Water Treatment Plant Filter Media Replacement and Underdrain Repair Project (WA23-0200)
Adopt a Resolution: 1) Amending the FY2026-27 Capital Budget and increasing the WA23-0200 project budget from $350,000 to $600,000; 2) awarding a Construction Agreement to ERS Industrial, Inc. in the amount of $492,800; and 3) authorizing the City Manager to approve and execute contract change orders in an amount not to exceed the $600,000 project budget, in conjunction with the Water Treatment Plant Filter Media Replacement and Underdrain Repair Project (WA23-0200).
Erica Ahmann Smithies, P.E., Public Works Director
Norman Woods, Assistant Public Works Director
The City of American Canyon owns and operates the Water Treatment Plant (WTP), which provides treated water to meet the City's potable water demands. As part of the City's ongoing Capital Improvement Program, the City identified the need to replace the existing filter media and repair portions of the filter underdrain system to maintain the reliability and operational performance of the WTP.
The need to complete this work has also been identified through federal regulatory oversight. Following its November 6–7, 2025 inspection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division included the Water Treatment Plant Filter Media Replacement Project as a mandatory corrective action in its Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Inspection Report. Completion of the filter media replacement is therefore necessary to address aging infrastructure, maintain treatment performance and reliability, and satisfy the mandatory corrective action identified by EPA.
The WA23-0200 – Water Treatment Plant Filter Media Replacement and Underdrain Repair Project with initial estimates, held an initial budget of $350,000. This amount was a planning-level budget based on a vendor quote and project criteria known at the time. Since the project was established, the scope and requirements have been further developed, including the corrective action identified by EPA, and the City conducted a competitive bidding process to establish current market pricing for the work.
The city received two bids, one from NMI Industrial and ERS Industrial, Inc. Staff reviewed the bids for responsiveness and compliance with the project requirements and determined that ERS Industrial, Inc. is the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
The ERS Industrial bid is $142,800 above the existing $350,000 project budget. However, the original budget was developed for planning purposes based on a vendor quote and the project information available at that time. The competitive bid therefore provides a more current and defined basis for establishing the construction budget.
The City received two bids, which are summarized below:
| Bidder | Bid Amount |
| ERS Industrial, Inc. | $492,800.00 |
| NMI Industrial | $1,286,153.37 |
Because the project involves repair of existing water treatment infrastructure, staff recommends an approximate 20% construction contingency to address unforeseen field conditions and potential changes that may be identified once the existing filter media is removed and the underdrain system is exposed. The recommended increase to cover contingency and salary expenses is $107,200, resulting in a total project authorization of $600,000.
The proposed project budget will need to be increased by $250,000 to accommodate the increase in the project amount and the proposed contingency.
Infrastructure: "Develop and maintain infrastructure resources to support sustainable growth."
Approval of the recommended action would increase the budget for CIP Project No. WA23-0200 – Water Treatment Plant Filter Media Replacement and Underdrain Repair Project by $250,000 with a not to exceed amount of $600,000.
The additional appropriation of $250,000 will be funded by Fund 510, Water Operations. Prior to this increase, Fund 510 has an unassigned fund balance of approximately $6 million.
The proposed action is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Class 1 (Existing Facilities), which applies to the repair, maintenance, and minor alteration of existing public facilities and mechanical equipment involving negligible or no expansion of existing use. The project consists of replacing filter media and repairing the existing underdrain system at the City's existing Water Treatment Plant and does not expand the existing use of the facility. Therefore, the project will have no significant environmental impact.
Level 0: No Further Public Communication Needed
No communication plan needed as this is an internal operation at the water treatment plant.