Sparks City Council Meeting 3/14/2016 2:00:00 PM

    Monday, March 14, 2016 2:00 PM
    Council Chambers, Legislative Building, 745 Fourth Street, Sparks, NV

General Business: 9.4

Title: Consideration and possible approval to purchase polymer from Solenis LLC at the rate of $0.8426 per pound, with an expected annual expenditure of $1,000,000, for the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF).
Petitioner/Presenter: Neil C. Krutz, – Deputy City Manager/Michael Drinkwater, P.E. – TMWRF Plant Manager
Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Council approve the purchase of polymer from Solenis LLC.
Financial Impact: There is no General Fund impact. The purchase order that supports the current contract with Poydyne, Inc will be liquidated upon approval. This would return unspent budget, currently at $365,597.00, to be fund additional polymer purchases during FY 15-16. There will be a savings of approximately $18,000.00 through June 30, 2016 and is expected to save $53,000.00 annually. Additionally the chemical grouping currently has $1,314,529.88 remaining in uncommitted appropriations. Expenses will be charged to TMWRF, Fund 5605, Account 603315, Chemicals- Dewater Polymer using Program 131505, TMWRF Operations. Following quarterly reconciliation of TMWRF’s operating expenses between the Cities of Sparks and Reno, affecting the Sanitary Sewer Operations Fund (1630), Sparks is quantifying reimbursement from the City of Reno based on actual flow splits provided by ADS Environmental.
Total Costs: $365,597.00
Fund: Joint Treatment Plant    Account: 603315
Program: TMWRF Operations (131505)
Amount: $365,597.00    Budget Status: Budget Exists
Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
     A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.
Agenda Item Brief:

Staff is seeking authorization to purchase polymer from Solenis LLC for use at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility utilizing the joinder provision allowed under NRS 332.115 for a contract between Solenis and Los Angeles County, CA. The annual expenditure for polymer at TMWRF for this new product will be approximately $1,000,000.



Background:

TMWRF uses polymer to assist in the dewatering of biosolids and in facilitating flocculation of solids in the gravity thickeners.  TMWRF has been purchasing polymer from Polydyne, Inc. since the last polymer trial, held in 2008.  Polymer trials were postponed in anticipation of the completion of a dewatering system capital improvement project.  This project was incorporated into the Ameresco energy savings project, approved by council in 2014.



Analysis:

The current improvements to the dewatering system at TMWRF are ongoing.  As is typical, the new equipment does not produce adequate solids with the current polymer (Polydyne).  The contractor, Ameresco, has tested eight polymers from three manufacturers in an effort to optimize the process.  While none are currently meeting the design specification, the Solenis Praestol K275FLX product performed the best.

Until the Ameresco project is complete, TMWRF must ensure that the wastewater receives adequate treatment and the plant remains in compliance with the discharge regulations.  One of these requirement is to have 100% redundancy in critical process equipment.  In order to maintain this redundancy in the dewatering process, it is necessary to treat the entire flow with one centrifuge, producing biosolids that meet the requirements of the Lockwood landfill.  This is possible with Praestol K275FLX product.

Because the contractor’s testing has established the Solenis product as effective in meeting the minimum requirements, staff is seeking to forgo the formal polymer trial until after the contractor has completed the project.  Staff is seeking permission to join onto a contract between Solenis LLC and Los Angeles County, CA for the Praestol K275FLX product, as allowed by NRS 332.115.  Based on the contract price and the expected usage, this interim change in polymer is expected to reduce the annual cost for polymer for TMWRF by approximately 5%, or $53,000, from the current budget of $1,057,000.  



Alternatives:

Council could direct staff to provide other alternatives.



Recommended Motion:

I move to approve the purchase of polymer from Solenis LLC.



Attached Files:
     Solenis Letter.pdf
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