2026 Water Treatment Chemicals

Location:	Minnesota
Posted:	Nov 26, 2025
Due:	Dec 9, 2025
Agency:	City of Duluth
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	68 - Chemicals and Chemical Products
Solicitation No:	26-AA01
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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**********ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS**********

BID NO. 26-AA01

2026 WATER TREATMENT CHEMICALS

BIDS DUE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9 AT 2:00 PM

Bidders choosing to submit a paper bid are still responsible for reviewing all information within the

Bid Express solicitation.

The City of Duluth, Minnesota, requests sealed bids for water treatment chemicals for the

Lakewood Water Treatment Plant for 2026 Please see the specifications for more

information.

Quantities listed are estimates. All chemicals must meet the attached specifications.

Delivery charges must be included in the price.

Price must be held firm January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.

Awarded bidder(s) will be required to provide current safety data sheets.

All 2026 chemical purchases will be held pending City Council approval of the annual budget

and a 30-day waiting period as required by ordinance. Purchase orders cannot be issued until

January 2026.

Deliver to: Lakewood Water Treatment Plant, 8130 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804,

between the hours of 7:00 am and 3:00 pm central time Monday through Friday. Contact at

the Plant is Patrick Johnson, Water Plant Supervisor, (218) 730-4160 (office).

Freight terms: FOB destination, freight prepaid.

Do not include sales tax in the unit price. A Minnesota Revenue Certificate of Exemption will be

provided upon request.

By submitting a bid, Bidders are acknowledging that they have read the City of Duluth General

Bid Specifications, which are included in this bid package.

Submit sealed bids to the City of Duluth - Purchasing Division, 411 West First Street, Room 120,

Duluth, MN 55802. E-MAIL BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Electronic bids are preferred and

may be submitted through www.BidExpress.com. Bidders will be required to create a free Bid

Express vendor account in order to access the solicitation. Bid Express does charge a nominal

fee for bid submission. Visit https://www.bidexpress.com/vendor_resources for more

information.

The City Purchasing Agent or her designee will conduct a public bid opening online immediately

after the deadline for receiving bids. Visit https://www.duluthmn.gov/purchasing/bids-

request-for-proposals/ and select the appropriate link to view the bid opening.

Questions pertaining to this project should be emailed to purchasing@duluthmn.gov.

Note: Bid rigging is a serious crime. If you have any information concerning collusive bidding,

even a request to submit a complementary bid, please call the Minnesota Attorney General's

Office at (651) 296-1796.

The City of Duluth reserves the right to split the award where there are substantial cost savings

to the City, waive informalities, and to reject any or all bids. Price may not be the only

consideration for bid award. Bids must be firm for a minimum of 90 days.

Patrice Stalvig

City Purchasing Agent

GENERAL BID SPECIFICATIONS

(Electronic Bids)

Purchasing Division

120 City Hall, 411 W. 1st Street

Duluth, MN 55802-1189

TEL. 218-730-5340

purchasing@duluthmn.gov

1. General. This document covers bids requested by the City of

Duluth (“City”), including those requested on behalf of its Agents

and Authorities. Each authority may issue their own purchase

order or contract and will be responsible for it. The City of Duluth

Authorities are as follows:

a. Duluth Airport Authority

b. Spirit Mountain Recreational Area Authority

c. Duluth Economic Development Authority

2. Investigation by Bidders. Bidders are responsible for

thoroughly reading and understanding the information,

instructions, and specifications contained in the Invitation for Bids,

and for investigating the site conditions at the Project location(s),

if applicable. At bid opening, each bidder will be presumed to have

read and to be thoroughly familiar with the plans, specifications

and contract documents (including all addenda). The failure or

omission of any bidder to examine any form, instrument, or

document shall in no way relieve the bidder from any obligation in

respect to their bid.

3. Bidder Questions. Responses to general questions regarding

the Invitation for Bids may be made at the discretion of the City.

Every request for such interpretation should be submitted through

Bid Express or via e-mail or postal mail to the Purchasing Division

before the deadline indicated on the Invitation for Bids, or if no

deadline is specified, at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled

bid opening. Responses will be issued in writing in the form of an

Addendum and posted on Bid Express.

4. Bid Submission. All bids must be complete and submitted via

Bid Express prior to the deadline indicated in the solicitation. Bids

will not be accepted via e-mail.

No alternatives to the specifications will be considered unless

specifically requested. No special conditions shall be made or

included by the bidder.

5. Non-Collusion Clause. By submitting a bid, the bidder, their

agent and/or employee(s) hereby affirm that the attached bid or

bids have been arrived at by the bidder independently and have

been submitted without collusion with, and without agreement,

understanding or planned common course of action with any other

vendor of materials, supplies, equipment or services described in

the Invitation for Bids, designed to limit independent bidding or

competition

6. Award. Award, if made, will be to the responsible bidder

submitting the lowest bid which complies with the conditions of the

Invitation for Bids and specifications. A bid summary will be posted

on the City website immediately following the bid opening. Awards

for construction projects or the purchase of supplies over $150,000

must be approved by City Council.

