Request for Proposals for Construction Management and Environmental Services for the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facilities Improvement Project

The City of Santa Cruz Water Department (SCWD) is soliciting Proposals from Construction Management (CM) firms shortlisted as part of the previous qualifications process to provide construction management and environmental services to support the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant (GHWTP) Facility Improvements Project (FIP) (Project). The purpose of this request for proposals (RFP) is to select a firm to provide construction management services for the GHWTP FIP – a $100 million+ construction value, progressive design-build project on an active water treatment plant – including project management, construction management, inspection and environmental monitoring. SCWD is using a two-step process to pre-qualify and then select construction management and environmental services consultants for this Construction Management and Environmental Services RFP. Only previously pre-qualified Consultants are eligible to submit proposals on this integrated RFP. The SCWD’s intent is to enter into a single contract for Construction Management and Environmental Services During Construction. The solicitation process involves the following:

• Step 1 (Pre-Qualification): The Request for Qualifications solicitation that closed on May 14, 2026, pre-qualified the following firms:

Construction Management Firms:   Ardurra Group, Inc, Carollo Engineers, Inc.     Environmental Services Firms: BKF Engineers, Jodi McGraw Consulting Panorama Environmental, Inc

• Step 2 (RFP): This RFP will be issued for "Construction Management and Environmental Services 

During Construction" under a single contract. Only short-listed environmental firms and shortlisted CM firms from Step 1 are eligible for Step 2. A construction management firm must partner with an environmental services firm to submit a joint proposal for this RFP.

Background

The SCWD is a public agency operating a water system which provides safe, high-quality water service for about 100,000 people. The GHWTP is a critical component of the City’s water supply system as its only treatment facility capable of treating surface water. It was originally constructed in 1960 and standards and regulations enacted over the intervening 66 years necessitate the Project. The GHWTP is a conventional treatment plant treating raw water from the San Lorenzo River, north coast streams and Loch Lomond Reservoir. The GHWTP must remain fully operational throughout construction. The Project will be constructed at the existing GHWTP, a secured and fenced facility closed to the public, located at 715 Graham Hill Road in Santa Cruz, CA. The 12.4-acre parcel is within City limits; however, it is non-contiguous to the City and hence constitutes an “island annexation” surrounded by parcels in the unincorporated County. The GHWTP parcel is located in the upper portion of a large west-facing slope adjacent to the San Lorenzo River. The majority of the existing and proposed building areas on the parcel are situated on an upper building pad, surrounded by undeveloped areas. Single-family residential land uses surround the parcel on the northern, eastern, and southern perimeters. Dense tree canopy and vegetation and scattered residential dwellings are located beyond the western perimeter on a hillside that slopes down to the San Lorenzo River, approximately 0.3 miles to the west of the Project. The Project may also utilize a temporary construction staging area located at 1941 Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz, CA and services under this RFP process may be required at both the primary construction site and offsite staging area.

The Project will replace and substantially upgrade the majority of the existing water treatment processes and associated infrastructure with modern facilities. The Project will increase the City’s treatment reliability to meet current and anticipated future water quality requirements; support the treatment of wet season water to facilitate implementation of the City’s Water Supply Augmentation Strategy and Securing Our Water Future Policy; improve the ability to treat variable and degraded source water quality conditions, such as those associated with post-wildfire, severe storms, and droughts; and meet current seismic, building, electrical, and fire code requirements.

The consultant team selected as part of this RFP process will play a critical role in planning, coordinating, and overseeing construction activities to ensure uninterrupted treatment operations, regulatory compliance, and public health protection.

Project Details

• Reference ID: RFP No. WT-0311
• Department: Water
• Department Head: Heidi Luckenbach, P.E. (Water Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-25T00:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-06-22T16:00:00.000Z — Pre-proposal meeting and site walkthroughs: 9:00AM to 12:PM or 1:00PM to 4:00PM. The City will reach out to the proposers to schedule the meeting and site walkthrough which will be approximately one hour in duration.

Evaluation Criteria

• Adherence to RFP Requirements (5 pts)
• Team Qualifications, Expertise, and Experience (20 pts)
• Technical Approach and Work Plan (50 pts)
• Presentation and Interview (20 pts)
• Cost Proposal (5 pts)

Submission Requirements

• Proposal Submittal (required) —

  The undersigned, upon acceptance, agrees to furnish the following in accordance with the specifications and terms and conditions per City of Santa Cruz at the prices indicated herein.

