PRESENTER: Presenter
Garry Ford, Transportation and Capital Improvements Director
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of a Professional Service Agreement with Arcadis U.S., Inc for full design services of the Eikel Street and North Santa Clara Avenue In-Pipe Stormwater Filtration System and authorization for the City Manager to execute contract modifications in accordance with the purchasing policy.
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 1
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
As part of the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River Watershed Partnership, the City of New Braunfels has been proactively implementing a Watershed Protection Plan for the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River watershed, which was formally accepted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on September 21, 2018. The Dry Comal Creek was listed on the 2010 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) 303(d) list for impairment due to elevated E. coli concentrations. Both the Comal River and Dry Comal Creek were listed on the subsequent TCEQ 303(d) list for bacteria impairment in 2016.
Since the summer of 2018, the Watershed Partnership has passed a Do-Not-Feed ordinance, conducted an extensive outreach and education campaign, installed pet waste bag stations, and implemented non-native waterfowl management measures. However, as changing community behavior around feeding wildlife may occur over multiple generations, physical removal of pollutants at key locations where stormwater is collecting and transporting pollutants from the watershed into waterbodies may be the best way to make a measurable E. coli reduction near-term.
Thus, as part of a study conducted by Arcadis that concluded in July 2022, the Watershed Partnership evaluated the potential effectiveness of structural stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs; e.g., in-pipe filters, detention basins) for reducing E. coli due to stormwater runoff in the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River. The effectiveness of specific BMPs reported in prior studies as well as the specific locations where BMPs could be installed in the City were considered. Based on a literature review, application of a hydrologic model, and stormwater outfall sampling, BMPs likely to reduce E. coli were targeted. A manufactured in-pipe filter was selected for pilot testing due to its relatively low construction cost and high potential for E. coli removal. The City has two bioretention ponds that are good candidates for monitoring effectiveness of natural BMPs for E. coli removal (Elizabeth Ave./ Landa Park Dr. intersection and Landa Park Aquatic Center Parking Lot). Thus, following construction, the City will be able to monitor E. coli removal performance from both natural and manufactured BMPs. The 72-inch stormwater outfall located north-west of the intersection of North Santa Clara Avenue and Eikel Street was recommended for the pilot based on the relative E. coli loadings calculated, high mean E. coli concentration measured, and constructability considerations.
Services provided by Arcadis U.S., Inc will include 100% design of an in-pipe stormwater filtration system at Eikel Street and North Santa Clara Avenue, construction supervision, establishment of operation and maintenance procedures for the system, TCEQ task report, water quality monitoring support, and final evaluation report.
The city requested qualifications on December 28, 2022, through the task order process which considered vendors prequalified on the City’s Indefinite Delivery-Indefinite Quantity contract for professional services. The city received one response on January 16, 2023, and after a review of qualifications, experience with similar services, and understanding of the project Arcadis U.S., Inc was selected.
The City worked with Arcadis U.S., Inc in developing the scope and fee for the design of the Eikel Street and North Santa Clara Avenue In-Pipe Stormwater Filtration System, support for operation and maintenance of the system and water quality testing post-construction, and required reporting to TCEQ. The fee for this work is $214,000.
ISSUE:
Continue an ongoing program of infrastructure, construction, and maintenance.
Seek alternative funding sources and partnerships that extend city tax dollars.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fee for this work is $214,000. The City will be reimbursed for this expense through the ‘Dry Comal Creek and Comal River Watershed Protection Plan Implementation: Wildlife, Pet, and Stormwater Management Measures and Outreach in New Braunfels’ contract with the TCEQ. The reimbursement by TCEQ is 60% with a city match of 40%. The match by the city has already been met and therefore this project fee is fully reimbursable.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Approval of a Professional Service Agreement with Arcadis U.S., Inc for full design services of the Eikel Street and North Santa Clara Avenue In-Pipe Stormwater Filtration System and authorization for the City Manager to execute contract modifications in accordance with the purchasing policy.