Water Resources Program Support: Source Water Supply and Protection, and Environmental Compliance

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, MD (the "WSSC"), is soliciting sealed responses for Water Resources Program Support: Source Water Supply and Protection, and Environmental Compliance. Responses are to be submitted via WSSC's eProcurement Portal via https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/wsscwater PRIOR TO 2:00 pm on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Late responses will not be accepted.

Project work will facilitate the multi-barrier approach to drinking water protection and improvement through supporting WSSC Water’s water resources protection program on topics such as source water quality analysis and protection, drinking water supply planning and resiliency and environmental permitting and compliance along with topics related to water and wastewater infrastructure processes, research, reliability and resilience.

The majority of services may include environmental media sampling and data collection; data analysis; environmental assessments; the development and implementation of control measures, mitigation and management plans, and supporting their implementation for source water protection, water supply resilience, pollution prevention, and control of chemicals of concern; and investigation or remediation of contaminated sites to meet regulatory requirements or implement environmental stewardship.

Background

This contract will provide overall assistance to the Division of Water Resources Protection, which in general is responsible for source water protection (quantity and quality) from two river sources as well as environmental management (helping facilities understand and obtain their appropriate environmental permits and create pollution prevention plans). These environmental regulatory requirements may pertain to up to 30 WSSC-owned facilities.

Source Water Supply and Protection

WSSC Water uses a multi-barrier approach to protect our supply of water, the Potomac and Patuxent rivers. One challenge we face is that the water in these rivers comes from areas far upstream, where there are multiple land uses and potential pollution sources. Due to the size of the watershed surrounding the rivers, it's important for WSSC Water to form partnerships with regulatory and administrative agencies for each river. This allows us to participate in discussions related to land use policy, promote source water protection and raise awareness about water quality and safety.

WSSC Water belongs to these water source protection partnerships:

• The Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership is coordinated by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB). The Potomac River is a shared resource providing drinking water to 15 utilities. To learn more about partnership and workgroup priorities, visit the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership. 
• The Patuxent Reservoirs Watershed Protection Group was established in 1996 to cooperatively protect the long-term biological, physical and chemical integrity of the Patuxent Reservoirs and their watershed. These two reservoirs are created by WSSC Water’s Brighton Dam and T. Howard Duckett Dam. This partnership is coordinated by WSSC. Read the group's annual reports to learn more.

WSSC Water owns and maintains three dams that provide drinking water to our 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties: the Brighton Dam, the T. Howard Duckett Dam and the Little Seneca Dam. The Brighton and T. Howard Duckett dams span the Patuxent River and three counties to create two reservoirs: the Triadelphia Reservoir and the T. Howard Duckett reservoir.

The Triadelphia Reservoir is fed by two major tributaries: the Upper Patuxent and Cattail Creek. The T. Howard Ducket Reservoir is fed by water released from the Brighton Dam and by the Hawlings River. The two reservoirs are surrounded by 6,000 acres of wooded property that comprise the WSSC Water-owned portion of the Patuxent Watershed. Together, the reservoirs store almost 11 billion gallons of water and create a body of water with a combined surface area of 1,600 acres. The reservoirs supply water that is treated at our Patuxent Water Filtration Plant, which provides drinking water to a portion of customers in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

Located in Black Hill Regional Park, which is operated by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Little Seneca Dam and Little Seneca Lake hold four billion gallons of water. This reservoir is part of the Washington Metropolitan Regional Water Supply. Water is released into Seneca Creek, which travels to the Potomac River to provide water at the region’s three water intakes operated by WSSC Water, Fairfax Water and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Environmental Management

Main Environmental Management Program responsibilities:

• Obtaining/assisting with environmental permits,
• Developing required pollution prevention plans, and
• Developing guidance on environmental compliance.

