08-06-10 BPU RPT 03 - Laserfiche WebLink

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a k& RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum BOARD OF PUBLIG UTILITIES DATE: August 6, 2610 ITEM NO: 3 SUBJECT: AWARD OF CONSULTANT CONTRACT FOR GROUNDWATER MODELING AND EXPERT WITNESS SERVICES FOR VARIOUS WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS ISSUE: That the Board of Public Utilities select a consulting firm for the purpose of providing groundwater modeling preparation, OA/QC services, and expert witness litigation support services for both site specific and regional groundwater models. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities: 1. Approve a one-year contract with Geoscience Support Services, Inc.of Claremont,California for a not to exceed amount of$75,000; and 2. Approve two one-year extensions to the term of the agreement,should staff determine that consultant requires additional time to complete the services. BACKGROUND: On June 28, 2010, staff issued a Request for Qualification$(RFQ's)to several consulting firms for modeling and expert witness support for various water resources projects in the Riverside,Arlington, and Bunker Hill Basins. Staff received Statements of Qualifications from four consulting firms and evaluated the proposals based on the criteria listed in the RFQ. The firms were evaluated based on expert witnessAitigation support experience, possible conflicts of interest in the region, groundwater modeling expertise, and familiarity with groundwater projects in the region. The submitting firms and final rankings of the qualifications submittals are as follows: 1) Geoscience Support Services, Inc. Claremont, CA 2) Todd Engineers Alameda, CA 3) Geotrans, Inc. Irvine, CA 4) MWH Arcadia, CA Staff recommends awarding a Master Agreement to Geoscience Support Services, Inc (Geoscience). Dr. Dennis Williams (President, Geoscience) provides an extensive background in expert witness services, is intimately familiar with groundwater projects in the region, and is recognized as an industry expert in groundwater modeling. Dr. Williams currently serves on the Technical Advisory Committee and has provided extensive QAIQC review for the Riverside Numerical Model recently developed by Riverside Public Utilities' consultant, WR1ME. The technical defensibility of any groundwater model is critical in applying the model to simulations specific to groundwater management, and Geoscience provides that level of oversight. Geoscience has recently provided support for other groundwater projects in the Riverside Basin, including analysis of the proposed Riverside North Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project acid well interference calculations for the proposed Flume Well No. 7.