Brunswick County Board of Commissioners ACTION AGENDA ITEM April 16, 2018

Action Item # VIII. - 5.

Request that the Board of Commissioners receive the final recommendations for water treatment options for the Northwest Water Treatment Plant (NWWTP), budgetary cost information for the NWWTP upgrades, updated reverse osmosis pilot testing data, information regarding treatment goals, and approve the budget amendment and authorize the Chairman and Clerk to the Board to approve the contract amendment with CDM Smith in the amount of $778,900 for preliminary engineering services associated with the design of the advanced treatment options and expansion of the Northwest Water Treatment Project.

The draft report for water treatment options to remove GENX and other PFAs at the NWWTP was presented on April 16, 2018, and the final version is now available for review.  Notable additions to data and updated costs will be presented along with a discussion of treatment goals.

This information is tailored to the needs of Brunswick County’s Northwest Water Treatment Plant; cost data cannot be directly translated for use at other facilities due to each facility’s unique existing treatment methods, expansion potential, and operational requirements.

The Reverse Osmosis Pilot Plant will continue to operate for several months to collect additional data that may be used for design purposes.  

The next step in the design process is to perform a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the recommended advanced water treatment method and for expansion of the Northwest Water Treatment Plant from 24 mgd to 36 mgd. The PER (also called a “Basis of Design Report”) is required by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) and will refine process improvements, permitting requirements, and cost estimates.  It generally represents a stage of 20% completion of final design.  The cost of the Basis of Design Report is $778,900.  Additionally, in order to apply for State Revolving Fund low interest loans a specialized Engineering Report/Environmental Information Document (ER/EID) is required by DEQ.  The cost of the ER/EID is $85,800.  In accordance with the March 2008 resolution allowing the manager to approve contract amendments in an amount under $25,000 with notification at the next regularly scheduled meeting, the Manager approved Contract Amendment #1 in the amount of $12,600 to start the State Revolving Fund (SRF) application process.  This was to meet the late April deadline for low-interest loan approval from DEQ’s SRF fund.  (The April 2nd meeting was canceled.) Additional costs for low interest loan funding from state and federal programs is included in the PER costs. Staff recommends an amendment to the CDM Smith contract in the amount of $778,900 to perform engineering work associated with the PER – Basis of Design Report and ER/EID for State Revolving Fund low interest loans.