CITY OF HOUSTON

1 CITY OF HOUSTON . REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ). INTEGRATED WATER MASTER PLANNING PROJECT. PHASE I. SOLICITATION NO.: S84-Q32352. Date Issued: May 20, 2022. Pre-Submission Conference: June 1, 2022 @ 10:30 (CST). Microsoft Teams Meeting Join on your computer or mobile app Click here to join the meeting Or call in (audio only). Conference Number: (936) 755-1521. Conference ID: 295 022 699#. (Please mute your phone for the duration of the call). Pre-Submission Questions Deadline: June 8, 2022@ 4:00 (CST). Solicitation Due Date: July 14, 2022@ 2:00 (CST). Solicitation Contact Person: Edith Beal (832) 393-8730. Project Summary: The City of HOUSTON ("City") is seeking submissions from qualified firms ( Respondents ). to complete Phase 1 of a project to develop a set of integrated water master plans for HOUSTON Public Works ( Project ). The City intends to enter into one contract with a qualified Respondent for terms appropriate for the circumstances, which may be for the duration of the services to be provided or a one (1) year term.

2 NIGP Code: 91842, 91843, 92064, 92517, 92528, 92535, 92536, 92538, 92557, 92558, 92570, 92596, 92597, 96891, MWBE Goal: and 96892. Important Notice About the City's Early Payment Discount Program: The City's standard payment term is to pay 30 days after the receipt of invoice or receipt of goods or services, whichever is later, according to the requirements of the Texas Prompt Payment Act (Tx. Gov't Code, Ch. 2251). However, the City may pay in less than 30 days, at its option, in return for an early payment discount from the vendor. Page 1 of 38. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I GENERAL .. 4. General .. 4. City of HOUSTON Background .. 4. Texas Public Information Act .. 4. Solicitation Schedule .. 4. PART II SCOPE OF WORK .. 4. 4. Background .. 5. Scope of Work .. 6. Meeting .. 10. Exhibits .. 10. PART III EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS .. 11. Evaluation Committee .. 11. Interviews/Oral Presentations/ Demonstrations .. 11. Selection Process .. 11. Best and Final Offer ( BAFO ).

3 11. Evaluation Criteria .. 11. Evaluation Matrix .. 13. Additional Related Services .. 13. Interlocal 13. PART IV INSTRUCTIONS AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS .. 13. Instructions for Submission .. 13. Submission Requirements .. 14. PART V EXCEPTIONS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS .. 16. PART VI SPECIAL CONDITIONS .. 16. No Contact Period .. 16. Minority and Woman Business Enterprises ( M/WBE ) .. 16. Protests .. 17. Cancellation .. 17. Executive Order 1-56 Zero Tolerance for Human Trafficking in City Service Contracts and Purchasing .. 17. Preservation of Contracting Information .. 17. Compliance with Certain State Law Requirements .. 17. Page 2 of 38. PART VII INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS .. 18. Pre-Submission .. 18. Additional Information and Specification Changes .. 18. Letter(s) of Clarification .. 18. Examination of Documents and Requirements .. 18. Post-Submission Discussions with Respondent(s) .. 18. PART VIII REQUIRED FORMS TO BE SUBMITTED WITH SUBMISSION .. 19. PART IX REQUIRED FORMS TO BE SUBMITTED BY RECOMMENDED VENDOR ONLY.

4 20. Page 3 of 38. PART I GENERAL INFORMATION. General Information The City of HOUSTON ( City ) is currently seeking submissions from qualified firms ( Respondents ) to complete Phase 1 of a project to develop a set of integrated water master plans for HOUSTON Public Works as further described below ( Project ). The City intends to enter into one contract with the qualified Respondent for terms appropriate for the circumstances, which may be for the duration of the services to be provided or a one (1). year term to assist the City with the aforementioned initiative. City of HOUSTON Background The City is the fourth largest City in the United States and is comprised of 23 departments with multiple physical locations throughout the geographical boundaries of the City. The City has approximately 23,000 employees with approximately 500 employees involved in the procurement and/or contracting process. Contracts where the City must pay in excess of $50,000 are routed to City Council for approval.

5 The annual volume of contracts and purchase orders issued by the City in the last five years has ranged from 19,000 to 23,000. Texas Public Information Act All information submitted to the City is subject to the provisions of the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), located in Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code. Respondents may mark any information submitted, including their financial information, as confidential, trade secret, proprietary, or any other designation of choice. The City will notify any Respondent should their information be requested under the TPIA, and Respondents will have an opportunity to assert their own arguments to the Texas Attorney General as to why their information should be excepted from public disclosure. Solicitation Schedule Listed below are the important dates for this Request for Qualifications (RFQ). EVENT _____ DATE _. RFQ Issuance May 20, 2022. Pre-Submission Conference June 1, 2022. Deadline for Questions June 8, 2022. Solicitation Due Date July 14, 2022.

