BROWN WATER TREATMENT PLANT FILTRATE AND LAGOON DECANT DISCHARGE UPGRADES

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES
FOR
BROWN WATER TREATMENT PLANT FILTRATE AND LAGOON DECANT
DISCHARGE UPGRADES
DEPARTMENT OF WATER MANAGEMENT
NORTH CAROLINA
MAY 2026

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
Professional Engineering Services
For
BROWN WATER TREATMENT PLANT FILTRATE AND LAGOON DECANT DISCHARGE UPGRADES
May 2026
I. INTRODUCTION
Through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), the City of Durham, Department of Water Management
(Department) is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from candidates to provide professional
engineering services for Brown Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Filtrate and Lagoon Decant Discharge
Upgrades.
The Department is responsible for infrastructure operation, maintenance, evaluation, rehabilitation, and
improvement of the Brown WTP serving the City of Durham. Brown WTP is located at 1615 Infinity Road
Durham, NC 27712. The Brown WTP produces on average 24 million gallons per day (MGD) of water,
with a permitted capacity of 42 MGD. The City anticipates future expansions of Brown WTP to an
ultimate capacity of 66 MGD. To maintain standard operation and solids handling, the WTP has three
streams of wastewater that are discharged to the City's wastewater collection system; lagoon decant,
filtrate from the belt filter press system, and sanitary sewer from the administration building.
The lagoons receive inflow from the backwash equalization tank overflow and from surface runoff
across the north side of the WTP; with Lagoon 2 receiving the vast majority of this flow. When the water
level in lagoon 2 needs to be lowered, decant water is pumped out using a single pump decant system.
The decant pump is a Sulzer XFP100 submersible chopper pump. The pump discharges into a six-inch
HDPE force main that conveys the wastewater south, across the WTP facility, and connects to a manifold
with the filtrate pump force main, just west of the filtrate pump station.
The filtrate and sanitary sewer flow by gravity to the filtrate pump station situated on the west side of
the WTP. The filtrate pump station is composed of a Smith and Loveless, Inc. packaged pump station
composed of a dual pump system (one duty, one standby) rated at 420 GPM at 90 FT TDH. The pump
station discharges to a 6-inch force main that travels south away from the WTP and continues along
Chutney Drive and Meadston Drive before discharging into the City sewer system. An approximate
diagram illustrating the system is shown below in Appendix A.
Several hydraulic limitations exist with this arrangement. At the WTP, the gravity sewer from the filtrate
building to the pump station encounters a hydraulic bottleneck with surcharging and near overflowing
of a manhole upstream of the pump station. Off the WTP facility, the force main discharges at a
manhole on Meadston Drive that empties into an 8-inch PVC gravity sewer. This sewer line continues
across Goodwin Road and back down Meadston Drive. Numerous reports of overflows involving this
sewer have been received, and maintenance work orders have indicated observations of foaming and
mud in the sewers, as well as instances of overflows while the force main system is discharging. The City
desires to make improvements to the overall discharge system necessary to avoid future instances of
sewer overflows as filtrate production continues to increase in the future.
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Scope of Work
The contract with the selected consultant will consist of Preliminary Engineering services to assess the
current WTP conveyance system, discharge system, identify and evaluate potential alternatives for
improved piping and discharge options, and development of construction cost estimates for the items
outlined below. These tasks will be the basis for applying the City's Equal Business Opportunity Program
(EBOP) policies and Underutilized Business Enterprise (UBE) goals.
The following information will be provided to the selected consultant:
Available record drawings, documentation, and photographs of the Filtrate gravity conveyance system
and Pump Station, Filtrate effluent system, and Lagoon decant pump system,
operational data, pump curves, and operator observations,
GIS data displaying the existing connections to the wastewater collection system and components of
the wastewater collection system adjacent the Brown WTP.
Assessment of the existing discharge systems includes reviewing historical, operational data, and field
data collection to refine an estimate of the average and peak discharge from the lagoon decant pumps
and the filtrate pump station, including the sanitary sewer discharge from the administration building.
This discharge estimate should include any flow or volume characteristics necessary to size the new
discharge system with consideration of potential increases to flow with increased dewatering
operations. The assessment may also include reviewing record drawings of the collection system
installed adjacent to the WTP and the history of overflows and maintenance work orders, to avoid
overflows with the proposed discharge location.
