To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Dennis Daly 707-547-1984
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Fourth
Title:
Title
Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project Phase V (Reaches 2A Upstream and 4C), Large Woody Debris Procurement
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute agreements with Austin Gap Partnership, Falk Forestry Inc., and J. W. Bamford, Inc., in a form approved by County Counsel, for purchase of large woody debris for the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project Phase V (Reaches 2A Upstream and 4C) project, in the not-to-exceed amount of $456,018 (total for all agreements). (Fourth District)
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Executive Summary:
The Russian River Biological Opinion requires the creation of 6 miles of enhanced Coho Salmon and steelhead habitat along Dry Creek by 2024, which have been divided by mile into Phases I - VI. These enhancements will support the federally protected species while allowing the continued flow of Lake Sonoma water down Dry Creek at levels sufficient to provide water supply for the 600,000 residents of Sonoma and Marin Counties that receive water from the Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water). Phases I-III are complete, and Sonoma Water is partnering with the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to design and construct Phases IV - VI (miles 4 - 6) of these enhancements, with Sonoma Water being the non-federal sponsor responsible for a 35% in-kind funding match. The cost for these logs will count towards this 35% in-kind match obligation. This item will allow for continued work to complete this project on schedule by procuring logs and logs with root wads needed for construction of Phase V (mile 5) of the project, which will be managed by the Corps and is scheduled to begin in May 2023. Procuring the logs in advance will save time, reduce the potential for materials to be unavailable when needed, and allow for quality control on the materials used.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
The Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project Phase V (Reaches 2A Upstream and 4C) (Project) is one component of the 2008 National Marine Fisheries Service’s Russian River Biological Opinion (BO), which is a federally mandated 15-year blueprint to help save endangered fish and preserve Sonoma Water’s regional water supply. One of the reasonable and prudent measures required by the BO is the construction of 6 miles of salmonid rearing habitat enhancements. The habitat enhancements are intended to reduce water velocities and provide feeding areas and cover for Coho Salmon in the rearing stage during the summer and winter in Dry Creek.
All of the sites in the first three phases of the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project (Phases I - III), which comprise approximately 3 miles of habitat enhancement, have been completed. Phases IV, V and VI constitute the remaining 3 miles of habitat and are scheduled for construction from 2022 - 2025, an effort that will be led and funded by the Corps. This wood procurement agreement is for Sonoma Water to provide the logs needed for the Phase V Project to be constructed in 2023 and 2024.
Part of the construction work for the Project will require habitat modification, including construction of log jam structures using logs and logs with their root wads still attached, referred to as “large woody debris.” The root wad logs in particular are not readily available, and Sonoma Water anticipates that if procurement is left to the construction contractor, it would either substantially delay the Project or severely restrict the Corps’ ability to attract bids. To avoid these potential complications and the resulting delays during bidding and construction of the Project, Sonoma Water has initiated a separate procurement process to purchase and accumulate the large woody debris materials in advance of the Project construction. This procurement also allows Sonoma Water to exercise more direct control over the type and quality of the large woody debris materials, which will be important to the success of the Project.
A total of up to 205 large woody debris units (135 logs with root wads and 70 logs) will be needed for this phase of the Project, which will be constructed in 2023 and 2024. The total quantity of large woody debris and material types have been identified by Sonoma Water’s consultant for design of the Project, Environmental Science Associates Inc. (ESA). ESA has determined that the existing hardwood trees in the riparian area at the Project site lack the mass, durability, and decay resistance necessary for successful Coho Salmon rearing habitat. Salmon habitat restoration guidelines published by resource agencies identify heavier conifers (redwood, Douglas fir, etc.) as the preferred species, and many other successful habitat restoration projects in the Pacific Northwest have been constructed by importing these materials.
SELECTION PROCESS
Using a format based on the County of Sonoma Purchasing Department’s standard agreement for purchase of goods and materials, Sonoma Water issued a Request for Proposal to 28 recipients on November 16, 2022. Selection of proposals for each material type is based on the unit prices for each item from the lowest responsive and responsible proposals. Sonoma Water reserved the right in the Request for Proposal to award contracts to more than one supplier as may be necessary to secure the needed quantities.
In addition, the Request for Proposal was subject to the County’s Local Preference Procedure, which provides a qualifying Local Service Provider an opportunity to match the lower price of a non-local provider if the unit prices from respective proposers are separated by 5% or less.
A total of four suppliers responded to the Request for Proposal: Parmeter Logging and Excavation, Inc. (Cazadero, CA), Austin Gap Partnership (Santa Rosa, CA), J. W. Bamford, Inc. (Oroville, CA), and Falk Forestry Inc. (Stewarts Point, CA). In all categories of large woody debris, low cost is the basis for selection. In the event that the proposer with the lowest price is unable to contract for the proposed amount of large woody debris, then Sonoma Water will purchase large woody debris from the next lowest proposer in order to meet the required quantity. Agreements with multiple suppliers is also advantageous because the timing and availability of materials is still subject to some uncertainty due to potential delays or challenges to pending harvest permits for certain proposers. For these reasons, some proposals are tentative, and may not result in a contract for the proposed quantity, and the not-to-exceed amount includes a five percent contingency. Two of the three selected suppliers, Austin Gap Partnership and Falk Forestry Inc., are Sonoma County businesses.
The proposed Board Action would authorize Sonoma Water’s General Manager to execute contracts with proposers in the form approved by County Counsel as necessary to acquire the total quantity of large woody debris materials required to construct the Phase V Dry Creek projects, starting in May 2023, and subject to a total amount not to exceed $456,018. Execution of these contracts is necessary to assure that the materials needed for the Project are acquired in time for the start of construction. The cost of these contracts will count towards Sonoma Water’s in-kind funding match obligation to the Corps as the non-federal sponsor for Phases IV - VI of the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Projects.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
Under the proposed agreements, suppliers will provide all labor, supplies, and equipment necessary to secure entitlements, harvest (if necessary), transport, and off-load the large woody debris materials at Sonoma Water’s storage site. The agreements will have two-year terms.
County Strategic Plan:
N/A
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Water Supply and Transmission System, Goal 1: Protect drinking water supply and promote water-use efficiency.
Under Sonoma Water’s Strategic Plan, Water Supply and Transmission System Goal 1, Strategy 1, Action 5: Continue to implement the Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives for the Russian River Biological Opinion. Engineering and design of Dry Creek habitat enhancement projects advances Sonoma Water’s ability to complete projects required by the Biological Opinion.
Prior Board Actions:
03/16/2021: Approved Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute agreements with Austin Gap Partnership, Falk Forestry Inc., and Parmeter Logging and Excavation, Inc., for the purchase of large woody debris for the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project, Phase IV (total of all agreements not-to-exceed $2,332,700).
08/22/2017: Approved Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute agreements between the Sonoma County Water Agency and Falk Forestry Services and Bohan & Canelis General Engineering, Inc., for the purchase of large woody debris for the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project Miles 2 and 3 (total of all agreements not-to-exceed $1,826,525).
02/02/2016: Approved Agreement for Procurement of Large Woody Debris for Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project (Miles 2 and 3 - Phase One).
05/22/2012: Approved Agreement for Procurement of Large Woody Debris for Dry Creek Demonstration Project.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
$456,018 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$456,018 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
$456,018 |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$456,018 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $456,018 is available from FY 2022/2023 appropriations for the Watershed Planning and Restoration Fund (44215). No additional appropriation is required.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
None
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None