The Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF) utilizes nitrification effluent pumps as part of the process to remove nitrogen from the wastewater prior to being discharged to the Truckee River. Typically, three of the four installed pumps are in operation at any given time.  Due to the critical nature of this treatment process TMWRF maintains a fifth pump in storage to ensure redundancy should one of the four service pumps fail.  The four older pumps are in need of manufacturer rebuilding to ensure continued service.  The nitrification effluent pump that is scheduled to be rebuilt experienced a major vibration when pumping and therefore chosen as the first pump to be serviced. The pump has been replaced by the spare pump in the pump station to maintain the required redundancy in pumping capacity.

The initial estimate for the necessary work to rebuild the pump was approximately $25,000.  Quotes were solicited from two vendors for the repair of this pump and RF McDonald was the lower of the two with a price of $21,385.00.  However, once the pump was disassembled by the vendor additional work was found to be necessary to return the pump to full service.  The final scope of work increased the price of the repair to $59,939.93.  The cost of a new replacement pump is approximately $125,000, making the repair a cost effective solution even at the increased price.  The proposal for this project is included in attachment # 1.

1. City Council may approve the expenditure for the repair as submitted by staff.
2. City Council may reject the proposal and provide additional direction to the City Manager.

I move to approve the expenditure to rebuild an effluent nitrification pump by R.F. MacDonald Co. for the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF), in an amount not to exceed $59,939.93.