Site work for a water / sewer project in Santa Monica, California. Completed plans call for site work for a water / sewer project.

The City of Santa Monica, (referred to hereafter as "the City") is inviting proposals from contractors to provide a turnkey solution of a fully integrated Advanced Metering Infrastructure System (AMI). This shall include all the required equipment, installation, customer portal, implementation, training and integration of data into the City's billing software, Harris NorthStar Customer Information System (Northstar). The new system will be capable of remotely reading water meters, via cellular technology, and transmit the information to a portal which will allow customers to monitor their real time water usage. 1. Background: The City of Santa Monica occupies 8.3 square miles and is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and the City of Los Angeles to the north, east and south. The City's service population is approximately 93,000 with approximately 18,400 meters. The annual water consumption for the City is approximately 11,000 acre-feet. The majority of the City's water usage is by residential users, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the City's total water consumption. A map of the City's water distribution system is included in Exhibit A - Service Area Map. The City's Water Resources Division (WRD) has completed multiple pilot tests of advanced metering technologies. The initial evaluation consisted cellular endpoints on 62 Farnier Metron (Metron) single jet meters. The system is still deployed and operating. Between 2016 thru 2018, the City partnered with Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) and Aclara Technologies (Aclara) and conducted a proof-of-concept AMI pilot which transferred meter reads into the City's billing software. The pilot utilized the SoCalGas network infrastructure to transmit meter data via radio frequency to a network managed database and software hosted by Aclara. Over 800 meters were monitored, and water meter readings were successfully downloaded into the City's billing software. However, SoCalGas stopped supporting this application and the City switched its pilot program to a cellular data transmission platform. In 2019, the City piloted Badger Orion AMI utilizing cellular data transmission. The Badger pilot is currently in service at over 900 meter locations. The Badger pilot meter data is successfully downloaded into the City's billing software on a bi-monthly basis. 2. Meter and Route Information: The City's metering system utilizes a variety of manufacturers of meters in the water system: Badger, Neptune, Hersey, and Metron are primarily installed. The City currently has purchasing contracts with two manufacturers of meters: Badger and Metron. Meters purchased from Badger are positive displacement nutating disc ranging in size from 3/4 " to 2". Meters purchased from Metron are single jet ranging in size from 1 1/2 " to 8". A summary of the make, size and quantity of meters currently installed is shown in Exhibit B - Installed Water Meters. The water billing meter reads are currently on a bimonthly scale which varies form 58-62 days. The current meter reading is performed by a contract meter reading provider. There are 51 routes in the system, which vary from 125 to 591 reads per route as shown in Exhibit C - Meter Routes. The City may consider moving to monthly billing after the AMI Project is completed. 3. Project Goals: As part of the City's sustainability efforts, the City plans to implement AMI over a two-year timeframe between 2022 thru 2023, with a final completion date by . The City's objective is to increase its meter reading efficiency while leveraging the leak detection and water usage monitoring that AMI provides. The implementation of AMI will provide the City with water usage data to more accurately analyze customer demand and support conservation efforts. The following are the City's primary goals for the AMI Project: Leak detection for the end user to minimize water loss Monthly Billing Reduction of customer service calls Meter reading efficiency Customer engagement towards water usage and conservation Validation of conservation efforts 4. Project Requirements The proposed solution shall provide the following and be detailed in the proposal: Project management and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) plan for the implementation of the turnkey AMI project. Provide public outreach support both prior to project implementation and follow-up customer engagement when AMI is in service. Procure, store, install and program all AMI compatible meters required for this project. Procure, store, install and program all AMI cellular endpoints. Recommend a cellular data service to collect and transport the meter reading data and other information from the endpoints to a metering management system. Replace all non-AMI compatible meters such that all the meters in the City's service area are AMI compatible. Equip all meters with an AMI system, including endpoints, antenna (if necessary), software and programming that will enable it to provide timely and accurate consumption readings Provide an advanced metering analytics software that will provide communication from the endpoints into a portal to allow for the City to utilize for billing purposes and for customer engagement. Programming of all endpoints, advanced metering analytics software and customer engagement portal. Provide a data interface between the AMI system and City's utility billing system, NorthStar. The AMI system must provide meter read data corresponding to all the accounts in the City's billing system. Perform a site survey of all meter locations to identify the number of lids, both vault and meter box, that will need to be replaced and/or modified. Procure and replace all concrete/steel meter box lids with composite lids, traffic rated. Modify or replace all vault lids to ensure cellular signal transmission. Lid strength should be a minimum of AASHTO HS-20. The City currently utilizes custom fabricated vault lids with a fiberglass insert. Document GIS locations for each meter and program details into the AMI system. Achieve a minimum transmission rate of 99.5% of readings. Coordinate the AMI installation with the contracted meter reading provider to ensure that the City's billing operations is not disrupted. Training of the City's employees in endpoint installation, maintenance, troubleshooting including all software use, operation and maintenance. Detailed cost breakdown which shall include all the costs for the AMI system including but not limited to meters, endpoints, vault lids (modified or replacement), meter box covers, labor, monthly cellular service, and any other annual service fees. Optional Task - Document the service line materials of both the supply side and customer side laterals to all the water meters. 5. Scope of Work: The selected contractor shall provide a complete functional turnkey AMI system. This shall include all components of an AMI system which will include AMI compatible meters, endpoints, subscriptions to cellular service, software including customer engagement software, handheld meter programming devices, handheld endpoint programing devices, meter box lids, vault lids and antennas. The City's water system includes approximately 18,400 water meters ranging in size from 3/4 " to 10" that are to be remotely read utilizing a cellular AMI system. There are approximately 12,444 meters that are non-AMI compatible and shall be replaced. The meters procured shall be Badger, nutating disc and ultrasonic meters, and Metron single jet meters. Exhibit D - Existing Meter Infrastructure includes the details of the non-AMI meters that shall be procured. The cellular endpoints provided shall be capable of providing coverage for the entire City. They shall be capable of encoding, storing and transmitting data. The software shall include an advanced metering analytics software and customer engagement portal. The contractor shall replace all non-AMI compatible water meters with AMI ready meters. This shall include any necessary programming. All meter box and vaults lids shall be modified or replaced to ensure that the cellular signal can successfully transmit. An estimate of the cost to modify and/or replace vault lids should be included in the submitted proposal. The contractor shall program all the water meters and endpoints to provide a successful transmission of the water meter reads with the cellular meter reading portal. The contractor shall work with the cellular service provider and the City's utility billing system to ensure the meter read data is properly migrated into the City's billing software. Upon successful installation of the hardware and implementation of the software the contractor shall provide assistance in troubleshooting and resolving any issues that arise. An optional task which the City is requesting a cost is for the identification and documentation of the service line materials of both the supply side and customer side laterals that are connected to all the water meters. The City has designated Ralph Valencia, as its contact (the "City Contact") for this request for proposals (this "RFP"). The City Contact's information is listed below: Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be submitted via ProcureNow. Other City officers, agents, employees or representatives do not have authority to respond on behalf of the City. Contact with unauthorized City personnel during the selection process may result in disqualification. Ralph Valencia Water/Wastewater Administrator 2500 Michigan Avenue Building #1 Santa Monica, CA 90401 Email: ralph.valencia@santamonica.gov Phone: (310) 458-8508 Question Submission Deadline:May 13, 2022, 3:00pm Question Response Deadline:May 27, 2022, 5:00pm