Water and Sanitary Sewer Rate Study

Location:	Ohio
Posted:	May 15, 2026
Due:	May 27, 2026
Agency:	City of Dublin
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	C - Architect and Engineering Services - Construction Y - Construction of Structures and Facilities Z - Maintenance, Repair or Alteration of Real Property
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Request for Proposals

Water and Sanitary Sewer Rate Study for the City of Dublin, Ohio

City of Dublin, Ohio

5555 Perimeter Drive

Dublin, Ohio 43017

Deadline for submission of proposals:

Wednesday, May 27 2026

5:00 PM EST

Background Information

The City of Dublin, Ohio (City) is requesting proposals from qualified consultants to conduct a

comprehensive municipal water and sanitary sewer (sewer) rate study. The intent of the study is

to independently assess and evaluate the City’s existing water and sewer charges and fees and

provide recommendations based on the broad objective of adequately funding water and sewer

utility operations and maintenance, capital costs, and debt service.

This is a qualifications/experience-based selection process. Qualifications, proposals and pertinent

experience will be reviewed during the evaluation of the proposals. After the evaluation, the City

project team may request in-person interviews; in that case, the project manager is expected to

be present.

The City’s Water and Sewer System

The City is responsible for the distribution of safe drinking water and the maintenance of the

City’s sanitary sewer collection system (together referred to as System) for its residents and

businesses (approximately 13,200 water accounts and 12,800 sewer accounts). The oldest part

of the System is approximately 50 years old and is currently comprised of:

• 1,386,864 feet of water lines

• 1,245,760 feet of sewer lines

• 6 water tanks

• 4 water booster stations

• 5,737 sanitary manholes

• 3,440 fire hydrants

• 2 wastewater pump stations

• 14 wastewater lift stations

While the City is responsible for the installation and above-ground maintenance of the water

system, as well as the installation and maintenance of the sanitary sewer collection system, the

City of Columbus Department of Public Utilities is responsible for water treatment, underground

maintenance and system operations for water, wastewater treatment, meter reading, billing, and

collection of the consumption-based charges on each account. This split of responsibilities is

detailed in the Sewer and Water Agreements dated April 13, 1993 and subsequent addenda.

The City imposes a water and sewer surcharge (based on metered consumption of water), which

is in addition to the water and sewer rates charged by the City of Columbus. Per the Service

Agreements, the City of Columbus collects this surcharge and remits it to the City on a quarterly

basis. Additionally, as new users are added to the system, capacity charges and permit fees are

imposed by both the City and the City of Columbus. The fees associated with the City’s sewer

and water systems are provided for in Chapters 51 and 52 of the Dublin Codified Ordinances,

respectively. A link to the Dublin Codified Ordinances can be found on the City’s website at

https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dublin/latest/overview.

The City’s Water and Sewer Funds are considered enterprise funds. The City currently maintains

four separate utility enterprise funds: Water Operations, Water Construction, Sewer Operations,

and Sewer Construction. The City is evaluating options for consolidating these funds to improve

financial flexibility and operational efficiency. The City has identified approximately $10 million in

unfunded water capital improvement projects. The City has identified approximately $90 million

in unfunded sanitary sewer capital improvement projects, primarily related to relief sewers

needed to mitigate basement flooding and sanitary sewer overflows. Additionally, the City has

internal borrowing repayment obligations beginning in 2026 that will impact fund balances over

the next five years.

Scope of Work/Study Requirements

1. Provide a comparison of current water and sewer system costs (operations, capital

improvements, debt service) against appropriate industry benchmarks. A regional comparison

will also be required.

2. Recommend a rate structure(s) necessary to adequately fund the Systems through a minimum

ten-year time horizon, including consideration of annual inflationary/indexed adjustments.

The recommendation should consider and provide for the following factors:

a. Current and future costs of providing water and sewer services in accordance with

established and anticipated standards, regulations, and capital improvement plans,

including extension of the City’s water and sewer systems to the unserved areas of the

City and sanitary relief sewer projects to mitigate residential basement flooding and

sanitary sewer overflows.

b. Projected system demands.

c. Age and condition of infrastructure and systems.

d. Funding requirements for all current long-term liabilities and debt obligations.

3. Recommend a target fund balance for the Water and Sewer Funds (individually) based on

industry best practices.

