To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Matt Benak, P.E., Water resources Manager
Lauren Moore, Water Resources Program Analyst
Title
Resolution Waiving Formal Written Bidding Requirement on the Basis of Sole Source and Approving a Services Agreement with W.W. Wheeler & Associates, Inc., for the Lawn Irrigation Return Flows Quantification Project [Various sites throughout Town]
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Castle Rock Water (CRW) is seeking Town Council approval of a resolution (Attachment A) for the Services Agreement (Exhibit 1) with W.W. Wheeler & Associates (Wheeler) for Phase 2 of the quantification of East Plum Creek and Cherry Creek Basin Lawn Irrigation Return Flows (LIRFs). LIRF quantification is part of CRW’s long-term Water Resources Strategic Master Plan (WRSMP). LIRFs are expected to represent approximately 955 acre-feet of water supply on an annual basis, long term, which is 5% of the total supply.
The scope of work will include a continuation of Phase 1 monitoring of water levels in 25 wells, data collection, and modeling as well as oversight of the construction of five additional monitoring wells, the associated well permitting, filing water court applications, and a conceptualized plan for Phase 3.
The total scope of this agreement is not to exceed $336,000. Staff is requesting a 5% contingency of $16,800. Work on Phase 2 will begin in November 2022 and continue through December 2023 at which time it is anticipated Phase 3 will begin. Phase 3 is expected to take 3 years.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, and Other Discussions
On March 7, 2019, the Town Manager approved the Phase 1 Services Agreement with Wheeler for the 2019 Town of Castle Rock LIRF Quantification Project.
Castle Rock Water staff presented this item to the Castle Rock Water Commission at their meeting held on October 26, 2022, and the Castle Rock Water Commission voted 6 for and 1 abstain (due to a conflict of interest) to recommend Town Council approval of the Resolution as presented.
Discussion
CRW has identified LIRFs as a significant contributor (approximately 5%) to the Town’s long-term water supply as a source of augmentation water for the Town’s alluvial wells when pumped out-of-priority. While the Town is currently claiming LIRFs for two of the five geologically defined zones, CRW will need to quantify the volume and timing of return flows in the remaining zones (3, 4, & 5) to fully claim these rights. As part of Phase 1, which was completed in late 2021, 25 monitoring wells were constructed to supplement three existing monitoring wells, and transducers were deployed in all of the wells in order to begin the collection of continuous water level data as required for quantification. Additionally, stream flow monitoring locations were selected and field sampling was conducted monthly. Phase 2 will continue forward with the work completed in Phase 1.
Phase 2 will include a continuation of the monitoring program established in Phase 1, the completion of five additional monitoring wells in Red Hawk and Sapphire Point neighborhoods (Attachment B), modeling of the timing and quantity of these return flows in both the Plum Creek and Cherry Creek basins, as well as completing and submitting water court applications for the LIRF water rights in both basins. Phase 3 will see the water court applications through their entirety in water court for approval. Once approved in Water Court, the LIRFs will be able to be diverted in East Plum Creek and Cherry Creek at any of our diversion points.
CRW intends to sole source (Attachment C) this work with Wheeler as Phase 1 work was bid out through Rocky Mountain Bid Net in 2019, and Wheeler was the only firm to submit a bid at that time. Additionally, Wheeler has worked with the Town since 1982 and has represented the Town in at least eight major water rights cases and supported the Town as opposers in approximately 50 water court cases to protect the Town’s water rights. Over these four decades, Wheeler has developed a deep knowledge of the Town’s water rights and water resources. Wheeler also has a deep knowledge of general water rights and water resources in the Plum Creek and Cherry Creek Basins. Wheeler’s knowledge of water rights and water resources will be invaluable to staff’s complete understanding of the requirements for claiming LIRFs and will be pivotal in the selection of well site locations in compliance with water rights and best practices.
Specific to the Town’s project needs, Wheeler has over 30 years of experience in LIRF quantifications. Previous work done by this team includes LIRF quantification for East Cherry Creek Valley and Woodmen Hills Metro District. Additionally, Wheeler provides the annual support needed to continue claiming Zone 1 and 2 LIRFs utilizing their pioneering quantification methodology. Wheeler’s work in Phase 2 of the LIRF quantification project will provide the knowledge and infrastructure needed to complete a monitoring plan program that will allow the Town to claim LIRFs once completed.
Budget Impact
Funding for the project is available in the approved 2022 Budget. Funding for the project will come from the following account: Other Professional Services 211-4340-443.30-70, which has a balance of $2,524,487. Town staff will use the funds to complete Phase 2 of this project and a breakdown of funding is provided in the table below. Wheeler’s proposed fee is $336,000. Staff requests an additional $16,800.00 contingency (5%) be authorized for a total authorization of $352,800.00.
|
Project Account |
Contract Amount |
Contingency |
Total Authorization |
|
211-4340-443.30-70 (Other Professional Services) |
$336,000 |
$16,800 |
$352,800 |
The cost for Phase 1 was $228,497. Phase 3 is expected to cost on the order of $250,000. The total cost to quantify these water rights is estimated to be $831,297. When comparing this cost to the number of acre-feet available, this is an excellent value of $870 per acre-foot.
Recommendations
Staff recommends Council approval of the Services Agreement with W.W. Wheeler & Associates for Phase 2 of the Quantification of East Plum Creek and Cherry Creek Basin Lawn Irrigation Return Flows (LIRFs).
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative Motions
“I move to approve the resolution as introduced by title, with the following conditions: (list conditions).
“I move to continue this item to the Town Council meeting on _____ date to allow additional time to (list information needed).”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Sole Source
Exhibit 2: Agreement
Attachment B: Location Map