Relevant environmental regulations affecting WSSC facilities include:

• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
  • Individual Facility Discharge Permits
  • General Stormwater Discharge Permits (including developing Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans [SWPPP])
• Water Appropriations Permits
• Discharges from Tanks, Pipes, Other Liquid Containment Structures, Dewatering Activities, and Groundwater Remediation Permit
• Discharges from Application of Pesticides Permit
• Oil Control Regulations (including developing Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures [SPCC] Plans)

• Hazardous Waste Regulations

Project Details

• Reference ID: 106583
• Department: Operational Reliability & Resilience
• Department Head: Priscilla To (Operational Reliability & Resilience Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-26T18:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-05-19T18:00:00.000Z — Microsoft Teams Meeting Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/271536562107303?p=LUa3rQ3wdpGsCXYOyL Meeting ID: 271 536 562 107 303 Passcode: 6P32yJ6L

Evaluation Criteria

• Firm's Experience (35 pts) —
  1. Provide an overview of the firm's (Prime) experience in topics such as source water protection, source water quality and quantity, and environmental permitting and compliance for the past ten years. Ensure the examples are comparable to WSSC in size and scope.  
     
     1. Provide a summary of your experience (to include at least 3-5 years of experience) with specific examples (including 2 detailed projects) working on the following topics:
        1. Source water protection project facilitation
        2. Source Water and Watershed Monitoring, Mapping, and Analysis (including emerging contaminants)
        3. Analysis and synthesis of best practices and current research related to water supply, drought preparedness, water reuse, water supply resiliency, and source water protection    
        4. Water supply reservoir capacity trends analysis
        5. Microbial source tracking monitoring,  
        6. Phase I and II environmental site assessments, including hazardous materials surveys 
        7. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans and Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plans,
        8. Subsurface investigations (e.g., Geoprobe and MIPS investigations, Monitoring well installation, Groundwater sampling and analysis)
        9. Sedimentation studies
        10. Bathymetric surveys       
• Key Personnel (30 pts) —
  1. Key Personnel Submittal Requirements
     1. Identify your firm's (Prime) project manager and years of experience
        1. Provide a copy of the resume, years of experience, and appropriate certifications (eg, PMP)
     2. Identify your firm's (Prime) engineers and years of experience
        1. Provide a copy of the resume, years of experience, and appropriate certifications (eg, PE)
     3. Identify your firm's scientists and years of experience
        1. Provide  a copy of the resume, years of experience, and appropriate certifications (eg, PG, CHMM, etc.)
     4. Identify your firm's (Prime or Sub's) hydrologist and limnologist, and years of experience
        1. Provide a copy of the resume, years of experience, and any appropriate certifications (e.g., PhD, MS, etc.)
  2. Respective Areas of Expertise
     1. All Key Personnel shall provide a summary of work history in their respective areas of expertise, including:
        1. microbial source tracking, sampling, and analysis
        2. surface water and storm water,
        3. source water quantity and water supply,
        4. source water quality and protection,
        5. partnership coordination and collaboration,
        6. environmental site assessments, 
        7. pollution prevention plans, 
        8. sediment studies, and
        9. subsurface investigations.
• Technical Approach (20 pts) —

  Specific Questions:

  1. Tell us how you go about fulfilling a task to update 20 facility Oil Control Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs)
     1. Include the types of personnel that would be assigned and experience of such personnel
     2. Steps that would be taken
     3. The schedule and how you would ensure it is fulfilled
     4. Identify how your firm would manage this differently from another firm
     5. Include how much experience your firm has with this type of task.
        
        
  2. Provide your firm's (Prime or sub's) experience in helping to coordinate a source water protection partnership.
     1. Include how you would ensure goals are met and experience in coordinating partnerships and guiding goals and outcomes.
     2. Include the types of personnel that would be assigned and the experience of such personnel
     3. Steps that would be taken
     4. The schedule and how you would ensure it is fulfilled,
     5. Identify how your firm would manage this differently from another firm
     6. Include how much experience your firm has with this type of task.
        
        
  3. Provide your firm's (Prim or sub's) experience in developing and evaluating water supply alternatives and conducting water supply and drought analysis.
     1. Include specific types of information used and analysis conducted.
     2. Include the types of personnel that would be assigned and the experience of such personnel
     3. Steps that would be taken
     4. The schedule and how you would ensure it is fulfilled
     5. Identify how your firm would manage this differently from another firm
     6. Include how much experience your firm has with this type of task.
• Price (15 pts) —
  Offerors shall submit their price on a not-to-exceed fully loaded fixed-hourly rate basis for the service required under this Contract as outlined on this Pricing Page for this solicitation. The hourly rates shall be firm for the duration of the Contract. The quantities stated are given for evaluation purposes only and are not guaranteed amounts, but do represent the best estimate of WSSC based on project needs.
   