The evaluation of the existing system will contribute to alternatives that improve the system through
rerouting existing piping onsite for improved conveyance and new discharge effluents at one or more
locations. Acceptable alternatives would mitigate risk of gravity sewer overflows on and off the WTP
facility. An ideal solution would be a single new discharge location where the wastewater can be
conveyed by gravity but may include multiple discharge locations with pumped force main options.
These alternatives should be compiled, reviewed, and scored to provide a recommended alternative
that can be implemented in a follow-on project.
Recommended Deliverables
Deliverables for this project should include a technical memorandum documenting the evaluation
results, describing the alternatives evaluated, and recommended improvements. Provide a list of
required permits, easements, and/or approvals required for the alternatives evaluated, and provide a
construction cost estimate. The selected consultant would present the findings of the technical
memorandum in one or more workshops with City staff.
Future contract amendments may consist of the following tasks:
Detailed design and permitting of selected alternatives
Bidding assistance services of selected alternatives
Construction related services of selected alternatives
EBOP policies and UBE goals now also apply to contract amendments. Goals will need to be achieved for
the original contract AND for each subsequent amendment. Goals are not additive and must individually
be met with each new contract or amendment.
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II. REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS SUBMITTAL PROCEDURES
A. Contact Person for Questions
All questions related to this RFQ are to be submitted in writing to the following contact person by
June 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
Daniel J. Hamlin, PE
Engineering Manager
Department of Water Management
1600 Mist Lake Drive
Durham, North Carolina 27704
P: 919-560-4381 ext. 35299
daniel.hamlin@durhamnc.gov
B. RFQ Schedule
The following timeline contains the anticipated dates of major milestones related to this RFQ:
Pre-Submittal Conference (in-person) May 18, 2026, 1:00 PM
Pre-Submittal Site Walk (in-person) immediately following pre-submittal conference
SOQ Due Date June 12, 2026, 4:00 PM
SOQ Evaluation June, 2026
If, based on the SOQs submitted, the Department decides to conduct presentations then the short
listed candidates will be notified.
C. Pre-Submittal Conference
Candidates that are interested in submitting an SOQ are strongly encouraged to attend an optional
pre-submittal conference on May 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM at the Brown WTP (1615 Infinity Road
Durham, NC 27712). Attendees should meet in the main conference room in the operations
building.
Attendees should be familiar with this RFQ. The meeting will include an overview of the project,
review of RFQ submittal, and EBOP/UBE requirements.
An optional site walk will be conducted immediately after the pre-submittal conference to review
the site and relevant components of the system to be evaluated and improved through this project.
D. Deadline for Submittals
SOQs delivered no later than 4:00 PM on June 12, 2026 will be considered.
Send the required PDF to daniel.hamlin@durhamnc.gov. The email shall be received prior to the
deadline. Confirmation of receipt will be given. Attachments or links to file transfer sites will be
allowed.
E. Number of Submittals and Cover Letter
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Candidates shall submit one digital copy of the signed proposal in PDF format.
The SOQ should contain a maximum one-page cover letter, signed by a principal of the proposing
firm, indicating their title and that they have authority to submit the proposed qualifications. The
cover letter should contain the following statements:
The undersigned has the authority to submit this Statement of Qualifications on behalf of
_____________________ in response to the Request for Qualifications, dated <Month> 202<2>
of the City of Durham, and, if applicable, addenda numbers _____. This Statement of
Qualifications is not an offer, and the candidate retains the right to refuse to enter into a
contract with the City for this project.
The candidate is not submitting any trade secrets to the City in connection with this proposal or
the contract. If the contract is awarded to the consultant, the consultant will not submit any
trade secrets to the City in connection with this proposal or the contract. The consultant
acknowledges that the City will rely on the preceding sentence.
F. Prohibited Contact
Candidates are prohibited from contacting any City staff regarding this proposal other than the
contact person listed above or as otherwise authorized by this RFQ. All questions or requests for
clarification of the project scope shall be submitted in writing to the contact person listed above. All
questions regarding EBOP matters shall be submitted to the Finance Department directly, with the
contact person copied, and at the address and contact provided in the EBOP documentation.
