HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 REVERSE OSMOSIS 06-03-02AGENDA REPORT
NO. 6
06-03-02
DATE: JUNE 3, 2002 400-45
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/WATER DIVISION
AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF REVERSE
OSMOSIS MEMBRANES- 17TM STREET DESALTER
SUMMARY
Award of the contract will provide for the purchase of thirty (30) reverse osmosis replacement
membranes for the 17th Street Desalter Facility.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council award the purchase of thirty (30) reverse osmosis
membranes to the Iow bidder, Applied Membranes, Inc., of Vista, California in the amount of
$16,715.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are sufficient funds available in the Water Division's Operating budget for the 17th Street
Desalter (70-458) to address the costs of the replacement membranes.
BACKGROUND
The 17th Street Desalter Facility has been in operation since October of 1996, removing and
treating nitrate contaminated water from the groundwater basin. The City receives a subsidy from
the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) for every acre-foot of groundwater
that is removed by this facility. The agreement with MWD requires the City to make every effort to
produce a minimum of 2,785 acre-feet of groundwater each year.
The facility was recently taken out of service in preparation for the drilling of new water well
located at the eastern edge of the facility. This new well will replace Well No. 1, which was
installed in 1927.
When the facility was taken out of service, planned inspection and maintenance activities were
undertaken, including full review of the reverse osmosis equipment. The reverse osmosis units
contain 312 individual membrane units that are housed in pressure vessels (six membranes per
pressure vessel). Each membrane unit is removed from the pressure vessel and tested to confirm
that its operational characteristics conform to facility requirements.
The inspection and testing procedures determined that thirty (30) membrane units were either
damaged or no longer met the required operational characteristics. The membrane units have
been in place since facility start-up in October of 1996 and have met the five-year average life
expectancy for this type of membrane.
Award of Contract for the Purchase of Reverse Osmosis Membranes - 17th Street Desalter
June 3, 2002
Page 2
Due to the specialized nature of reverse osmosis membranes, staff contacted Separation
Process, Inc. (SPI), a consulting engineering firm specializing in membrane treatment systems for
water applications, to review information on our reverse osmosis facility and the type of
membranes that were being used. SPI was also requested to make a recommendation as to the
type of replacement membrane (s) that should be used and if necessary, prepare a specification
that could be used during the competitive bidding process. SPI worked closely with staff during
their evaluation, and recommended that the same Dow Filmtec membrane currently being used at
the facility be used for replacement purposes.
Based on the SPI recommendation and in accordance with Section 1625.e. (1) of City Ordinance
871 (Financial and Purchasing Procedures) regulating the purchases of patented or proprietary
articles, staff contacted four Dow Filmtec distributors and received quotes for the purchase and
delivery of the membranes. Due to the immediate need to procure and install the membranes to
meet our production goals, faxed quotes were accepted.
The following bids were received:
Applied Membranes, Inc.
Ionics
Universal Aqua Technologies
U.S. Filter Corp.
$16,715.00
$17,590.00
$19,303.00
$21,827.97
SPI has indicated that the Iow bid of $16,715, or $557.17 per membrane, is a reasonable cost.
Applied Membranes has indicated that the membranes are available for shipment within one to
two weeks after receipt of order.
Tim D. S~i'etL,
Director of Public Works/City Engineer
TDS:ccg:RO Membrane Replacement-Desalter.doc