  The submitted pricing shall be all-inclusive for all hourly rates. Pricing shall reflect all overhead and associated costs to complete the outlined scope of work.

Submission Requirements

• MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
• Have you been in business for a minimum of five (5) years, performing work similar in size and scope (Prime Contractor) (required) —
  1. If yes, provide a list of references, identifying the following:
  1. Project Title
  2. Estimated Cost
  3. Scope of Work Performed
  4. Duration of Project
  5. Employees Utilized
• Does your firm (Prime or Subcontractor) have a minimum of two (2) Professional Engineers registered in the State of Maryland (required) —
  1. If yes, provide the following:
  1. Resume for two professional engineers
  2. Maryland State PE Certification for each engineer
• Does your firm (Prime Contractor) have a project manager with a minimum of five (5) years of experience for projects similar in size and scope (required) —
  1. If yes, provide the following:
  1. Resume for the identified project manager
  2. A list of projects, identifying the following
  1. Project Title
  2. Scope of Work Performed
  3. Duration of Project

   

• Appendix A: OSDI PARTICIPATION
• Does your firm meet the Optimization of Diverse Business Development Program requirements? (required)
• Provide proof of approved MBE business certifications or SLBE registrations? (required)
• Does your firm meet the MBE/SLBE Optimization of Diverse Business Development Program requirements? (required)
• Provide proof of approve MBE business certifications and/or SLBE business registrations (required)
• Please download and complete the attached OSDI Forms (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Appendix C: SUBMISSION FORMS
• Technical Proposal (WITHOUT COST) (required) —

  Please upload your technical proposal here

• CONSENT TO USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• CERTIFIED INSURANCE CONFIRMATION (required) —

  I certify that I will have on file within 10 days of Notice of Award, Certificates of Insurance acceptable to the Commission, meeting all requirements set forth in the Contract Document.

• CONTRACT CERTIFICATION AFFIDAVIT (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• CONSULTANT CONFLICT OF INTEREST AFFIDAVIT (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• IRAN INVESTMENT ACTIVITY CERTIFICATION (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• STATEMENT OF BIDDER’S QUALIFICATIONS FORM (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• STATEMENT OF OFFEROR’S QUALIFICATIONS FORM (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• PRICING
• Please upload your pricing here (required)
• REFERENCES —

  Please list 3 references below including the following information:

  1. Name and address of customer.
  2. The name, title, telephone number, and e-mail of customer contact.
  3. Description of the work performed, contract title, contract dates and price range (over or under $________)
• Reference 1 (required)
• Reference 2 (required)
• Reference 3 (required)
• Are you registered in WSSC Water's Supplier Portal? (required)
• Please provide your Supplier Portal identification number (ID): (required)
• Please confirm that you have registered prior to bid submittal (required) —

  Please register at: www.wsscwater.com/supplier.

• Prompt Payment Discount (required)
• Solicitation Purpose? (required)
• RFP purpose? (required)
• IFB Purpose (required)
• General Terms and Conditions? (required)
• How will you be collecting pricing? (required) —

  Select electronic pricing table if providing line items for the vendor to fill out

• Bonding Requirements? (required)
• Please select all relevant insurance types: (required)
• Will you be awarding a single or multiple vendors? (required)
• Will the Mid-Atlantic Purchasing Team Intergovernmental & Cooperative Purchasing Clause apply? (required) —

  Select yes to show the Mid-Atlantic Purchasing Team Intergovernmental & Cooperative Purchasing Clause in the attachments

• Identify OSDI's Participation Recommendation (required)
• MBE Bid Price Preference: (required)
• SLBE Bid Price Preference: (required)
• MBE/SLBE Goal (required)
• Select the Optimization of Diverse Business Development Program (required)