6 Notification of Intent to Award (estimated) September 2022. Council Agenda Date (estimated) November 2022. Contract Start Date (estimated) November 2022. PART II SCOPE OF WORK. PURPOSE. The City is undertaking a project to develop a set of integrated water master plans that result in sustainable, resilient, equitable, and environmentally responsible water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities ( Project ). The plans to be developed under this Project are: (1) a One Water Plan that establishes a strategic vision for how HOUSTON will manage water for the benefit of our people, economy, and environment, and framework for coordinated planning across the City's water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities to maximize delivery of projects that achieve multiple benefits and align with the City's existing master plans and initiatives, such as the Climate Action Plan, Resilient HOUSTON , Build HOUSTON Forward, and Complete Communities;. (2) a Water utility Strategic Master Plan; and (3) a Wastewater utility Strategic Master Plan.

7 Page 4 of 38. This Project does not include development of a Stormwater Strategic Master Plan (that work has begun under a separate contract), but it does include integration of the Stormwater Strategic Master Plan into the One Water Plan. The City will complete this Project in two phases under separate procurements. This Request for Qualifications ("RFQ") is for Phase 1. Phase 1 tasks include: working with City personnel to establish the vision, objectives, and guiding principles for the Project; engaging key stakeholders and community members to ensure the Project addresses community needs and reflects our shared values and vision for HOUSTON 's future; developing a Water Equity Roadmap to ensure utility planners consider impacts on vulnerable communities and prioritize projects that deliver equitable outcomes; and creating a Project website for Project communication. Phase 1 is expected to take one year to complete. Phase 2 tasks will focus on developing, drafting, and delivering the One Water Plan, the Water utility Strategic Master Plan, and the Wastewater utility Strategic Master Plan using information and data gathered during Phase 1, with the ongoing assistance of City staff, key stakeholders, and community members through working groups, advisory committees, water ambassadors, and/or other means.

8 Phase 2 is expected to take multiple years to complete. The City expects that Respondents will engage one or more subcontractors competent to perform the scope of work requested under each phase and work in collaboration with City staff, valuing the expertise and experience they contribute. BACKGROUND. The City provides water, wastewater, and stormwater services to more than million Houstonians across a 650-mile service area. It also provides wholesale water and wastewater treatment services to municipal and industrial customers across the greater HOUSTON region. The region is currently home to more than 7 million people, and that number is expected to increase to more than 10 million people by 2040. WATER utility . The water utility supplies potable water to retail and wholesale customers for municipal uses, and non-potable water to wholesale customers for industrial and irrigation uses. The City has developed surface water rights to billion gallons of water per day in the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers.

9 These surface water rights are stored in three water supply reservoirs Lake HOUSTON , Lake Conroe, and Lake Livingston which are owned in whole or in part by the City. The water utility operates and maintains three surface water purification plants that produce an average of 395 million gallons of water per day, and 54 groundwater plants fed by 130 groundwater wells that produce an average of 55. million gallons of groundwater per day. In addition, the water utility operates and maintains eight repressurization plants and more than 7,000 miles of transmission and distribution water lines ranging from 4- to 120-inches in diameter. The water utility is currently working with four regional water authorities to expand its Northeast Water Purification Plant from a production capacity of 80 million gallons of surface water per day to 400 million gallons of surface water per day in order to meet the region's water demand while reducing its reliance on groundwater, in compliance with subsidence regulations.

10 These regulations, aging infrastructure, limited funding, and continued growth present significant challenges to strategic water planning for the region. The water utility has not undertaken efforts to develop a written master plan since the mid- 1990s. Page 5 of 38. WASTEWATER utility . The wastewater utility provides retail wastewater collection and treatment services to customers located within its service area, and wholesale wastewater treatment services to contract customers, such as municipal utility districts. The wastewater utility operates and maintains more than 6,000 miles of gravity-fed pipelines and force mains, 384 lift stations, and 39 wastewater treatment plants that treat an average of 250 million gallons of wastewater per day. The wastewater utility is seeking to reduce the number of lift stations and treatment plants currently in its system through strategic consolidations designed to regionalize wastewater service, minimalize flood impacts on wastewater infrastructure, and decrease sanitary sewer overflows.