EMWD amends design contract for Purified Water Replenishment Advanced Water Purification Facility

Joe Naiman

Writer

The design phase of the Purified Water Replenishment Advanced Water Purification Facility the Eastern Municipal Water District is planning resulted in an expanded scope, and the EMWD board approved amendments Wednesday, March 1, to the design contracts for the project.

The board’s 5-0 vote amended the scope of work while adding $280,174 to the design contract with Brown and Caldwell. The geotechnical studies contract with Converse Consultants was amended to add $35,013 to the amount and to stipulate the extra tasks. Cozad & Fox Inc., which is headquartered in Hemet, is responsible for survey work and that payment will be $16,734.

The Eastern Municipal Water District’s Groundwater Reliability Plus Program is intended to improve the quality and yield of water from the San Jacinto groundwater basin and includes the Purified Water Replenishment Project. The

Purified Water Replenishment Project will include recharge ponds, an advanced recycled water treatment facility, a blending station and conveyance infrastructure. Phase 1 of that project will recharge up to 4,000 acre-feet per year of a blend of advanced treated water and recycled water into recharge ponds along the San Jacinto River corridor. The Purified Water Replenishment Advanced Water Purification Facility will be located adjacent to the San Jacinto Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility.

In November 2021, the EMWD board awarded the final design contract for the Purified Water Replenishment Advanced Water Treatment Facility Project to Brown and Caldwell, which is headquartered in Irvine. The original amount was $3,178,723, including subconsultants for brine management e ngineering, membrane design, acoustical engineering services, corrosion engineering, fire protection, geotechnical studies, plumbing and ventilation, landscaping and surveying.

During the development of the design, EMWD management identified the need to re-evaluate the building and site layout to address necessary updates to building size and function including public access and tours as well as an increase in operation and maintenance staff.

The building layout was expanded to include office space, a shower and locker rooms, conference rooms, sufficient mechanical maintenance room and architectural features, which match the San Jacinto Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility Control Building.

A decision was also made to separate the Advanced Water Purification Facility final design phase from the Purified Water Replenishment conveyance pipeline design. As the detailed design of the Advanced Water Purification Facility advanced, EMWD staff also determined a requirement to expand the scope for reverse osmosis permeate piping through the San Jacinto Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility site due to the extensive and overlapping coordination with facility operations and existing underground utilities. EMWD staff also expressed a preference for onsite generation due to the increasing cost of bulk chemicals and supply chain delivery issues.

Brown and Caldwell’s expanded scope includes evaluation and additional plans and profiles to route the reverse osmosis permeate pipeline through the existing San Jacinto Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility to a location suitable for transition to the future conveyance pipeline project design. Brown and Caldwell will also add the facilities to accommodate on-site generation of sodium hypochlorite, which will require additional vendor coordination and equipment selection, resizing of the chemical feeding and storage system and modifications to associated equipment layout. EMWD staff and Brown and Caldwell negotiated the $280,174 fee amount for the additional design tasks.

In April 2022, Converse Consultants, which is based in Redlands, received a $94,020 contract to perform a fault investigation. All features encountered were confirmed to be secondary seismic features rather than primary faulting, so no additional design mitigation measures were necessary. The September 2022 storm, however, flooded the excavated trench, which increased time and costs for Converse Consultants. A fee of $35,014 was negotiated for additional costs to complete the investigation and to backfill the trench.

The addition of the permeate piping evaluation and design requires additional topographic and field surveys. Cozad & Fox has performed multiple surveys to support work at the San Jacinto Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility site. A fee of $16,734 with Cozad & Fox was negotiated to perform the additional survey.

The final design previously had a May 2023 completion estimate, and the changes create a new expected completion date of December 2023. The project is expected to be advertised for construction in February 2024.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at jnaiman@reedermedia. com.

Ardurra to design Redhawk Parkway recycled water pipeline replacement

Joe Naiman

Writer

Ardurra Group Inc., will design the replacement of the Rancho California Water District’s Redhawk Parkway recycled water pipeline.

The RCWD board voted 7-0 March 9 to award Ardurra, which is headquartered in Tampa and has an office in Temecula, a $249,841 professional services contract for the design and bid phase engineering services. The board also approved total new appropriations of $375,000 which will cover RCWD staff labor costs, permitting, and bid advertisement expenses along with a $40,000 contingency amount.

The project will replace approximately 3,600 linear feet of 16-inch diameter polyvinyl chloride recycled water pipeline which is located within Redhawk Parkway. The section of pipe has experienced three pipe failures since 2017, including two within the last 20 months. RCWD staff issued a request for proposals for final design and bid phase support services on Nov. 22 and received three responses by the Jan. 12 deadline.

