2003 AGN APR 15 I17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF COLTON Item #17 AGENDA REPORT For the Colton Utility Authority Meeting of April 15, 2003 TO: HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE COLTON UTILITY AUTHORITY FROM: ERIC FRASER, DIRECTOR OF WATER AND WASTEWATER OPERATIONS J�� SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF EMERGENCY RESOLUTION FOR SOLE SOURCE REPAIRS TO THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT'S BLOWER NO. 2 TO STEWART AND STEVENSON IN THE AMOUNT OF $52,026.17 DATE: April 3, 2003 BACKGROUND The Colton Water Reclamation Facility (CWRF) utilizes methane -burning engines to supply air for the biological treatment processes. There are currently two engines available for this purpose. There is also one back-up electric motor -driven blower. Due to the high cost to operate the electric blower (—$650/day), it is only used in emergency situations. The engine that drives Blower No. 2 failed and needed emergency repairs to ensure process reliability. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS The CWRF generates methane gas as part of the treatment process. This gas is used as a fuel source for two engines that drive blowers. The air produced by these blowers is utilized in the biological process and is necessary 24-hours-a-day/seven-days-a-week. Under current conditions, two blowers are needed to provide air for the biological process. Normally, both gas engines are operated to meet these air requirements. On December 26, 2002 during routine service it was discovered through oil analysis that the oil in Engine 2 was contaminated with dirt contaminates. The engine was taken out of service to prevent any further damage. Actions taken at that time were to flush the oil and filter, run it for 72 hours, and resample the oil. A second oil analysis indicated an increase in dirt contaminates. The engine also would not achieve normal operating speeds. A compression test was performed and it was discovered that 4 cylinders out of 8 had low compression. Further tests revealed that the engine needed extensive internal repair work. CWRF staff at that time made the determination that the engine needed to be repaired immediately due to operational and compliance demands of the facility. On January 7, 2003 Stewart and Stevenson was authorized by CWRF staff to perform repair work on the engine. Stewart and Stevenson were selected because they are the Regional Distributor (California, Arizona, and Nevada) for Waukesha engines. As a distributor, they stock most, if not all, of the necessary parts and they utilize factory trained service technicians to perform the repairs to factory specifications. There are other vendors in the areathat could perform this work but they would still have to purchase parts from Stewart and Stevenson. The labor cost of the other vendors is within a few dollars of Stewart and Stevenson. Thus, the savings if any, by having others perform the work would be negligible. In addition, if the City were to go to formal competitive bid for the repairs, it would incur additional costs of —$650 per day to operate the electric -powered blower while the bid specification is being prepared and the project is out to bid. This additional cost would quickly eliminate any potential savings that might be realized from the competitive bid process. It is important to note that Stewart and Stevenson is the sole source provider for the maintenance and repair of Waukesha engines for the Cities of San Bernardino and Corona, the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Crestline Sanitation District and the Orange County Sanitation District. The repairs to the engine include a one-year warranty on parts and labor. The cost to replace the engine would be approximately $90,000, not including AQMD permit costs. ALTERNATIVES No alternatives are available. The work has been completed.