7. Bidder Qualifications. Per Sec 41.23(e) of Duluth City Code,

contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. In

determining the lowest responsible bidder, the City shall consider

the ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the work and

perform it in the time specified without delay or interference; the

character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and

efficiency of the bidder; the quality of the bidder’s performance of

previous contracts or services; the previous and existing

compliance by bidder with laws and ordinances relating to the

contract or service;, the number and scope of conditions attached

to the bid; and the sufficiency of the financial resources, equipment

available and ability of the bidder to perform the contract. Bidders

shall furnish to the City all such information and data for this

purpose, when requested.

Minnesota law requires that, in order to transact business in the

State, including submitting a response to this request for

bids/proposals, a corporate entity of any kind must either be

organized under Minnesota law or have a Certificate of Authority

from the Minnesota Secretary of State to do business in Minnesota

(M.S. 303.03). By submitting this bid/proposal as a corporation,

you are certifying that the responding corporation complies with

this requirement.

8. Bid Opening. The City Purchasing Agent or her designee will

conduct a public bid opening in the location and at the time

specified in the bid announcement. Results will be posted online

http://www.duluthmn.gov/purchasing/bids-request-for-

proposals/ once all bids have been reviewed.

9. Rejection of Bids. The City of Duluth reserves the right to

reject any and all bids and to waive any informalities or

irregularities in bids received whenever such rejection or waiver is

in its best interests.

The City reserves the right to reject any bid if the evidence

obtained by the City through such investigation fails to satisfy the

City that the bidder is properly qualified to carry out the obligations

of the contract and to complete the work as required by the plans

and specifications.

10. Liquidated Damages for Failure to Enter into Contract. The

successful bidder, upon their failure or refusal to accept a

purchase order or execute and deliver the contract, proof of

insurance and bonds required within 10 days after receipt of a

notice of the acceptance of their bid, shall forfeit to the City, as

liquidated damages for such failure or refusal, the security

deposited with their bid.

11. Equal Employment Opportunity. Contractor will be required

to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity

(EEO) laws and regulations. Affirmative action must be taken to

insure that the employees and applicants for employment are not

discriminated against because of their race, color, creed, sex or

national origin. The City of Duluth is an equal opportunity

employer.

12. Prevailing Wages. Per Sec 2-26 of Duluth City Code,

payment of not less than the prevailing wage and salary rates

specified in the contract documents and the conditions of

employment with respect to certain categories and classifications

of employees is required for all construction type projects

estimated to exceed $2,000. Contractor will be required to submit

certified payrolls with all requests for payment. This does not apply

to off-site production and manufacturing of parts and supplies.

13. Validity of Bids: All bids must remain firm for 60 days from the

date of bid opening, unless another period is noted in bid

documents.

14. Insurance. All vendors doing work on City property, except

vendors making routine deliveries, shall submit an insurance

certificate verifying insurance coverage as per current city

requirements. Insurance requirements are contained in Section 7

of the draft contract.

15. Reports. Contractors will be required to provide all data

required by the city, state or federal funding source(s) for reporting

purposes; including, but not limited to job creation and retention

data, itemized invoices, payroll records, certifications and licenses.

2026 City of Duluth Chemical Bid Information

Chemical

Per Delivery

Yearly Guestimate

Liquid Alum Sulfate

6,600 Gallons

160,000 Gallons

Liquid Caustic Soda

4,200 Gallons

90,000 Gallons

Wet Hydrofluorosilicic

Acid

43,500 pounds

(4,400 gallons)

174,000 pounds

(17,600 gallons)

Liquid Chlorine

Nonionic Polymer

(Clarifloc N-3300P or

Equivalent)

Liquid Ammonium

Sulfate Solution

4-6 tons

40 – 55 pound bags

(pallet)

64 tons

Approximately

3000 pounds

2000 gallons

18,000 to 20,000 gallons

WATER TREATMENT CHEMICALS

SPECIFICATIONS

Liquid Aluminum Sulfate

- Liquid aluminum sulfate 50%, 17% AL,179 AI 203 basis (19% aluminum oxide basis).

- Ingredients:

Aluminum sulfate Al2(SO4)3 48.5%

Water (H2O)

51.5%

- General Characteristics:

* Chemical formula:

Al2(SO4)3 in solution

* Appearance:

clear, slightly buff to amber liquid

* Dry Weight:

1 liter weighs 1.32 kg and contains the equivalent

of 0.65 kg dry aluminum sulfate (alum); 1 imperial

gallon weighs 13.2 lbs and contains the equivalent

of 6.5 lbs dry aluminum sulfate (alum)

- Chemical Analysis % by weight

Typical

Specification

* Aluminum – total available as AI203

8.3

8.0 min

* Iron - total as Fe2O3

0.0035

* Insoluble Solutions

0.002

0.07 max

* Basicity

0.20

basic

- Must comply with the latest B403 American Water Works Association (AWWA)

standard.

- To be delivered in tank trucks on an as-needed basis.

- Legal weight ticket must accompany each load to verify net weight of product.

Liquid Caustic Soda 50%

- Delivered into two (2) 6,000-gallon storage tanks.

- Must comply with the latest B501 AWWA standard.

- Liquid temperature must be a minimum of 100°F.

- Legal weight ticket must accompany each load to show net weight of product.

Liquid Chlorine

- Chlorine:

Min 99.7% by volume

Moisture:

Max 0.0100% by weight

Nonvolatile Matter (@45 deg C) Max 0.0030% by weight

- Must comply with the latest B301 AWWA standard

- To be delivered as-needed in 1-ton containers

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.