Title
Hydrant Flow Testing for Main Capacity - Request for Proposal
History
The Utility Division of the Public Works Department will be initiating a multi-year Fire Hydrant Testing and Inspection Program for the approximately 4,000 fire hydrants within the Village's service area. This program will identify broken or malfunctioning hydrants, locate possible problems with the distribution system such as closed or broken valves and provide water flow (GPM) information and data to the Fire Protection District. It is anticipated this program will take up to three years to complete.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was advertised in the SouthtownStar Newspaper on Friday, January 4, 2013. Two (2) companies submitted proposals which were due on Friday, January 18, 2013, at 11:00 a.m.
M.E. Simpson Co. Inc. of Valparaiso, Indiana, submitted the following proposal:
2013 - $48.00/Hydrant
2014 - $48.00/Hydrant
2015 - $50.00/Hydrant
Wachs Valve and Hydrant Services, LLC of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, submitted the following proposal:
2013 - $42.00/Hydrant
2014 - $42.00/Hydrant
2015 - $42.00/Hydrant
Both proposals were thoroughly reviewed for completeness in meeting the requirements of the RFP and references were checked.
Of the six project specific references provided by Wachs, only three involved hydrant flow testing similar to the Village's RFP. None of the references are local and only one reference listed who did in fact use Wachs for hydro testing returned calls. This reference indicated there were some issues with staffing and billing, but the work was completed. The proposal from Wachs does not provide for routine lubrication of the hydrant caps which was requested in the RFP, an important task to ensure continued ease of operation.
M.E. Simpson has previously completed flow testing programs for the Utility Division from 2000 to 2004 and 2007 to 2010. They are very familiar with the Village water system and propose utilizing personn...
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