G. Updates and Revisions to RFQ
Updates to this RFQ (addendums or addenda) will be sent via the email that originally requested the
RFQ.
III. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS FORMAT
The submitted proposal shall not exceed twenty pages in length (11-point Arial font minimum -
strictly enforced, printed one side only, or, ten pages printed on both sides), excluding cover, cover
letter, UBE/Diversity forms, title sheets, dividers, etc. All pages in the proposal must be 8-1/2" x 11"
with the exception of one page that can be no larger than 11" x 17" for maps/plans only printed
single sided.
The proposal shall be provided in the format listed below.
A. PROJECT APPROACH
Describe project approach, including detailed means and methods that will be used to perform the
project scope of work detailed in Section I, and make recommendations for the completion of this
project.
B. TEAM QUALIFICATIONS
List the qualifications of the individuals who will have responsibility for this project, including
subconsultants. The Project Manager, key team members, supporting team members and
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subconsultants should be designated along with their proposed roles and responsibilities on the
project. Include all team members' education, work experience, and credentials that specifically
relate to the scope of work defined in Section I of this RFQ. Include a project organization chart.
C. EXPERIENCE AND REFERENCES
List the firm's experience on similar projects in the past eight (8) years. The project descriptions shall
include, at a minimum, key elements of the project that relate to the specific objectives of this RFQ,
client contact information (phone and email), project cost and duration, project's current status,
project's adherence to cost and schedule, and a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of
key team members on the representative project.
D. TEAM LOCATION
Provide a brief listing of office location for all proposed team members, including subconsultants.
E. SCHEDULE/TEAM AVAILABILITY
Provide a proposed project schedule with detailed availability information of Project Manager and
key team members (including subconsultants) over life of the project.
F. EQUAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (EBOP)
The completed Professional Services Forms as specified in the EBOP portions of this RFQ (Exhibit B).
These forms are not included in the 20-page maximum.
G. NON-COLLUSION
This RFQ constitutes an invitation to propose. Include and sign the following with your submittal:
I, _______________________________ affirm that I have not engaged in collusion with any City
employee(s), other person, corporations or firms relating to this proposal. I understand collusion
is a violation of state and federal law and can result in fines, prison sentences, and civil damage
awards.
Signature: _______________________
IV. EVALUATION CRITERIA
If an award is made, it is expected that the City's award will be to the candidate that is determined to be
the best qualified to meet the professional requirements of the City and that will agree to the contract
terms negotiated with the City. A number of relevant factors will be considered in determining the best
qualified candidate. The Evaluation Criteria are intended to be used to determine the best qualified
candidate for purposes of negotiating a final contract. If such negotiations are successful, a
recommendation will be made to the entity or person (the City Manager or the City Council) who will
award the contract, but who are not bound to use the criteria or to award on the basis of
recommendation. If the City is unable to negotiate an acceptable contract with the first best qualified
candidate, the City reserves the right to negotiate with the next best qualified firm(s). The City reserves
the right to change the criteria and to otherwise vary from this procedure as it determines to be in the
City's interest. Proposals will be scored based on the criteria listed below:
A. Project Approach
(maximum 25 points possible)
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Scoring will be based on clarity of approach, completeness of approach with regards to addressing
all project requirements, and consideration of specific means and methods to be used.
B. Team Qualifications
(maximum 25 points possible)
Scoring will be based on the proposed team members' credentials and experience on similar scopes
of work.
C. Experience and References
(maximum 25 points possible)
Scoring will be based on the firm's experience on similar projects, and the roles and responsibilities
of individual team members on respective projects.
D. Team Location
(maximum 10 points possible)
Scoring will be based on proximity of proposed team members to Durham, with emphasis placed on
the location of Project Manager and key team members. Points will not be deducted for specialized
technical subject matter experts that may be located in other states.
E. Schedule/Team Availability
(maximum 10 points possible)
Scoring will be based on demonstrating the resources to successfully perform the project within
timeframes specified in the scope of work described in Section I, without negative impacts to any
ongoing work with the City of Durham. Consideration will be given to the feasibility of successfully
completing the project within the proposed schedule and team availability based on utilization
demonstrated over the life of the project.
