Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
| Location: | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Posted: | Nov 21, 2025 |
| Due: | Dec 3, 2025 |
| Agency: | City of Durham |
| Type of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: |
|
| Solicitation No: | 26-0089 |
| Publication URL: | To access bid details, please log in. |
| Bid Number: |
26-0089
|
| Bid Title: |
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
|
| Category: | Requests for Proposals/Qualifications and Services |
| Status: | Open |
|
Attachment Preview
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
Date Issued: October 30, 2025
Submission Deadline: December 2nd, 2025, 2:00 PM
October 30, 2025
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
Table of Contents
10. Date of RFP: .................................................................................................................................................................... 2
20. Project Manager and Contact with City; Questions about this RFP................................................................................ 2
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND NATURE OF RFP........................................................................................................................ 2
30. Project............................................................................................................................................................................. 2
40. Scope of Work. ............................................................................................................................................................... 2
50. Compensation Amount and Schedule. ........................................................................................................................... 4
60. Definitions in this RFP: City, RFP, Proposal, Candidate, Contractor, Should .................................................................. 4
70. Contract. ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
80. Trade Secrets and Confidentiality................................................................................................................................... 4
85. Reserved. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
90. Bonds. ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
100. Insurance ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5
110. Discretion of the City. ................................................................................................................................................... 6
SCHEDULE ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
120. Schedule. ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7
130. Keeping Proposals Open ............................................................................................................................................... 7
140. Deadline to Submit Proposals....................................................................................................................................... 7
GETTING MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT AND RFP PROCESS ....................................................................................... 7
150. Questions...................................................................................................................................................................... 7
160. Pre-submittal conferences, meetings, and site visits.................................................................................................... 7
170. Updates and revisions to RFP. ...................................................................................................................................... 7
EVALUATION CRITERIA................................................................................................................................................................ 7
180. Evaluation Criteria ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
190-230. Reserved ................................................................................................................................................................ 8
CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL ........................................................................................................................................................... 8
240. Contents of Proposal. ................................................................................................................................................... 8
COVER LETTER WITH PROPOSAL............................................................................................................................................... 10
250. Cover letter. ................................................................................................................................................................ 10
260. Addendums................................................................................................................................................................. 10
HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL ................................................................................................................................................. 10
270. How to submit a proposal........................................................................................................................................... 10
280. Format ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11
290. Alternative Proposals.................................................................................................................................................. 11
300. Candidate to Bear Expense; No Claims against City.................................................................................................... 11
310. State Treasurer’s lists regarding Iran and Boycott of Israel ........................................................................................ 11
320. Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act. ..................................................................................................... 11
330. Values of City of Durham regarding Treatment of Employees of Contractors ............................................................ 11
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October 30, 2025
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
Request for Proposals (RFP) for Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality
Program
10. Date of RFP:
October 30, 2025
20. Project Manager and Contact with City; Questions about this RFP.
Att: Joseph Smith
Engineering and Stormwater Division
Environmental and Street Services
101 City Hall Plaza, Suite 3100
Durham, NC 27701-3329
Joseph.Smith@DurhamNC.gov
Ph: 919-560-4326 ext. 30217
If you have concerns about this RFP that you believe are not being addressed by the project manager, please contact:
T. N. Johnson, P.E.
Assistant Director, Engineering and Stormwater Division
Environmental and Street Services
Tasha.Johnson@DurhamNC.gov
Ph: 919-560-4326 ext. 30262
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND NATURE OF RFP
30. Project.
The City of Durham (hereafter “the City”) maintains an ambient water quality monitoring program as part of its National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. As part of the monitoring program, benthic macroinvertebrates
communities are assessed at selected sites. The City is seeking services to support the assessment of these benthic
macroinvertebrate communities in calendar years (CY) 2026, 2027, and 2028. This will include four required tasks to be
completed annually. Additional sites may be sampled annually at the discretion of the City and are included as an optional
task below.
The four tasks required annually include: collection of benthic macroinvertebrates, completion of habitat assessments,
taxonomic identification of collected specimens, and calculation of the biotic index score for each site. Field collections,
habitat assessments, taxonomic identification, and biotic index calculations will be completed using methodology outlined
in NCDWR Standard Operating Procedures for the Collection and Analysis of Benthic Macroinvertebrates, February 2016, V.
5.0. Field work will be limited to wadeable streams in and around the City. Benthic macroinvertebrates will be collected
using following either the Full Scale or Qual4 protocols. After collection, the Contractor shall provide a report deliverable in
the form of an electronic workbook, all preserved specimens, and field sheets.
40. Scope of Work.
Task A (Required): Field Collection of Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Task A includes sampling for benthic macroinvertebrates at seven sites in 2026, six sites in 2027, and seven sites in 2028
(Table 1). In 2026 and 2028 four sites will be sampled using Qual4 method and three sites will be sampled using the Full
Scale method. In 2027 five sites will be sampled using Qual4 and one site will be sampled using the Full Scale method. Sites
should be sampled during the appropriate sampling season for each method.
