .
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approval of the Resolution approving the Construction Contract for the CR-1 Diversion Project with T. Lowell Construction, Inc. in the amount of $500,000 (Attachment A), and approval for a staff-managed contingency of $50,000, for a total project authorization of $550,000.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Contract
Attachment B: Map