F. Equal Business Opportunity Program (EBOP)
(maximum 5 points possible)
1. If no participation is demonstrated, then zero (0) points will be awarded.
2. If one UBE subcontractor is utilized, then three (3) points will be awarded.
3. If multiple UBE subcontractors are utilized, then five (5) points will be awarded.
Failure to submit the required EBOP forms may result in your proposal being deemed non-
responsive.
G. Non-Collusion
(0 points)
Failure to provide the required statement may result in your proposal being deemed non-
responsive.
The evaluation criteria are intended to be used to make a recommendation to the City Manager or
City Council who will award the contract, but who is not bound to use these criteria or to award to
the candidate on the basis of the recommendation. Further, the City reserves the right to vary from
this procedure as it determines to be in the City's best interest.
V. DEFINITIONS IN THIS RFQ: RFQ, CITY, SOQ, CONDITATE, PROPOSAL, CONTRACTOR, CONSULTANT,
SHOULD
Unless the context indicates otherwise:
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A. The expressions "RFQ," "this RFQ," and "the RFQ" refer to this document as it may be amended
or updated.
B. "City" and "city" mean the City of Durham.
C. The "SOQ" or "proposal" is the document submitted by a person, firm, or corporation
responding to the request for professional services sought by this RFQ.
D. The word "Candidate" or "candidate" is the person, firm, or corporation that submits a proposal
or that is considering submitting a proposal. "Candidate" is generally reserved to the stage
before a contract has been signed.
E. The word "Contractor" or "Consultant" is the person, firm, or corporation with which the City
enters into a contract to provide the services sought by this RFQ. That is, "contractor" or
"consultant" generally refers to a successful candidate that has obtained a fully executed
contract with the City.
F. The word "should" or "may" is used to tell candidates what the City thinks it wants and/or what
the project manager thinks is best. Candidates that want to increase the likelihood of being
selected will, in general, do what the RFQ says candidates "should"/ "may" do, but failure to
comply with all "shoulds" or "mays" will not necessarily and automatically result in rejection.
VI. LICENSURE
The City may reject proposals from any person, firm, or corporation that does not comply with State
required licensure for engineering, architecture, land surveying, or other relevant disciplines.
VII. CONTRACT
The City anticipates that the conclusion of the RFQ process will be a contract between the City and the
successful consultant<s> under which the successful consultant<s> will provide the services generally
described in this RFQ. It is the City's intention to use the contract that is attached as Exhibit A, modified
and filled in to reflect the RFQ and the proposal. If a consultant objects to any of the contract, it should
state the objections in its proposal.
VIII. COMPENSATION
The City expects that the successful firm will be compensated for the work as described below.
The City intends to enter into negotiations with the best qualified consultant<s> for recommendation to
the City Manager or City Council for award. It is the intention of the City that compensation to the
consultant<s> under the contract will be on a <lump sum/ not to exceed/ time and materials/ etc.>
basis.
Progress payments will be paid monthly for acceptable work and valid expenses. Payment will be made
within 30-days of receipt of monthly invoice. Invoices shall include a breakdown of labor towards each
section in the scope of work along with a description of the work completed.
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IX. OWNERSHIP OF WORK PRODUCTS
The City shall have exclusive ownership of all intellectual property rights in all designs, plans and
specifications, documents and other work product prepared by, for, or under the direction of the
selected consultant<s> pursuant to any contract under this RFQ (collectively, the "Intellectual
Property"), including without limitation the right to copy, use, disclose, distribute, and make derivations
of the Intellectual Property for any purpose or to assign such rights to any third party. The Intellectual
Property shall be prepared in the City's name and shall be the sole and exclusive property of the City,
whether or not the work contemplated therein is performed. The City will grant the consultant<s> a
royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use and copy the Intellectual Property to the extent necessary to
perform the contract.
X. EQUAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (EBOP)
It is the policy of the City to provide equal opportunities for City contracting for underutilized firms
owned by minorities and women doing business in the City's contracting marketplace. It is further the
policy of the City to prohibit discrimination against any firm in pursuit of these opportunities, to conduct
its contracting activities so as to prevent such discrimination, to correct present effects of past
discrimination and to resolve complaints of discrimination. This policy applies to all professional services
categories.
