SD-2026-06 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Inspections

RFP No. SD-2026-06
Request for Proposal (RFP)
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Inspections (SD-2026-06)
R FP Issued: June 16, 2026

SELECTED CONTENTS
Contents
10. Date of RFP: ................................................................................................................................... 4
20. Project Manager and Contact with City; Questions about this RFP. ............................................ 4
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND NATURE OF RFP .................................................................................... 4
30. Project. .......................................................................................................................................... 4
40. Scope of Work. .............................................................................................................................. 5
50. Compensation Amount and Schedule........................................................................................... 7
60. Definitions in this RFP: City, RFP, Proposal, Candidate, Contractor, Should ................................ 7
70. Contract ......................................................................................................................................... 7
80. Trade Secrets and Confidentiality ................................................................................................. 8
85. Reserved. ..................................................................................................................................... 10
90. Bonds. .......................................................................................................................................... 10
100. Insurance. .................................................................................................................................. 10
110. Discretion of the City. ................................................................................................................ 11
SCHEDULE .............................................................................................................................................. 12
120. Schedule. ................................................................................................................................... 12
130. Keeping Proposals Open. .......................................................................................................... 12
140. Deadline to Submit Proposals. .................................................................................................. 12
GETTING MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT AND RFP PROCESS .................................................. 13
150. Questions. ................................................................................................................................. 13
160. Pre-submittal conferences, meetings, and site visits. .............................................................. 13
170. Updates and revisions to RFP. ................................................................................................... 13
EVALUATION CRITERIA ........................................................................................................................... 13
180. Evaluation Criteria. .................................................................................................................... 13
185. Cover Letter - 20 points. ......................................................................................................... 13
190. Tab 1: Qualifications - 60 points ............................................................................................. 13
195. Tab 2: Experience - 150 points. .............................................................................................. 14
200. Tab 3: Understanding of the Project - 70 points. ................................................................... 14
225. Tab 4: Miscellaneous - 70 points. ........................................................................................... 14
230. Tab 5: Contract Cost - 40 points. ............................................................................................ 15
CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL ...................................................................................................................... 15
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240. Contents of Proposal. ................................................................................................................ 15
250. Equal Business Opportunity Program ........................................................................................ 18
HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL .............................................................................................................. 19
270. How to submit a proposal. ........................................................................................................ 19
280. Format. ...................................................................................................................................... 19
290. Alternative Proposals. ............................................................................................................... 20
300. Candidate to Bear Expense; No Claims against City. ................................................................ 20
310. State Treasurer's lists regarding Iran and Boycott of Israel. .................................................... 20
320. Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act .................................................................... 20
330. Values of City of Durham regarding Treatment of Employees of Contractors ......................... 20
Exhibit A - Standard Operating Procedure ............................................................................................. A
Exhibit B - Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Inspections ................................................ B
Exhibit C - Storm Sewer Cleaning ............................................................................................................ C
Exhibit D - Project Special Provisions ..................................................................................................... D
Exhibit E - Contract .................................................................................................................................. E
Exhibit F - Performance Bond and Payment Bond .................................................................................. F
Exhibit G - Equal Business Opportunity Program (EBOP) Procurement Forms...................................... G
Exhibit H - Non-Collusion Affidavit ......................................................................................................... H
Exhibit I - Contractor Safety Record Information .................................................................................... I
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10. Date of RFP:
Issued: June 16, 2026
20. Project Manager and Contact with City; Questions about this RFP.
Direct questions and concerns to:
Attn: Megan Walsh, PE
City of Durham
Environmental and Street Services Department
Engineering and Stormwater Division
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701
Office: (919) 560-4326 ext. 30246
Fax: (919) 560-4316
Email: megan.walsh@durhamnc.gov
If you have concerns about this RFP that you believe are not being addressed by the project
manager, please contact:
Attn: Greg Smith, PE,
Sr. Engineering Manager - Stormwater Infrastructure
Environmental and Street Services Department
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham NC 27701-3329
Office: (919) 560-4326 ext. 30255
Fax: (919) 560-4316
Email: greg.smith@durhamnc.gov
D30E. SPCrRojIePcTt. I TOhNe p OroFje cPt iRncOluJdEesC tThe A fuNrnDish NingA oTf UallR mEa tOeriFal sR, lFabPo r, equipment, tools, etc.
unless otherwise specified, for stormwater structure (basin) inspections as well as the complete
inspection of portions of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) for specified site
locations throughout the City of Durham. Inspections of the MS4 shall include location and
verification of system components, inspections to locate possible illicit discharges into the system,
and general inspections of system components to document condition. It is the City's intent that
this contract shall be issued for a period of one (1) year, and if the work proceeds successfully, the
contract could be renewed annually for a total of five years.
The purpose of this project is to fulfill a requirement of the City of Durham's National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit.
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40. Scope of Work.
The City is soliciting a person or firm to provide the services indicated in the table below in the
quantities indicated. The City is likely to prefer proposals where the Standard Operating Procedure
provided in Exhibit A will be followed.
