Agenda - Council - 10/08/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Background The existing water supply source for the City of Ramsey's water supply system is the Tunnel City/Wonewoc (TCW) aquifer, formerly known as the Franconia -Ironton -Galesville (FIG) aquifer. Water is drawn from the TCW aquifer through eight (8) groundwater wells, seven (7) of which are currently being utilized to provide potable water. The maximum capacity of the combined municipal wells is 10.9 million gallons per day (MGD). Two additional wells are proposed to be constructed in the years 2023 and 2028, which is intended to supply water to all municipal water system users to the year 2040 based on projected City growth. The City's groundwater supply wells have historically provided groundwater of good quality and in adequate quantity. However, in 2019 the Minnesota Department of Health informed the City that several of its groundwater supply wells are producing concentrations of manganese that exceed the recommended Secondary Drinking Water Standards. The City does not currently treat its municipal water supply for manganese so as a short-term solution the City immediately started pumping water only from the three wells with the lowest concentrations of manganese to maintain manganese concentrations below the recommended Secondary Drinking Water Standards. Unfortunately, these wells also produce the highest concentrations of iron, which has resulted in increased complaints of rust -colored water, and will damage system components over time. To properly plan for long-term solutions to reduce manganese and iron concentrations in the municipal water supply system, and to confirm the existing water supply source has adequate capacity, the City is requesting proposals from qualified consultants for providing professional services as generally outlined in the Scope of Services section, and as further identified under the Specific Requirements section. Final design work for the centralized water treatment facility, including any pilot testing of preferred treatment processes, will be completed under separate contract using information from the preliminary design report. Questions regarding this request for proposals shall be directed to City Engineer Bruce Westby at 763-433- 9825 or bwestby@cityoframsey.com. Special Considerations I. Neighboring Property Impacts. The preliminary design report shall explore potential impacts of the water treatment facility on neighboring properties due to noise, odors, operating hours, traffic, and other identified sources of impact, and recommend a process for mitigating any identified impacts during the final design process. 2. Estimated Costs. The preliminary design report shall include estimated construction and operating costs for the groundwater treatment facility over the anticipated life of the facility. Estimated costs shall assume industry standard costs for a water treatment facility, and shall include at least one laboratory/office space, one medium-sized conference room, and one two -bay garage with a storage mezzanine The garage is anticipated to house a portable generator and miscellaneous utility equipment/vehicles, whose costs shall NOT be considered within the cost estimate. 3. Budget. The preliminary design report shall explore future budget impacts based on estimated construction and operating costs, and shall explore and recommend water rate revisions needed to offset future budget impacts. 4. Public Education/Engagement Plan. The preliminary design report shall include a public education/engagement plan designed to clearly and concisely convey the preliminary design report results to the public, and to allow for public feedback. Public feedback will help the City to understand potential concerns related to the recommended facility, including the recommended site and/or treatment processes, which can then be addressed during fmal design of the facility.