All proposers are required to provide information requested in the Professional Services Forms package
included with this RFQ. Proposals that do not contain the appropriate, completed Professional Services
Forms may be deemed non-responsive and ineligible for consideration. The UBE Participation
Documentation and the Letter of Intent to Perform as a Sub-consultant documents are required of all
proposers.
The Finance Department is responsible for the EBOP. All questions about Professional Services Forms
should be referred to <Finance Representative> at <Finance Representative Email>, coping the contact
person for the RFQ.
XI. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
The selected consultant<s> shall be required to maintain, on a primary basis and at its sole expense, at
all times during the life of the contract as required the following minimum insurance requirements:
Exhibit A: Modified EJCDC Owner-Engineer Contract
XII. DISCRETION OF THE CITY
A. The City of Durham reserves the right to (i) reject any, any part of, or all proposals, or (ii) accept
that proposal which the City deems to be in its best interest.
B. NOTWITHSTANDING anything to the contrary in this document or in any addendums to this
document, unless the contrary provision refers specifically to this provision, the City reserves the
right (i) to negotiate changes of any nature with any candidate with respect to any term, condition,
or provision in this document and/or in any proposals, whether or not something is stated to be
mandatory and whether or not it is said that a proposal will be rejected if certain information or
documentation is not submitted with it, and (ii) to enter into an agreement for some or all of the
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work with one or more consultants that do not submit proposals. For example, all deadlines are for
the administrative convenience or needs of the City and may be waived by the City in its discretion.
This subparagraph B applies to the entire RFQ, including the EBOP portions.
C. Where the City asks or tells candidates to do stated things, such as that a proposal should follow a
stated format or that the candidate should do stated things in seeking the contract, the City may
reject a proposal because it does not comply with those requests, so the consultant is adding to its
risk of rejection by non-compliance. Still, the City may, in its discretion, waive non-compliance. This
subsection (C) does not limit subsections (A) and (B).
D. Of course, once a contract is signed, the parties to the contract may enforce the contract
according to its terms as allowed by applicable law.
XIII. CANDIDATE TO BEAR EXPENSE; NO CLAIMS AGAINST CITY
No candidate will have any claims or rights against the City arising out of the participation by a candidate
in the proposal process. No candidate will have any claims or rights against the City for the City's failure
to award a contract to it or for awarding a contract to another consultant, regardless of whether the
other consultant participated in the RFQ process or did not submit a proposal that complied with the
RFQ. A notice of award will not constitute acceptance by the City; the City's only method of acceptance
is the City's execution of a formal contract in accordance with law.
XIV. STATE TREASURER'S LISTS REGARDING IRAN AND BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL
If the value of the contract is $1,000 or more, the following applies unless the candidate otherwise
states in its proposal: the candidate affirms (by submitting a proposal) that (1) its name does not appear
on the list of companies that are engaged in a boycott of Israel developed by the N. C. State Treasurer
under N.C.G.S. 147 86.81(a)(1) or on a list created by the Treasurer pursuant to N.C.G.S. 147 86.58 as a
company engaging in investment activities in Iran, and (2) it has no reason to expect that its name will
appear on either of those lists. Take notice that a contract between a company named on either list and
the City may be void.
XV. NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
A person with a disability may receive an auxiliary aid or service to effectively participate in city
government activities by contacting the ADA Coordinator, voice (919) 560-4197, fax (919) 560-4196, or
ADA@durhamnc.gov, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the event or deadline date.
Aviso bajo el Acto de Americanos Discapacitados - Una persona con una discapacidad puede recibir
asistencia o servicio auxiliar para participar efectivamente en actividades del gobierno de la ciudad con
ponerse en contacto con el Coordinador de ADA, buzon de voz (919) 560-4197, fax (919) 560-4196, TTY
(919) 560-1200, o ADA@durhamnc.gov, lo mas antes posible pero no menos de 48 horas antes del
evento o fecha indicada.
XVI. CITY VALUES REGARDING TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES OF CONTRACTORS
A. The City of Durham opposes discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, disability, familial status, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
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