TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Allison Swisher, Director of Public Utilities
SUBJECT:
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Award of Professional Services Agreement for the 2025 Sanitary Sewer Investigations Program, to RJN Group Inc. in the Amount of $539,650.00
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BACKGROUND:
The City of Joliet provides wastewater services to residential customers, commercial customers, industrial customers, private utilities, and other sanitary districts, covering over 40 square miles across Will and Kendall Counties. The wastewater collection system consists of 51 sanitary sewer pumping stations, 596 miles of sanitary sewers with pipe diameters ranging from 3” to 72”, and approximately 13,609 manholes. The age of the system ranges from the late 1800s to present day. The IEPA has stipulated in the City’s wastewater treatment plant NPDES permits that a Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOM) plan be prepared and implemented. This plan requires a program for identification and reduction of inflow and infiltration (I&I). In order to meet the requirements of the City’s NPDES permits, address the overall declining condition of the sewer system, and maintain current levels of service, it is necessary to plan for and develop a sanitary sewer investigation and rehabilitation program.
The City prepared a request for qualifications for the sewer investigation and rehabilitation program that was advertised on December 16, 2021. Upon review of the qualifications, RJN Group Inc. was selected as the most qualified firm to manage the City’s program. RJN Group Inc. has been assisting the City with the Sanitary Sewer Investigation and Rehabilitation Program since 2014 and has a local office in Joliet. Since 2014, RJN Group Inc. has become very knowledgeable of the City’s collection system and is integral to the continuation of the program.
For the past eleven years, the City has worked with RJN Group Inc. on a systematic sewer inspection program. To date, 42% of the system’s manholes have been inspected, 29% of the system has been smoke tested, and 36% of the sewer mains have been reviewed for defects. These inspections have identified a peak excess flow rate of 27.4 MGD during a 1-Year, 1-Hour event. Based on these investigations, a 15-year sanitary sewer rehabilitation program was developed consisting of sewer replacement, sewer lining, manhole rehabilitation, and sewer grouting. The rehabilitation work will improve the structural integrity of the collection system, reduce the amount of excess water being treated at the treatment plants, and reduce the occurrence of basement back-ups and sewer overflows.
The 2025 Sanitary Sewer Investigations and Rehabilitation Program includes completion of calibration and model runs for the Aux Sable hydraulic model. The Aux Sable hydraulic model will help staff better understand how the system reacts during wet weather and assist the City with finalizing facility planning efforts for the Aux Sable Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Aux Sable hydraulic model will also assist public utilities staff with development review requests by determining the impact a proposed development may have on the sewer system.
In December 2024, the City of Joliet completed the final phase of the City’s Long Term Control Plan to reduce the occurrences of combined sewer of overflows. The 2025 program includes comprehensive monitoring and modeling of the City’s combined sewer system to confirm that the City is in compliance with NPDES permit conditions. In addition, follow up hydraulic modeling on the West Side Treatment Plant is included in the 2025 Program.
The 2025 program will also include three long-term flow monitoring sites and one short term site. The long-term meters are installed to monitor problem areas that have been predicted by the City’s hydraulic models. The post rehabilitation short-term flow monitoring site will be installed in the Marycrest neighborhood to determine the efficiency of the rehabilitation efforts in the area.
The 2025 program will also include assistance for correcting sources of excess water entering the system from private sector sources. The neighborhood targeted for private sector inflow and infiltration removal in 2025 is the St. Patrick’s Area. RJN Group Inc. will also be reviewing sanitary sewer televising in the 2026 watermain program areas to determine if sanitary sewer work needs to be included in the watermain project contracts.
The Public Service Committee will review this matter.
CONCLUSION:
RJN Group Inc. has provided a proposal to complete the 2025 Sanitary Sewer Investigations and Rehabilitation Program. The Professional Services Agreement for the project, for an amount not to exceed $539,650.00, represents the cost of completing the investigations and engineering identified for the 2025 program.
Section 2-438 of the City of Joliet Code of Ordinances states that purchases whose estimated cost is in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be awarded without written specifications or bidding under certain circumstances. Two (2) of these circumstances apply:
(f) Purchases when authorized by a concurring vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Mayor and City Council;
(g) Purchases of professional services.
Funds will be charged to the Water & Sewer Improvement Fund / Sewer Collection / Professional Services (Org 50180020, Object Code 557200, $539,650.00).
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Based on the above, it is recommended that the Mayor and City Council approve the Professional Services Agreement for the 2025 Sanitary Sewer Investigation and Rehabilitation Program, in the amount of $539,650.00, on behalf of RJN Group Inc.
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