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October 30, 2025
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
Table 1 Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Sampling Sites, 2026-2027
Sampling Method
Sampling Season
Qual4
March 1- May 31
Full Scale
June 1- August 31
Total Number of Sites by Year
2026
4
3
7
Number of Sites per Year
2027
5
1
6
2028
4
3
7
Field collection at all sites will be led by the Contractor or their representative (hereafter “the Contractor”). The Contractor
should provide at least two field team members, one of whom is a biologist experienced in the collection of benthic
macroinvertebrates. The second member should also be familiar with both Qual4 and Full Scale sampling. The City may
provide up to two additional staff members to assist with field collections. City staff may have limited experience in the
collection of benthic macroinvertebrates and will follow the directions of the Contractor.
The City may lend sampling equipment if available. Available sampling equipment includes a kick net, sweep nets, wash
tubs, sorting trays, forceps, sieve buckets, and a fine mesh sampler (“midge getter”). It will be the Contractors responsibility
to provide any additional field sampling equipment if needed. The Contractor would also need to have access to a
microscope of sufficient power for taxonomic identification of small invertebrates such as members of the Chironomidae
family. The contractor should also provide all slides, collection vessels, and preservatives as needed.
Field collection should be scheduled with City Project Manager at least one week in advance. Alternative days should also
be scheduled in the event of adverse weather or elevated flows. Equipment and staffing needs should also be scheduled at
that time. The Contractor should allow for enough time to sample all scheduled field sites.
Task B (Required): Habitat Assessments and Documentation of Site Conditions
Task B includes the completion of habitat assessments at each sampling site by the Contractor. The City uses the North
Carolina Division of Water Resources Mountain/Piedmont Habitat Assessment method. The Contractor should be familiar
with these methods and lead the assessment. Digital photographs of the riffle sampled, upstream, and downstream should
also be taken by the Contractor. Either a copy of the field sheets or scores from subcategories should be included in the
report deliverable.
Task C (Required): Taxonomic identification
The contractor should be familiar with benthic macroinvertebrates commonly found in the piedmont region of North
Carolina. Specimens should be collected in the field and preserved for taxonomic identification in a laboratory. The
Contractor may elect to return live specimens to the stream if they are capable of identification to the species level during
collection. The Contractor should also return any specimens from the North Carolina Protected Species List alive and
unharmed.
Taxonomic identification is the responsibility of the Contractor. Taxonomic identification should occur to the lowest level
feasible, typically the genus or species, as outlined in the NCDWR Standard Operation Procedures for the Collection and
Analysis of Benthic Macroinvertebrates, February 2016, V. 5.0. Taxonomic guides may be found at
https://www.deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-sciences/biological-assessment-branch/north-carolina-
taxonomic-guides. Larval stages of the Chironomidae family should be slide mounted and identified using a compound
microscope.
Task D (Required): Biotic Index Calculations and Report Deliverable
Following taxonomic identification, The Contractor should list the genus or species, number of individuals, and their
associated tolerance value in an electronic spreadsheet. Tolerance values are found in the Appendix of NCDWR Standard
Operation Procedures for the Collection and Analysis of Benthic Macroinvertebrates, February 2016, V. 5.0. This spreadsheet
should also include the biotic index score and bioclassification.
Sites located in the Triassic Basin ecoregion are not typically assigned a biotic index score or bioclassification. As part of Task
D, the Contractor should calculate the biotic index score and bioclassification for all sites, including those located in the
Triassic Basin ecoregion.
Deliverables for this project include the electronic spreadsheet described above, forms, photos, and preserved field
specimens. The deliverables should be provided to the City Project Manager by November 1st of each contract year.
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October 30, 2025
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment Services for the Stormwater Quality Program
Task E (Optional) Additional Sites
Additional sites may be sampled each calendar year at the discretion of the City Project Manager and if resources are
available. While additional sites as part of Task E are not guaranteed or expected, this work may be added based on
program needs. It is anticipated that only one to two additional sites may be needed in a given calendar year. The City
Project Manager will notify the Contractor of additional sites at least one month in advance of the sampling season. The
method used to sample additional sites and schedule for sampling will then be agreed upon by both the City Project
Manager and the Contractor.
It is expected that additional sites would be sampled in the appropriate sampling season outlined in Table 1. Additional
sampling sites may require additional sampling days depending on the number of sites requested. If additional sites are
sampled, the Contractor should also collect habitat assessments and document site conditions, complete taxonomic
identification, calculate the biotic index score, and complete the deliverables as outlined in Tasks A, B, C, and D for the
added sites.
50. Compensation Amount and Schedule.
Invoices from the Contractor are expected following the completion of tasks (A-C) and following receipt of deliverables in
task D by the City Project Manager. Invoices may be submitted to the City Project Manager at the end of each sampling
season or by November 1 of each year.
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 as Exhibit A, 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. 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.
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October 30, 2025
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