The Ardurra bid amount was $249,841. Krieger & Stewart had the lowest bid at $228,000, but the California Government Code requires professional services agreements to be awarded based on demonstrated competence and the professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required rather than on the lowest price.

RCWD staff deemed that Ardurra provided the best and most complete proposal for the work because Ardurra’s proposal demonstrated a strong understanding of the project including identifying potential issues with proposed solutions along with a detailed scope of services, Ardurra’s project manager has successfully worked with the district on five relevant projects, the Ardurra proposal highlighted the importance of selecting a pipeline alignment which minimizes traffic- related issues during construction and provided an appropriate level of effort to prepare detailed traffic control plans, and Ardurra’s project team includes an in-house traffic engineer with 36 years of experience who will be responsible for developing a traffic control strategy which minimizes impacts on the community. options

We can talk through your financial goals and find the option that works best for you.

The current estimated cost for the actual construction is $2.7 million. California Environmental Quality Act analysis and documentation will be prepared during the final design, although the replacement of an existing facility with no expanded use will likely result in a Notice of Exemption.

John Wayne’s former 2,000-acre ranch listed by Coldwell Banker Realty

Rancho Pavoreal, the former 2,000-acre ranch of John Wayne, has been listed for $12,000,000 by Tatiana Novick, an agent affiliated with the Rancho Santa Fe office of Coldwell Banker Realty. Located at 43000 Stanley Road in Hemet, the approximately 3,000-squarefoot residence has three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get your hands on the former ranch of the iconic western film star John Wayne,” Novick said. “As an action hero to many, John Wayne’s presence still lives on in Rancho Pavoreal’s very masculine and western aesthetic.”

Located in Sage, a small agricultural community just 20 minutes from Temecula Wine Country, this incredible ranch sits about halfway between San Diego to the south and Palm Springs to the northeast. The ranch is entirely fenced and cross-fenced with plenty of room for horses and cattle. In addition to a stucco ranch house and old barn, there are three wells, horse trails and panoramic views of the surrounding valley and Palomar Mountain. An outdoor enthusiast’s dream, the surrounding area contains acres of wildlife habitat, desert plateaus, river gorges, high alpine county, blue skies and starry nights.

“Upon John Wayne’s passing, this property was transformed into a dude ranch, where visitors saw it as a ‘home away from home’

Valley News/Courtesy photos

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta, introduced Senate Constitutional Amendment 4 to fight for taxpayers’ rights to leave homes and businesses to their children after their passing.

After Proposition 19’s narrow passage in 2020, voters discovered a lesser-known implication of the law, which capped the value of family homes that can be inherited without additional taxation at one million dollars and held a contingency that a family member must reside in the home for the remainder of their life, severely limiting property, land and business inheritances in California.

SCA 4 would reinstate Propositions 58 and 193, which protected families and their rights to keep their childhood homes when parents or grandparents pass away and undo the damage done by Proposition 19.

“We should be making it easier for Californians to inherit property without asking them to pay through the nose in additional taxes,” Seyarto said. “Tax reassessments on inherited property often lead to the family being forced to sell their homes or close down their business, which is an unacceptable consequence for hard-working families who are trying to set themselves and future generations up for success. Economic mobility cannot be achieved unless we let people own what they create through decades of hard work.”

“For more than 30 years, hardworking California families had a constitutional protection that helped them climb the economic ladder. And now, it’s gone,” Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said.

“Proposition 19 took away the right to transfer property between parents and children without a massive tax increase. We must fix this before more families are forced to sell the properties their parents worked so hard to acquire.”

If SCA 4 passes both the Senate and Assembly, it will go to the governor for signature and put to the voters for ratification.

Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta, represents California’s 32nd Senate District, which includes the cities and communities of Aguanga, Anz a, Borrego Springs, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Chino Hills, Corona, Desert Edge, Desert Hot Springs, El Sobrante, French Valley, Good Hope, Hemet, Homeland, Idyllwild, Julian, La Cresta, Lake Elsinore, Lake Mathews, Lakeland Village, Menifee, Mead Valley, Meadowbrook, Murrieta, Norco, Palm Springs, Sage, Sky Valley, Riverside, Temecula, Temescal Valley, Thousand Palms, Valle Vista, Whitewater, Wildomar, Winchester, Woodcrest and Yorba Linda.

Submitted by the office of Sen. Kelly Seyarto.