Environmental Consulting for Pump Station 1 and Soquel Pump Station

The City is seeking experienced firms to provide CEQA, NEPA, and environmental permitting services for the Pump Station No. 1 and Soquel Pump Station project. This is a federally funded project serving a highly engaged community, and the selected firm must bring both technical depth and strong communication skills to navigate a complex environmental review process.

Qualified firms will demonstrate expertise in regulatory compliance and best management practices, familiarity with relevant case law and its potential procedural implications, and a proven track record managing sub-consulting teams through multi-step environmental reviews. Firms must also have experience with federally funded grant projects and a history of delivering high-quality work on time and to professional standards.

The City of Santa Cruz was incorporated in 1866 and formed its current charter in 1948. It is governed under a Council/Manager form of government. A Mayor and six Council members set policy for the City and a City Manager serves as chief administrator of those policies. The City is located on the coast, 75 miles south of San Francisco on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay. It encompasses 15.8 square miles with cultural and ethnic diversity among its population of 65,000. Santa Cruz is part of the National Marine Sanctuary and is a popular tourist destination owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historical landmarks.

The City provides a full range of municipal services and facilities including a recreational wharf, public golf course, over thirteen hundred acres of open space, full beach services, refuse management, law enforcement, fire protection, and water and wastewater utilities. The City is also host to University of California Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Harbor, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park.

Pump Station No. 1 was originally constructed in 1959 as part of the San Lorenzo River levee system. Pump Station No. 1 collects drainage from the downtown area. Recent hydraulic modeling as part of the City’s ongoing FEMA certification effort indicated improvements to the existing downtown storm drain and pump station network may alleviate expected flooding after a major rain event. The City contracted Balance Hydrologics to complete an in-depth hydraulic analysis of Pump Station No. 1 and its tributary storm drains. The City contracted with Schaff & Wheeler to develop a Basis of Design report based on Balance Hydrologics’ findings. The reports indicate that:

1. The conveyance limitations of the existing storm drain network do not justify upsizing the existing Pump Station 1 outfall pipes and levee penetrations.

2. The toe-drain which runs along the outward toe of the west levee limits the conveyance of stormwater from the north downtown region to Pump Station 1. Upsizing the toe-drain is infeasible due to recent private development adjacent to the toe-drain.

3. A new pump station located at the southwestern corner of the Soquel Ave bridge crossing would help alleviate flooding in the north downtown area.