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Background <br />The existing water supply source for the City of Ramsey's water supply system is the Tunnel City/Wonewoc <br />(TCW) aquifer, formerly known as the Franconia -Ironton -Galesville (FIG) aquifer. Water is drawn from the <br />TCW aquifer through eight (8) groundwater wells, seven (7) of which are currently being utilized to provide <br />potable water. The maximum capacity of the combined municipal wells is 10 9 million gallons per day <br />(MGD). Two additional wells are currently proposed to be constructed in the years 2023 and 2028 to provide <br />adequate capacity to the year 2040 based on projected City growth. <br />The City's groundwater supply wells have historically provided groundwater of good quality and in adequate <br />quantity. However, in 2019 the Minnesota Department of Health informed the City that several of its <br />groundwater supply wells are producing concentrations of manganese that exceed the recommended Secondary <br />Drinking Water Standards. The City does not currently treat its municipal water supply for manganese so as a <br />short-term solution the City immediately started pumping water only from wells with the lowest concentrations <br />of manganese to maintain manganese concentrations below the recommended Secondary Drinking Water <br />Standards. Unfortunately, these wells also produce the highest concentrations of iron, which has resulted in <br />increased complaints of rust -colored water. <br />To properly plan for long-term solutions to reduce manganese and iron concentrations in the municipal water <br />supply system, the City is requesting proposals from qualified consultants for providing professional services <br />as generally identified under the Scope of Services section above, and as further identified under the <br />Specific Requirements section below. <br />Final design work for the centralized water treatment facility, including any pilot testing of preferred treatment <br />processes, will be completed under separate contract following public review of and input on the preliminary design <br />report. <br />Questions regarding this request for proposals shall be directed to City Engineer Bruce Westby at 763-433- <br />9825 or bwestby@cityoframsey.com. <br />Special Considerations <br />I. Neighboring Property Impacts. The preliminary design report shall explore potential impacts <br />of the facility on neighboring properties due to noise, odors, operating hours, traffic, and any <br />other identified sources of impact, and recommend a process for mitigating any identified <br />impacts during the future final design process. <br />2. Budget. The preliminary design report shall explore future budget impacts based on estimated <br />construction and operating costs, and shall explore and recommend future water rate revisions <br />as needed to offset estimated budget impacts. <br />3. Estimated Costs. The preliminary design report shall include estimated construction and operating <br />costs for the groundwater treatment facility over the anticipated life of the facility. Estimated <br />costs shall assume industry standard costs for such a facility, and shall include at least one <br />laboratory/office space, one medium-sized conference room, and one two -bay garage with a <br />storage mezzanine The garage is anticipated to house a portable generator and miscellaneous <br />utility equipment/vehicles, whose costs shall NOT be considered within the cost estimate. <br />4. Public Education/Engagement Plan. The preliminary design report shall include a public <br />education/engagement plan, which will allow the City to convey the results of preliminary design <br />report and to gather feedback from the public to allow the City to better understand whether some of <br />the preferred treatment processes can/should be omitted from further consideration, such as softening. <br />