On-Call Regulatory and Treatment Optimization Support for Water Resources

Background

The Water Resources Division provides drinking water, wastewater collection, and recycled water services to residents, commercial, and other users within the City boundaries. The City currently services approximately 18,000 metered customers with a current average annual water demand of approximately 11,600 acre-feet per year (AFY). As the City is near completion of various projects outlined in its 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan, the City will be able to source approximately 85% of its total water supply from local water resources. Key facilities and infrastructure in delivering the City’s local water supply include: 3 well fields with 11 production wells total, a 5 million gallons per day (mgd) Charnock Treatment Plant, a new 3 mgd Olympic Well Field Advanced Water Treatment Facility, a centralized 13 mgd Arcadia Water Treatment Plant (brackish groundwater desalination facility), 3 booster pump stations, 4 drinking water storage reservoirs that total 40 million gallons, a 1 mgd potable reuse facility (Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project), 2 stormwater harvesting tanks (total capacity of 3.1 million gallons), a 0.5 mgd stormwater/urban runoff recycling facility, and 0.3 mgd injection well. The Water Resources Division also operates the City’s wastewater infrastructure, which includes the 25 mgd Moss Avenue Pump Station.

A critical part of the City’s goal to reduce its reliance on imported water supplies is maintaining a sustainable, local groundwater supply that includes implementing sustainable management practices and projects outlined in the Santa Monica Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan as well as restoring water quality in the local groundwater aquifer that have been impaired by industrial contamination. Historical industrial activities have contaminated the City’s Charnock Well Field and Olympic Well Field where restoration efforts are currently underway to pump and remove these industrial contaminants. The City has identified the Coastal Subbasin as a water supply reliability reserve and is currently investigating the impact of historical site use over the Coastal Subbasin and its impact on groundwater quality for drinking water use.

The following attachments provide the roadmap to the City's sustainability and infrastructure plans and are to be used as reference: Attachment D – 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan Update, Attachment E - 2024 Domestic Water Master Plan, Attachment F - 2024 Recycled Water Master Plan, and Attachment G - 2024 Water Conservation Master Plan.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 479
• Department: Water Resources
• Department Head: . (.)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-07-06T22:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-07-13T22:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Experience / Technical Competence (50 pts) —

  Up to 50 points may be awarded based on the evaluation of the proposer’s knowledge and prior experience.

• References (15 pts) —

  Up to 15 points may be awarded based on the Consultant’s work experience for similar engagements.

• Cost (10 pts) —

  Up to 10 points that may be awarded based on the proposal's cost competitiveness.

• Ability to Meet Work Plan (25 pts) —

  Up to 25 points may be awarded based on the evaluation of contractor’s ability to perform the work.

Submission Requirements

• Proposal
• Letter of Transmittal (required) —

  Please upload your letter of Transmittal as a PDF here. Make sure to include the following items.

  1. Identify the submitting organization;
  2. Identify the name, title, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the person authorized by the organization to contractually obligate the organization;
  3. Identify the name, title, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the person authorized to negotiate the contract on behalf of the organization;
  4. Identify the names, titles, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses of persons to be contacted for clarification;
  5. Be signed by the person authorized to contractually obligate the organization;
  6. Acknowledge receipt of any and all amendments to this RFP.
• Qualifications (required) —

  Provide a brief summary of your company’s history, its capabilities, and its recent relevant experience (last five years). Also, describe your demonstrated experience with similar projects and qualification including professional licenses and certifications.

• Key Personnel (required) —

  Describe the project team composition and include resumes of key personnel. Proposed members should be available for ninety (90) days from the proposal due date. The City must be promptly notified of any changes in key personnel prior to award.

• References (required) —

  List a minimum of three (3) references for whom comparable services were provided to in the last five (5) years. Include the name of the firm, name of the contact, telephone number of the contact, email address of contact (if available), brief description of the services provided and your firm’s role, and the start and completion date.

• Project Work Plan (required) —

  Describe your understanding of the project and approach. Include deliverables, milestones, assumptions, and identify potential risks that could delay the project. List any resources you expect the City to provide.

• Cost Proposal (required) —

  Provide a proposed total fee outlining and identifying the hourly fee schedule for all personnel to be involved in the project. Additionally, if applicable, a schedule of reimbursable expenses should be included.

• Other Required Responses
• Business License Requirements —

  WHO NEEDS A BUSINESS LICENSE?

  1. Is this vendor physically located in the City of Santa Monica?

  Yes (Vendor must have a City of Santa Monica business license - contact the Business License unit for the appropriate forms. Skip question 2 & continue to “ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS” section below)

  No (Continue to the next question)

   

  2. Does this vendor physically come into the City of Santa Monica to conduct business and/or make deliveries?

  Yes(Vendor must have a City of Santa Monica Out-of City Business License. contact the Business License unit for the appropriate forms. Continue to “ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS” section below)

  No(STOP, no license needed)

   

  ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

  If this vendor is located in or comes into the City of Santa Monica to conduct business, in addition to having a CITY OF SANTA MONICA BUSINESS LICENSE, they will be required to have insurance (see agreement for descriptions).

  The business license documentation is only required from the successful Proposer.