Reference Service Description Quantity Unit
Exhibit B MS4 Basin Inspections 2,900 EA
Exhibit B MS4 Mainline Inspections 100 HR
Exhibit B MS4 Mainline Inspections - Quick Response 20 HR
Exhibit C Cleaning for MS4 Inspections 100 HR
Exhibit C Cleaning for MS4 Inspections - Quick Response 20 HR
Exhibit B Mobilization for MS4 Mainline Inspections 16 EA
Exhibit B Mobilization for MS4 Mainline Inspections - Quick Response 4 EA
Exhibit D Reimbursement for Water Access Equipment 12 EA
FIGURE 1 - SERVICES AND QUANTITIES
The service "MS4 Basin Inspection" forms the core of the scope of work. The successful firm will be
provided with a set of mapped grids including the City stormwater infrastructure from which the
basin inspections will be performed. The number of basins included to be inspected in the set of
grids will be approximately 2,900.
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FIGURE 2 - CITY OF DURHAM GRID FOR STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE
The successful firm will also be requested to provide "MS4 Mainline Inspections" and "Cleaning for
MS4 Inspections" at various times throughout the course of the one-year contract. These requests
will be issued for normal response and quick response depending on the particular need at the time.
The City expects the scope of work to be completed within one year. It is anticipated that a Notice to
Proceed will be issued in October of 2026.
Example templates (PACP and MACP) for delivering inspection data via ITpipes may be requested by
sending an email to jacob.donnelly@durhamnc.gov.
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50. Compensation Amount and Schedule.
The City intends to compensate the successful firm using the unit prices provided in the candidate's
submittal. For the sake of uniformity of the submittals, all candidates should submit their proposed
pricing using the unit price work form provided below. All candidates should use a unit price of $150
for item no. 8. If the actual cost of this item exceeds this amount during the course of the work, the
City would entertain a request to increase the reimbursement amount for water access equipment.
All costs to perform the scope of work should be included in the unit price for each item. The City
does not intend to provide compensation outside of the unit price work framework.
No. Reference Service Description Quantity Unit Unit Price Item Value
1 Exhibit B MS4 Basin Inspections 2,900 EA $ -
2 Exhibit B MS4 Mainline Inspections 100 HR $ -
3 Exhibit B MS4 Mainline Inspections - Quick Response 20 HR $ -
4 Exhibit C Cleaning for MS4 Inspections 100 HR $ -
5 Exhibit C Cleaning for MS4 Inspections - Quick Response 20 HR $ -
6 Exhibit B Mobilization for MS4 Mainline Inspections 16 EA $ -
7 Exhibit B Mobilization for MS4 Mainline Inspections - Quick Response 4 EA $ -
8 Exhibit D Reimbursement for Water Access Equipment 12 EA $ 150.00 $1,800.00
Total for SD-2026-06
FIGURE 3 - UNIT PRICE WORK FORM
Payment will be made to the successful candidate on a monthly basis for the unit price work
performed during the period.
60. Definitions in this RFP: City, RFP, Proposal, Candidate, Contractor, Should.
Unless the context indicates otherwise - (a) The expressions "RFP," "this RFP," and "the RFP" refer to
this document as it may be amended or updated. (b) "City" and "city" mean the City of Durham. (c)
The "proposal" or "Bid" is the response of a person, firm, or corporation proposing to provide the
services sought by this RFP. (d) The word "Candidate" or "candidate" is the person, firm, or
corporation that submits a proposal or that is considering submitting a proposal. (e) The word
"Contractor" or "contractor" is the person, firm, or corporation with which the City enters into a
contract to provide the services sought by this RFP. That is, "contractor" generally refers to a
successful candidate that has obtained a fully executed contract with the City, while "candidate" is
generally reserved to the stage before a contract has been signed. (f) The word "should" 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 RFP
says candidates "should" do, but failure to comply with all "shoulds" will not necessarily and
automatically result in rejection.
70. Contract.
The City anticipates that at the conclusion of the RFP process there will be a contract between the
City and the successful candidate under which the successful candidate will provide the goods and
services generally described in this RFP. It is the City's intention to use the contract that is attached
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as Exhibit E, modified and filled in to reflect the RFP and the proposal. If a candidate objects to any
of the contract provisions, it should state the objections in its proposal. An objection does not
guarantee that the City will change its contract provisions. Failure to provide objections creates an
assumption that the candidate accepts all standard City contract terms and conditions.
If federal assistance or funds are used in conjunction with the services provided by the candidate,
clauses for contracts involving federal financial assistance shall be incorporated into contract. The
Candidate is required to be familiar with these federal assistance clauses and to comply with them.
80. Trade Secrets and Confidentiality.
As a general rule, all submissions to the City are available to any member of the public. However, if
materials qualify as provided in this section, the City will take reasonable steps to keep trade secrets
confidential.
Definitions.
In this section (Trade Secrets and Confidentiality) -
The term "candidate" includes the candidate as contractor (that is, after it is a party to a contract
with the City).
The term "trade secret" means business or technical information, including but not limited to a
formula, pattern, program, device, compilation of information, method, technique, or process
that:
a. Derives independent actual or potential commercial value from not being generally
known or readily ascertainable through independent development or reverse engineering
by persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and
b. Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its
secrecy.
