ITEM:		ACTION ITEM (Revised on January 24, 2017)
14.	Consider AUTHORIZATION FOR GENERAL MANAGER TO CONTRACT FOR Los Padres Dam Alternatives Study
Meeting Date:			January 25, 2017	Budgeted:	Yes
From:			Dave Stoldt,	Program/	Augment Water Supply
			General Manager	Line Item No.:	1-1-2 Los Padres Dam Long Term Plan
Prepared By:			Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	$500,000 (reimbursable)
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Water Supply Planning Committee reviewed this item on January 11, 2017 and recommended approval. The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on January 18, 2016 and recommended approval.

SUMMARY: The District and Cal-Am are working cooperatively to develop a comprehensive long-term management plan for Los Padres Dam and Reservoir. In addition, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have a significant role in this effort by providing input and critical review of component studies.

Attached as Exhibit 14-A and Exhibit 14-B are proposals received from AECOM and MWH in response to the Request for Proposals for Los Padres Dam and Reservoir Alternatives and Sediment Management Study.

The proposed work focuses on three main alternatives: 1) management of existing and future sediment accumulation in the reservoir; 2) expansion of reservoir storage; and 3) dam removal. The work is related to efforts involving watershed and steelhead habitat modeling that the District will complete in 2017 and that will be used to inform analysis of the alternatives developed in the Los Padres Dam alternatives study.

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should accept the AECOM proposal and authorize the General Manager to enter into a contract with AECOM for a not-to-exceed amount of $500,000.

DISCUSSION:

Scope of Work: AECOM’s proposal included significantly more detail on the approach to the scope. This was true in every section except for the work to locate and obtain reservoir sediment samples, where the MWH proposal was more robust. AECOM’s proposal shows a clear understanding of the need to consider the water supply function of Los Padres Reservoir in a dam removal alternative and the proposal devotes a considerable amount of discussion to analyzing the impact to steelhead from potential changes in sediment load. There are some tasks in MWH’s proposal where it is not clear how the task would be accomplished.

Qualifications. AECOM’s team appears stronger overall and has relevant experience for this project both from previous and present work on the Carmel River and from other projects with similar issues around the State of California.

Project Management. It is noted that the AECOM team will include a Principal-in-Charge, Noel Wong, who served as Project Manager for the initial alternative evaluations for seismic mitigation at the San Clemente Dam. Interest in this project at a high level of management could assure a top quality product.

Cost. AECOM’s proposal at about $500,000 is almost 40% lower in cost than the MWH proposal at about $800,000. Expenses for this study are reimbursable under an agreement with Cal-Am and funding was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission as part of the 2015-2017 General Rate Case.

The Water Supply Planning Committee and the Administrative Committee concurred with staff’s recommendation to contract with AECOM. The Technical Review Committee for this study, which is comprised of staff from the District, Cal-Am, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the State Coastal Conservancy, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, also recommended selection of the AECOM proposal.

EXHIBITS

14-A AECOM proposal

14-B MWH proposal

The printed proposals are available upon request. They can also be viewed on the District’s web page at www.mpwmd.net/wp-content/uploads/Jan-18-2017-Pktv2.pdf under Item 3 in the Administrative Committee packet.

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