Stormwater Annual Engineering Services

The City of Richmond, Virginia (the “City”), on behalf of the Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”), seeks proposals through competitive negotiation for professional services to establish a contract for on-call services to support utility surveying, planning, investigation, engineering and architectural design, permitting and plan review support, bidding, construction, operations, and overall engineering support for capital improvement program (“CIP”) projects and larger operations and maintenance projects for DPU's Stormwater Utility. The Stormwater Utility currently covers drainage collections and conveyance, green infrastructure, dams, canals, floodwalls, associated infrastructure, and associated regulatory permitting. The City issues this Request for Proposals pursuant to the authority in section 21-68(c) of the Richmond City Code (see also Virginia Code section 2.2-4302.2).

The City has developed a capital improvement plan in which a large number of CIP projects have been planned and over the next ten years will be funded. Additional CIP projects may arise based on available funding and prioritization of needs by the City. See Attachment L– AE Presentation - For Information Only for an overview of DPU’s CIP.

Due to the evolving nature of the CIP and complex engineering projects, the City is seeking engineering firms who can support City staff “on-call” as tasks and projects arise, or new priorities come to light. If awarded, the Contractor must foster collaborative and professional relationships with the City and key project stakeholders (i.e. , regulatory and permitting agencies, railroads, federal and state funding agencies, construction managers, construction contractors, equipment manufacturers, developers) which is important since the Contractor(s) awarded will represent the City’s interests in dealings with subcontractors, suppliers, equipment manufacturers and others providing goods and services on the CIP projects. It is vital that the City and Contractors have a professional relationship characterized by mutual trust, respect, and effective communication.

The City operates the stormwater systems under integrated Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and Virginia State Water Control Law Permit number VA0063177 (the “Integrated Permit”). The Integrated Permit allows for total annual nutrient and suspended solids load limits for all discharges and integrated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (“MS4”) and combined sewer system annual reporting among other provisions.

The permit has pollution reduction requirements to achieve reduction of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable (“MEP”) and in compliance with the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (“TMDL”) for nitrogen, sediment and phosphorus. In addition to improving drainage issues, many stormwater related CIP projects will be tied to water quality improvements and these required reductions, so the Contractor should be prepared to address them in line with current regulatory criteria including TMDL Action Plans. The City’s stormwater system is comprised of an MS4 and a combined sewer system.