• Notice Regarding Disclosure of Contents of Documents (required) —

  All responses to this Request for Proposal (RFP) accepted by the City of Santa Monica (City) shall become the exclusive property of the City. All proposals accepted by the City shall become a matter of public record and shall be regarded as public, with the exception of those elements of each proposal which are defined by the contractor as business or trade secrets and plainly marked as "Trade Secret", "Confidential" or "Proprietary". Each element of a proposal which a contractor desires not to be considered a public record must be clearly marked as set forth above, and any blanket statement (i.e. regarding entire pages, documents or other non-specific designations) shall not be sufficient and shall not bind the City in any way whatsoever. If disclosure is required or permitted under the California Public Records Act, or otherwise by law, the City shall not in any way be liable or responsible for the disclosure of any such records or part thereof.

• Oaks Initiative (required) —

  CITY OF SANTA MONICA OAKS INITIATIVE NOTICE

  NOTICE TO APPLICANTS, BIDDERS, PROPOSERS AND OTHERS SEEKING DISCRETIONARY PERMITS, CONTRACTS, OR OTHER BENEFITS FROM THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA

  Santa Monica’s voters adopted a City Charter amendment commonly known as the Oaks Initiative. The Oaks Initiative requires the City to provide this notice and information about the Initiative’s requirements. You may obtain a full copy of the Initiative’s text from the City Clerk.

  This information is required by City Charter Article XXII—Taxpayer Protection. It prohibits a public official from receiving, and a person or entity from conferring, specified personal benefits or campaign advantages from a person or entity after the official votes, or otherwise takes official action, to award a “public benefit” to that person or entity. The prohibition applies within and outside of the geographical boundaries of Santa Monica.

  All persons or entities applying or receiving public benefits from the City of Santa Monica shall provide the names of trustees, directors, partners, and officers, and names of persons with more than a 10% equity, participation or revenue interest. An exception exists for persons serving in those capacities as volunteers, without compensation, for organizations exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3), (4), or (6), of the Internal Revenue Code. However, this exception does not apply if the organization is a political committee or controls political committees. Examples of a “public benefit” include public contracts to provide goods or services worth more than $25,000 or a land use approval worth more than $25,000 over a 12-month period.

  In order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Oaks Initiative, the City compiles and maintains certain information. That information includes the name of any person or persons who is seeking a “public benefit.” If the “public benefit” is sought by an entity, rather than an individual person, the information includes the name of every person who is: (a) trustee, (b) director, (c) partner, (d) officer, or has (e) more than a ten percent interest in the entity. Therefore, if you are seeking a “public benefit” covered by the Oaks Initiative, you must supply that information on the Oaks Initiative Disclosure Form. This information must be updated and supplied every 12 months.

• Living Wage Ordinance Certification (required) —

  CITY OF SANTA MONICA LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE
  Certification for Providers of Services to the City of Santa Monica
  (Fiscal Year 25/26 – September 8, 2025 through June 30, 2026)
  TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL CONTRACTORS PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA IN EXCESS OF $54,200

  The City of Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.65, Living Wage Ordinance (LWO), establishes a Minimum Wage of $22.50 for certain employees of contractors providing services to the City where services exceed $54,200 or more and requires that contractors also provide the same health care and other benefits to employees’ same sex spouses and domestic partners as are provided to other employees’ spouses.

  An employee covered by the LWO is any person who does not actually work as a manager, supervisor, or confidential employee, and who is not required to possess an occupational license.

  The Living Wage Ordinance applies the services sought pursuant to this bid and bidders are required to prepare and return the Living Wage Certification Form. If the bidder is selected, the bidder must maintain payroll records that include, at minimum, the full name of each employee providing services under the contract, job classification and rate of pay. Bids that fail to include Certification Forms may be considered non-responsive and excluded from further consideration.

  Please prepare the following certification if you are a contractor engaging in a contract for services with the City of Santa Monica in excess of $54,200.

  Your signature on this certification grants the City permission to review any and all payroll books and records and any company documents pertaining to the benefits offered to employees to assure your compliance with the LWO during the term of the contract.

  Please direct any questions to:

  City of Santa Monica Finance Department 
  Attention: Living Wage Compliance Section 
  1685 Main Street, Mail Stop 09
  Santa Monica, CA 90401

  You can also contact staff regarding living wage ordinance questions by e-mail at finance.mailbox@smgov.net or by phone 310-458-8281.

• Certificate of Compliance (required) —

  Please upload your completed Certificate of Compliance document here.

• Non-Discrimination Policy, Debarment Certification & Non-Collusion Declaration (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Levine Act Disclosure Form (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Licensing
• Engineering License from the State of California (required) —

  Please upload a copy of the Valid Engineering License from the State of California

• Geological License from the State of California (required) —

  Please upload a copy of the Valid Geologic License from the State of California

• Initial Term (required) —

  Please enter the initial contract term. For example "one (1) year" or "three (3) years".

• Options to Renew (required) —

  How many options to renew? For example, "five (5) options" or "one (1) option".

• Option Period (required) —

  What is the Renewal Option Period? For example "one (1) year" or "twelve (12) months".

• Is this Living Wage? (required)