  The undersigned, under penalty of perjury, declares not to be a party with any other business to an agreement to propose a fixed or uniform price in connection with this proposal.

  The unsigned declares under penalty of perjury that she/he is authorized to sign this document and bind the business or organization to the terms of this Proposal.

  The undersigned recognizes the right of the City of Santa Cruz to reject any or all proposals received and to waive any informality or minor defects in proposals received.

  The undersigned declares under penalty of perjury that the information contained in this Proposal and all accompanying documents are true and correct.

• Proposal Requirements (required) —

  Did you read through and confirm that you met all of the proposal requirements? 

• Proposal Submittal (required) —

  Please upload your proposal here. 

• Proposal (without Cost Proposal) (required) —

  Please upload your proposal here without pricing included. Upload fee proposal separately in the next step.

• Separate Cost Proposal (required) —

  Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.

• Bid Bond (required) —

  Each bid shall be accompanied by a certified cashier’s check, or bid bond, in the amount of XXXXXof the total bid price, payable toCity of Santa Cruz, as a guarantee that the bidder, if its bid is accepted, will promptly execute the Agreement. The bidder shall guarantee the total bid price for a period of 60 days from the date of the bid opening.

  Please scan and upload a copy of your bid bond/cashier's check. Bidder must also MAIL bid guarantee with a postmarked date no later thanFriday, July 10, 2026 addressed to:

  City of Santa Cruz
  Katy Fitzgerald
  212 Locust Street
  Santa Cruz,CA95060

  Please have the Bidder Name, Contract Title ("Request for Proposals for Construction Management and Environmental Services for the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant Facilities Improvement Project"), and Contract Number ("RFP No. WT-0311") listed clearly on the outside of the envelope.

• Contract Execution, Payment Bond, Performance Bond, and Certificate(s) of Insurance (required) —

  The contract shall be executed by the successful bidder and shall be returned, together with the Payment Bond, Performance Bond and Certificate(s) of Insurance to City of Santa Cruz so that it is received within 14 working daysafter the bidder has received the contract for execution. Failure to do so shall be just cause for forfeiture of the proposal guaranty.

• Local Preference Certification Form —

  Please download the below Local Preference Certification Form, complete, and upload.

• Non-Collusion Declaration Form (required) —

  Please download the below Non-Collusion Declaration Form, complete, and upload.

• California Levine Act Statement —

  California Government Code Section 84308, commonly referred to as the "Levine Act," prohibits any member of the City Council of the City of Santa Cruz from participating in any action related to a contract if they receive any political contributions totaling more than $250 within twelve (12) months before or after the date a final decision concerning the contract has been made, from the person or company awarded the contract. The Levine Act also requires disclosure of such contribution by a party to be awarded a specific contract.

   

  Answering YES to either of the two questions above does not preclude the City of Santa Cruz from awarding a contract to your firm or taking any subsequent action related to the contract. It does, however, preclude the identified City Council Member(s) from participating in any actions related to this contract.

• Have you or your company, or any agent on behalf of you or your company, made any political contributions of more than $250 to an Officer of the City of Santa Cruz in the twelve (12) months preceding, the date of the submission of your proposals or the anticipated date of any Board action related to this contract? (required)
• If yes, please identify the Council Member(s): (required)
• Do you or your company, or any agency on behalf of you or your company, anticipate or plan to make any political contribution of more than $250 to any Member of the Board of Supervisors in the twelve (12) months following any Board action related to this contract? (required)
• If yes, please identify the Council Member(s): (required)
• Bid Bond (required) —

  Will this solicitation require a bid bond?

• Will this solicitation require a performance and/or payment bond? (required)
• Electronic Pricing Table (required) —

  Would you like to have vendors respond to an electronic pricing table? 

   

• Separate Fee Proposal Upload (required) —

  If you are NOT using the Electronic Pricing Table option, will you want proposers to separate a Price Proposal from the rest of their Response? You'll want to do this if you open your bids initially WITHOUT showing price, and then come back in after a technical evaluation to unseal pricing later.

• Evaluation Committee? (required) —

  Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?

  Select YES for Request for Proposals and Request for Qualifications process. 

• Attach the Local Vendor Preference Form? (required) —

  Select YES for most solicitations. 

  Local Preference does NOT apply to: 

  • Purchases under the informal threshold ($10K)
  • Construction projects.
  • Urgent purchases necessary to protect public health, welfare or safety.
  • Purchases funded by outside agencies (Federal) that prohibit the use of preferences.
  • Professional services requests for proposals where price is not considered in the selection (RFQu)