RFQ - Wastewater System Facilities Plan Amendment - Consulting Engineer Firms

The City of Sandy (City) is soliciting statements of interest and qualifications information from consulting engineering firms to develop an update and amendment to the City of Sandy 2019 Wastewater System Facilities Master Plan, in addition to biosolids management, recycled water and related planning and design services.   

Sandy is located approximately 25 miles east of Portland, Oregon with a population of 12,612 (2020 U.S. Census). The treatment system consists of a 2.9 MGD (maximum month wet weather flow) activated sludge treatment plant (placed in service in 1998, upgraded in 2022) with effluent filtration and UV disinfection. Effluent is permitted to be discharged to Tickle Creek (a tributary of the Clackamas River) only between November 1^st and April 30^th.  Between May 1^st and October 31^st, Sandy produces Class B recycled water, which is all conveyed to a local ornamental nursery for irrigation.

The City is executing a large program to upgrade their wastewater collection and treatment facilities. The program, branded as the Clean Waters Program, will increase the protection of receiving stream water quality while planning for a growing community. The Wastewater Facility Plan, prepared by MurraySmith, was adopted in 2019. The Facility Plan recommended a program that included four phases of expansion -Phase 1A (ongoing), Phase 1B, Phase 2 and Phase 3, which centered upon obtaining a second outfall on the Sandy River (or alternative discharge) and constructing a second wastewater treatment plant – a satellite MBR facility.

The City is currently facing the following challenges with their Wastewater Facilities:

• Current facilities are nearing capacity and must expand to accommodate growth
• Regulatory restrictions
  • The current discharge into Tickle Creek is limited by the Three Basin Rule
  • The City’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit only allows discharge into receiving streams from November 1 to April 30
  • The City doesn’t have a permitted alternative discharge
• The existing infrastructure is aging
• Cost escalation has impacted infrastructure project affordability

The City began implementing Phase1A in 2019, with improvements made to the collection system and immediate needs improvements at the existing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The WWTP construction project is anticipated to be complete in December 2022 followed by a stress test to establish re-rated treatment plant capacity. Collection system rehabilitation of basins 6 and 7 (not originally in the facility plan recommendation) will complete construction in winter of 2023. Rehabilitation of collection system basins 2 and 8 has been completed. The City will submit  an NPDES permit application for a new outfall on the Sandy River in summer of 2022, although the outcome of the permit approval is unknown, and the timing of constructing the new outfall, if approved, is likely further out than initially conceptualized in the facility plan.

As the City began implementing Phase 1A, it began experiencing unexpected project cost increases. A reassessment of the future program estimates for Phase 1B (construction of the Satellite MBR Facility and new outfall system) revealed the budget is no longer an affordable option for the City to complete as currently conceptualized.

As a result of the affordability concerns, and schedule concerns of when an alternative discharge could be completed, the City is looking for a consulting engineering firm to prepare a facility plan amendment with a revised capital improvement plan (CIP) for near-term and long-term wastewater system solutions. The facility plan amendment needs to determine if a more economical compliance solution is available than building the satellite treatment plant. In addition, the City desires the facility plan amendment to address compliance issues during the shoulder seasons of May and October, when discharge to Tickle Creek is prohibited, and irrigation is not needed/storage ponds are full. The plan shall also address how the City can stay in compliance with upgrades to the existing treatment plant while building the long term effluent discharge solution in a 5 -10 year timeframe– either a Sandy River Outfall or alternative discharge.

The 2019 Wastewater System Facilities Plan can be found in Attachment A. Additional reports available include: Attachment B - Detailed Discharge Alternatives Analysis (2021); Attachment C - Sandy Wastewater Treatment Plant Condition Assessment Improvements Project Preliminary Design Evaluation Report (March 2021); and Attachment D - Summary of Clean Water System Improvements (April 2022) gives a status of the Phase 1A elements in design and construction, and the evolution of the program.

To view additional material related to this RFQ, please click the attached document named: Wastewater System Facilities Plan Amendment - Complete RFQ

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