To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Greg Guensch / 547-1972
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Third
Title:
Title
Santa Rosa Creek Fish Passage
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with FlowWest LLC for engineering and design services for Santa Rosa Creek Fish Passage Improvements Planning Project through May 31, 2024, in the not-to-exceed amount of $403,374.
B) In addition to the authorities granted under Resolution 20-0092, authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to amend the agreement to extend the term, make modifications to the scope of work, and increase costs provided amendments do not cumulatively increase the total cost to Sonoma County Water Agency by more than 10 percent.
C) Adopt a Resolution Authorizing Adjustment to the Board Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 for the Flood Control Zone 1A Fund in the amount of $115,874 for the Santa Rosa Creek Fish Passage.
(4/5th Vote Required)(Third District)
end
Executive Summary:
Santa Rosa Creek provides adult migration, spawning, and rearing habitat for the threatened Central California Coast steelhead trout and other native fish. Flood control development has occurred along most of the lower reach of Santa Rosa Creek consisting of channelization, several culverts and bridges at road crossings, large concrete box culverts in downtown Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Creek Diversion Structure to Spring Lake, and a grade control sill. Frequent blockages occur under existing conditions. Addressing these barriers will improve access for fish to approximately 14 miles of spawning and rearing habitat, and reduce the frequency of maintenance activities. Costs of this work will be offset by a $274,000 grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
Santa Rosa Creek is a perennial drainage that flows from Hood Mountain before connecting with Laguna de Santa Rosa and joining the Russian River, which flows to the Pacific Ocean. Santa Rosa Creek provides adult migration, spawning, and rearing habitat for the threatened Central California Coast steelhead trout and other native fish. The upper reach of Santa Rosa Creek, located in foothill and mountainous terrain, is largely undeveloped.
Flood control development has occurred along most of the lower reach of Santa Rosa Creek consisting of channelization, several culverts and bridges at road crossings, large concrete box culverts in downtown Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Creek Diversion Structure to Spring Lake, and a grade control sill. The creek flow is mostly unregulated. The exception is the Santa Rosa Creek Diversion Structure, including the vortex tube under Montgomery Drive that conveys flows through Santa Rosa Creek and the diversion channel that diverts peak flood flows to Spring Lake for flood control. Low and moderate flows and natural sediment loads remain in the creek. Fish ladders are located in the double box concrete conduit that begins at E Street and extends from E Street under downtown Santa Rosa, and at the Santa Rosa Creek Diversion Structure to provide fish passage. However, these fish ladders are antiquated and/or damaged.
The Santa Rosa Creek Fish Passage Improvements Planning Project (Project) will improve fish passage at three sites and reduce or eliminate frequent blockages that occur under existing conditions. Addressing these barriers will improve access for fish to approximately 14 miles of spawning and rearing habitat. Fish passage improvements will benefit approximately 5 miles of creek in the lower reach within the City of Santa Rosa and 9 miles in the upper reach. The Project will eliminate fish passage barriers at the three sites by modifying or replacing existing infrastructure. These changes would expand the flow range during which the structures are passable to fish and reduce the frequency for maintenance activities.
The three Project sites along Santa Rosa Creek include:
Site 1: Fish Ladder Extension at E Street in downtown Santa Rosa
Site 2: Fish Ladder upstream of vortex tube under Montgomery Drive at the Santa Rosa Creek Diversion Structure
Site 3: Grade Control Sill approximately 400 feet upstream of the Santa Rosa Creek Diversion Structure
Grant Funding
The State of California’s Wildlife Conservation Board administers the Wildlife Corridor and Fish Passage Grant Program (Grant Program), funded by California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018 (Proposition 68).
Sonoma Water submitted an application to the Grant Program to fund part of the design of the Project. The application requested $274,000 in grant funds and offered $286,000 in Sonoma Water match funds from the Flood Control Zone 1A fund, for a total project cost of $560,000. The Project was approved by the Wildlife Conservation Board and the grant awarded in 2020.
There is robust backing for the Project from public agencies and community stakeholders for its benefit to native fish and the local community. Letters of support for the Project were submitted to the Wildlife Conservation Board by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, City of Santa Rosa’s Creek Stewardship Program, Sonoma Ecology Center, Sonoma Resource Conservation District, Trout Unlimited, and University of California Sea Grant Program.
SELECTION PROCESS
On October 20, 2020, Sonoma Water issued a Request for Proposals to the following 34 firms listed in Attachment 2.
The Request for Proposals was also posted on Sonoma County Water Agency and County of Sonoma Purchasing Department websites.
The two firms listed below submitted Proposals:
1. HDR, Inc., Santa Rosa, California
2. FlowWest LLC, Oakland, California
The following criteria were used to evaluate each firm:
1. Professional qualifications and demonstrated ability to perform the work
2. Responsiveness to the work requirements
3. Exceptions to standard terms in the sample agreement
4. Thoroughness of proposal
FlowWest LLC (Consultant) was selected to perform the work because Consultant and their team:
1. Demonstrated familiarity with the Santa Rosa Creek system in Santa Rosa and the specific Project sites.
2. Proposed a level of effort and a staffing plan that demonstrated a greater understanding of the scope and scale of the Project.
3. Listed fewer exceptions to the standard terms of the sample agreement.
4. Included a team member that is one of the state’s leading experts in fish passage engineering and has served as the lead fish passage engineer for California Department of Fish and Wildlife for 20 years.
Sonoma Water may seek to amend or enter into subsequent agreement(s) with Board approval if required, relying upon this competitive selection process, after the preliminary or initial work is completed for the Project.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
Under the proposed agreement, Consultant will identify preferred alternatives, develop final project designs, assist Sonoma Water with preparation of construction project bidding documents, prepare California Environmental Quality Act documents, and apply for environmental permits.
The cost of services will not exceed $403,374; the term end date is May 31, 2024.
The agreement includes two options for Sonoma Water to extend this agreement for a period of one year each by providing written notice to Consultant thirty days in advance of the expiration date of the agreement and of the first extension option.
Prior Board Actions:
04-28-2020: Authorize the General Manager to execute a grant agreement with the California Wildlife Conservation Board for the Santa Rosa Creek Fish Passage Improvements Planning Project.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 20-21 Adopted |
FY21-22 Projected |
FY 22-23 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
287,500 |
112,000 |
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
115,874 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
403,374 |
112,000 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
191,800 |
82,200 |
|
|
Fees/Other |
95,700 |
29,800 |
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
115,874 |
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
403,374 |
112,000 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $287,500 is available from FY 2020/2021 appropriations for the Flood Control Zone 1A fund.
Additional appropriations in the amount of $115,874 from the Flood Control Zone 1A fund are required to process this expense, for engineering and design services. A budgetary resolution has been submitted with this item.
FY 2021/2022 appropriations for staffing costs on the project of $112,000 will be budgeted in that fiscal year.
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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:
Resolution
Recipient List
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None