4. Provide the City with a user-friendly water and sewer rate analysis model that can be updated

by the City for ongoing financial forecasting.

5. Evaluate current capacity fees and tap fees and provide recommendations for updates as

appropriate. This analysis should consider industry benchmarks, system expansion needs, and

the relationship between the City’s fees and those imposed by the City of Columbus.

6. Assess debt financing options for future capital improvement projects, with particular

emphasis on sanitary relief sewer projects estimated at approximately $90 million. The

assessment should include an analysis of the City’s debt capacity, potential financing

mechanisms, and the impact of debt service on rate requirements.

7. Develop a capital improvement programming and scheduling plan from a financial standpoint,

aligning the timing of major infrastructure investments with available and projected revenue

streams.

8. Provide multiple rate structure scenarios for City Council consideration, including options that

reflect varying levels of capital investment, debt financing, and fund consolidation strategies.

9. Analyze the impact of the City of Columbus rate increases on Dublin ratepayers and

recommend strategies to manage the combined rate burden.

Deliverables

The firm selected is expected to present a preliminary report to the City project team (and others

deemed necessary by the City) that includes tentative rate structure(s). The final report should

incorporate changes based on comments received during the preliminary presentation and is

expected to be presented by the selected firm to the Dublin City Council Finance Committee

(target: August 2026). The selected firm should also be prepared to present results at a

subsequent City Council meeting if requested.

Project Milestones

The City expects to observe the following schedule regarding the Water and Sewer Rate Study:

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Week of May 25, 2026

Week of June 1, 2026

Thursday, June 5, 2026 (Target)

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Distribution of Request for Proposals

Deadline for Proposals to be Submitted

Review and Scoring of Proposals

Selection of Firm / Contract Execution

Project Kickoff

Presentation of Results to Finance Committee

Instructions

Proposals shall be submitted electronically (in Word or PDF format) to:

City of Dublin

5555 Perimeter

Dublin, OH 43017

Email: mmurray@dublin.oh.us

Phone: 614.410.4400

Questions concerning any portion of the RFP should be emailed to Meghan Murray at the email

address listed above.

No proposal will be considered unless received by 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, May

27, 2026.

Questions and Answers

All questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing via email to Meghan Murray at

mmurray@dublin.oh.us no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, May 15, 2026.

Responses to all questions received will be compiled and distributed to all proposers by Monday,

May 18, 2026. No individual responses will be provided.

Questions received after the deadline may not be addressed.

RFP Instructions

Proposals should not exceed ten (10) pages (PDF format), excluding resumes, sample

reports, and required attachments.

The contents of the response should be complete in description and concise in volume. The

materials presented in the response are expected to clearly reflect qualifications that demonstrate

the individual’s, firm’s or team’s capabilities and experiences in municipal water and sewer rate

analyses.

Throughout this RFP, the term “firm” or “proposer” means the individual or firm that has

responded to this RFP by submitting a proposal.

The RFP response should contain the following components in the order listed:

1. Executive Summary, Experience, Qualifications and Personnel:

a. Present in brief, concise terms, a summary description of the firm and its capabilities and

the methodology the firm will undertake to achieve the desired outcomes as noted above

in the Scope of Work/Study Requirements.

b. Describe the firm and the assigned individual’s experience in similar types of analysis of

water and sewer rates and charges.

c. Key Personnel: Identify who will be assigned to the City (including the project lead as well

as any other staff that may work under this contract), their credentials, qualifications,

experience, position with the firm, availability, etc.

The City reserves the right to terminate an agreement if key personnel identified in the response

are no longer available. The City also reserves the right to approve personnel who will perform

the work under any contract. If the City is dissatisfied with any individual assigned to perform

such work, the City may require that the proposer assign a different person or persons to perform

the work.

2. A copy of a rate study performed within the last five years by the firm for a municipality or

public entity that provides both water and sewer services.

3. References: Provide the names of at least three comparable-sized municipalities for which the

firm has conducted similar rate analyses within the last five years. Points of contact and

references for each municipality must be provided.

4. The Proposed Compensation: The proposal must specify a fixed dollar amount for the entire

project compensation. The proposal must clearly state that compensation will not exceed the

fixed amount. In addition to the total fixed amount, proposers are requested to provide an

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

Water and Sanitary Sewer Rate Study

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