To: Members of the Castle Rock Water Commission
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Shawn Griffith, assistant director of Operations
John Chrestensen, Operations Manager
Title
Resolution Waiving formal Written Bidding Requirement on the Basis of sole Source and Approving an Equipment ad Services Agreement with Trojan Technologies Corp for the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility Aria Membrane Filter #3 Module Replacement Project [Serves entire Castle Rock Water Service Area with project occurring at Plum Creek Water Purification Facility, 1929 Liggett Road]
Town Council Agenda Date: February 18, 2025
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Castle Rock Water (CRW) seeks Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) approving an agreement (Exhibit 1) with Aria Filtra Trojan Technologies Corp (Trojan), for the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility (PCWPF) Aria Filtra (Aria) Membrane Filter #3 Module Replacement Project, in the amount of $342,190, plus a 10% contingency of $34,219, for a total authorization amount of $376,409, as well as a sole source justification, (Attachment B).
Trojan will provide the membranes and CRW staff will install the membranes. These modules will be ordered in February 2025 and installed after the 2025 demand season.
CRW has six water treatment plants within our overall service area. Aria membranes are included as part of the main treatment process at PCWPF which is the Town’s only plant that treats surface water for our community. The other five plants treat groundwater only. PCWPF was opened in 2013 and the Aria membranes have a life span of 10 to 15 years. This agreement is the second of four phases to replace the membranes over the course of four years. CRW has budgeted $450,000 annually through 2027 for this purpose.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
This project is security-sensitive and no public outreach is planned. Work will be performed at PCWPF and will be done out of the public eye.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
The engineering contract for PCWPF, which included the Aria Membrane system, with Burns and McDonnell was approved by Council on January 20, 2011, and constructed by Moltz Construction. The plant began operations in 2013 with three Aria Membrane filtration system racks. The expansion of the original membrane system at PCWPF was approved by Council on September 20, 2016, which added another rack and increased capacity by 2 million gallons (MG).
Town Council approved the replacement of 78 modules in Aria Filter Rack #2 io January 17, 2024, for $365,899. The replacement modules for Filter Rack #2 were delivered in August of 2024. These filters were installed at the end of the 2024 demand season.
Castle Rock Water staff presented this item to the Castle Rock Water Commission at their meeting held on January 22, 2025, and the Castle Rock Water Commission voted unanimously 6 to 0 to recommend Town Council approval of the Resolution as presented.
Discussion
The Trojan Aira membranes, formally known as Pall Corporation Aria membranes, at PCWPF, have been in continuous operation since 2013 and are nearing the end of their operational lifespans. PCWPF operates four module racks and all will need to be replaced over the next several years. Staff requested the replacement of all the modules in Aria Filter Rack #1 in 2023, Rack #2 in 2024, Rack #3 in 2025, and plans to replace Rack #4 in 2026. The membranes have an operating lifespan of 10-15 years and over time, lose filter performance due to age and irreversible fouling.
The Aria microfiltration system at PCWPF is designed to treat surface water to remove biological contaminants for drinking water treatment. The filters provide an absolute barrier to disease-causing organisms and particulate matter down to a pore size of .1 micron (0.0001 millimeter) in size. The system is highly effective at removing bacteria and parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium and receives removal credit to 99.9% (3 log) through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The membranes are also effective at removing coagulated organic carbon.
CRW operates and maintains four racks of Aria pressure membranes at PCWPF, with each rack having the capacity to treat 2 million gallons/day (mgd), for a total treatment capacity of 6 mgd, with a redundant capacity of 2 mgd. Individual racks can house up to 78 modules, each containing hundreds of hollow fiber membranes; constructed of polyvinylidene difluoride, a specialty plastic.
The scope of work includes:
• Delivery of 78 new filter modules and associated ancillary installation hardware
• A Trojan technician to provide onsite supervision of CRW plant maintenance personnel as modules are removed and replaced
• Technical support to perform startup and performance testing, certification, and documentation
The Aria microfiltration system is a custom system available only from Trojan. Other microfiltration membranes are not designed to fit within the modular racks manufactured by Trojan. As such, this replacement will need to be performed through a sole source contract.
Budget Impact
CRW has budgeted $450,000 per year for these replacements through 2027. The Rack #2 was replaced in 2023 for $365,899. The price this year is $376,409. Funding for this purchase will come from the 2025 Water Resources Plant Operations Repair & Maintenance Equipment fund, as shown below:
|
Fund Name |
Account Number |
Cost |
Current Account Balance |
|
Plant Operations Repair & Maintenance |
211-4360-443.40-32 |
$376,409 |
$500,000 |
|
Total Cost |
|
$376,409 |
|
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of a services agreement with Trojan, for the PCWPF Aria Membrane Filter #3 Module Replacement Project, for the amount of $342,190, plus a 10% contingency of $34,219, for a total authorization amount of $376,409.
Proposed Motion
“I move to recommend to Town Council approval of the Resolution as presented”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution (Not Attached)
Exhibit 1: Contract
Attachment B: Sole Source Justification Form