The existence of a trade secret shall not be negated merely because the information comprising
the trade secret has also been developed, used, or owned independently by more than one
person, or licensed to other persons.
The term "record" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound
recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts, or other
documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, received by the City of
Durham in connection with the candidate's proposal.
(a) Designation of Confidential Records. To the extent that the candidate wishes to
maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets contained in materials provided to the City, the
candidate shall prominently designate the material with the words "trade secrets" at the
time of its initial disclosure to the City. The candidate shall not designate any material
provided to the City as trade secrets unless the candidate has a reasonable and good-faith
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belief that the material contains a trade secret. When requested by the City, the candidate
shall promptly disclose to the City the candidate's reasoning for designating material as trade
secrets; the candidate may need to label parts of that reasoning as trade secrets. In
providing materials to the City, the candidate shall make reasonable efforts to separate those
designated as trade secrets from those not so designated, both to facilitate the City's use of
the materials and to minimize the opportunity for accidental disclosure. For instance, if only
a sentence or paragraph on a page is a trade secret, the page must be marked clearly to
communicate that distinction. To avoid mistake or confusion, it is generally best to have only
trade secret information on a page and nothing else on that page.
To the extent authorized by applicable state and federal law, the City shall maintain the
confidentiality of records designated "trade secrets" in accordance with this section.
Whenever the candidate ceases to have a good-faith belief that a particular record contains a
trade secret, it shall promptly notify the City.
(b) Request by Public for Access to Record. When any person requests the City to
provide access to a record designated as a trade secret in accordance with subsection (a)
above, the City may
(1) decline the request for access,
(2) notify the candidate of the request and that the City has provided, or intends to
provide, the person access to the record because applicable law requires that the access
be granted, or
(3) notify the candidate of the request and that the City intends to decline the request.
Before declining the request, the City may require the candidate to give further assurances
so that the City can be certain that the candidate will comply with subsection (c) below.
(c) Defense of City. If the City declines the request for access to a record designated as
trade secrets in accordance with subsection (a), then, in consideration of the promises in (b)
above and for considering the candidate's proposal, the candidate agrees that it shall defend,
indemnify, and save harmless Indemnitees from and against all Charges that arise in any
manner from, in connection with, or out of the City's non-disclosure of the records. In
providing that defense, the candidate shall at its sole expense defend Indemnitees with legal
counsel. The legal counsel shall be limited to attorneys reasonably acceptable to the City
Attorney.
Definitions.
As used in this subsection (c), "Charges" means claims, judgments, costs, damages, losses,
demands, liabilities, fines, penalties, settlements, expenses, attorneys' fees, and interest.
Indemnitees" means the City, and officers, officials, independent contractors, agents, and
employees, of the City.
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"Indemnitees" does not include the candidate. The City may require the candidate to
provide proof of the candidate's ability to pay the amounts that may reasonably be expected
to become monetary obligations of the candidate pursuant to this section. If the candidate
fails to provide that proof in a timely manner, the City shall not be required to keep
confidential the records whose non-disclosure gives rise to the potential monetary
obligation. Nothing in this agreement shall require the City to require any person (including
the City itself) to be placed in substantial risk of imprisonment, of being found by a court to
be in contempt, or of being in violation of a court order. This subsection (c) is separate from
and is to be construed separately from any other indemnification and warranty provisions in
the contract between the City and the candidate.
85. Reserved.
90. Bonds.
The City will require performance bond and payment bond from the successful firm. The bond
amounts shall be equal to the contract amount. Templates for the performance and payment bonds
may be found in Exhibit F.
100. Insurance. The Contractor agrees to maintain on a primary basis, at its sole expense, and at
all times during the life of this contract the following applicable coverages and limits. The
requirements contained herein, as well as the City's review or acceptance of insurance maintained by
the Contractor, is not intended to, and shall not in any manner, limit or qualify the liabilities or
obligations assumed by the Contractor under this contract.
A. Commercial General Liability - Combined single limit of no less than $1,000,000 each
occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Coverage shall not contain any endorsement
excluding or limiting Product/Completed Operations, Contractual Liability, Cross Liability, or
Personal and Advertising Injury Liability.
B. Automobile Liability - Limits of no less than $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit. Coverage
shall include liability for Owned, Non-Owned, and Hired automobiles. In the event the
Contractor does not own automobiles, the Contractor agrees to maintain coverage for Hired
and Non-Owned Auto Liability, which may be satisfied by way of endorsement to the
Commercial General Liability policy or by separate Auto Liability policy. Automobile coverage
is necessary only if vehicles are used in the provision of services under this contract or are
brought on a City site.
C. Umbrella or Excess Liability - The Contractor may satisfy the minimum liability limits required
above under an Umbrella or Excess Liability policy. There is no minimum Per Occurrence limit
of liability under the Umbrella or Excess Liability. However, the Annual Aggregate limits shall
not be less than the highest "Each Occurrence" limit for required policies. The Contractor
agrees to endorse the City as an "Additional Insured" on the Umbrella or Excess Liability
unless the certificate of insurance states the Umbrella or Excess Liability provides coverage
on a "Follow-Form" basis.
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