Inactive

Description: This is a Sources Sought Notice. This Sources Sought neither constitutes a Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. This Sources Soug... Description: This is a Sources Sought Notice. This Sources Sought neither constitutes a Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. This Sources Sought should not be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This Sources Sought Notice is in support of a market survey being conducted by the St. Louis District, Corps of Engineers to identify interested Contractors within the District area for the Scope of Work listed below. The following are general capabilities required to perform the Scope of Work according to USACE standards. The Contractor must be capable to perform the Scope of Work listed below. Work Statement: Project Description The Bois Brule Levee District plans to install 10 to 30 D-type relief wells to mitigate uncontrolled underseepage along the levee. The wells range in depth from 70 feet to 95 feet below ground surface. Screen slot sizes vary between 30 and 40 slot. Soil conditions may encounter cobble zones and other obstructions in achieving these depths. Contractor Reporting and Quality Control Responsibilities Prospective relief well contractors shall have at minimum 5-years' experience in drilling and installing relief wells, well development, and pumping test and be licensed/permitted to work in the state of Missouri. Contractor shall be familiar with the subsurface conditions and challenges of drilling relief wells in the Mississippi River alluvium as well as the equipment needed to advance the wells to the specified depth. The Contractor shall have the following equipment as specified in the sections below on hand to adequate install the relief well in an efficient manner, develop, and conduct a well pumping test. Equipment will include, but not be limited to those listed in this document. Contractor-supplied shop drawings shall include proposed methods for drilling, coupling well screen and riser sections, installing well screen and riser, backfilling, developing, and performing relief well pumping tests. The Contractor's quality control organization shall be responsible to observe and control, for compliance with the technical specifications, all relief well construction and repair including but not limited to the following: maintain Government survey layout, materials, drilling method, joints, bottom plug, materials storage, well pipe assembly and installation, backfilling, cleaning, development, pumps, pumping test, earthwork, discharge channels and safety. Completed relief wells shall be protected against damage and contamination. When quality control monitoring or testing detects non-conformance with specifications, corrective action shall be directed. The details of the irregularities and the actions directed to correct them shall be reported immediately to the representative of the Contracting Officer and included in the daily Quality Control report. Corrective action shall include steps taken to assure against recurrence of the irregularity. Reports shall include, for each new relief well, ENG form 1836 "Drilling Log", WES Form 797 "Relief Well Installation Report", WES Form 796 "Relief Well Pumping Test Report", and ENG Form 2087 "Gradation Curves" for filter pack samples. Well Drilling Specialist The Contractor shall submit to the Contracting Officer, for review and approval within 10 days of Notice to Proceed, summaries of qualifications and references for the Well Drilling Specialist(s). Well drilling shall not proceed until the well drilling specialist has been approved by the Government. The Contractor shall designate a well drilling specialist for each work shift. The well drilling specialist shall have a minimum of five years' experience in the water well industry and relief well specific installation, and shall be familiar with the subsurface conditions and operation of all equipment and machinery required to install high-capacity water wells in Mississippi River alluvium. Environmental Protection In order to properly construct relief wells as specified, the Contractor shall have all material, equipment, and experience personnel mobilized; and all equipment necessary for the job operating in a manner adequate to achieve properly constructed relief wells. Loss of a hole or well because of lack of material, inadequate or faulty equipment, or careless operating procedures will be considered cause for an abandoned well due to fault of the Contractor. Well Screen/Riser Pipe Well riser and screen shall be stainless steel of the requested schedule, as provided by the Contracting Officer and a continuous screen slot, wire-wound well screen that is approximately equally around the circumference of the pipe. Screen openings shall be uniform in size and pattern, and fabricated by circumferentially wrapping a triangularly shaped wire around a circular array of internal rods. The wire configuration shall produce inlet slots with sharp outer edges, widening inwardly to minimize clogging. Each juncture between the horizontal wire and the vertical rods shall be fusion welded under water by the electrical resistance method. End fittings shall be welded to the screen body. All pipes, rods, bars, wire, and fittings shall be stainless steel conforming to ASTM A 312, Grade TP 304. Well riser pipe and screen are typically in diameters of 10 inches or 12 inches. Typical well screens are 30-slot or 40-slot. The bottom plug for each well screen shall be made of the same material and at least the same minimum thickness as the screen. Plugs shall be the same diameter as the outside of the screen and fastened to the bottom screen portion in an approved manner. Reverse Circulation Drilling and Other Methods Reverse circulation drilling is the appropriate method for drilling and installing the relief wells. Using this technique, water is introduced to the hole, as augers typically drill into the subsurface. The cuttings are pulled through the drill stem and pumped out of the hole. Rigs with the means to supply the reverse circulation drilling technique shall be utilized. The diameter of the hole shall be such that will permit the placement of the thickness of filter pack. The use of a bentonite drilling fluid is prohibited. Temporary casing of iron and steel shall be used to support sides of hole during drilling activities, screen, riser pipe, and filter pack placement and to support the sides of the open annulus portion of the hole during development of the well and the test pumping. If the walls of the hole above the top of the filter pack require support during development operations, a temporary casing shall be placed so as to extend from the ground surface to at least one foot below the top of the filter material. The Contractor shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining a minimum 7-foot head differential. Casing diameter must have a diameter large enough to provide minimum filter thickness and have sufficient thickness to retain its shape and maintain true section throughout its depth. The temporary casing shall be securely anchored to the drill rig or ground surface at all times until removed. The temporary casing shall be such as to permit its removal without interfering with the filter or riser pipe. Methods of installation, which will create a cavity outside the temporary casing, will not be permitted. To assist in the advancement of the hole and move passed obstructions, the following may be used in conjunction with or supplemental (as needed) to reverse circulation, and is not limited to; soil augers, bucket drills, and modified bucket augers with diameters from 26" for a 10" diameter well pipe to a proportionally appropriate diameter to include the 8" filter pack surrounding the pipe. Other drill types may be used if the bit will maintain the section and competency of the well sides. Contractor shall be able to demonstrate that they have the ability to locate and have used the equipment to drill the well to completion. Obstructions Encountered The Contractor may encounter the presence of cobbles/boulders and/or in-situ wood. Contractor shall have multiple methods available to advance the hole passed all obstructions and achieve the depths required for the well. The presence of cobbles/boulders or in-situ wood, which may be encountered during drilling, shall not be considered as obstructions or sufficient reason for abandonment of a well. Where obstructions are encountered, drilling shall be continued using all means and methods, until it is demonstrated to the USACE Contracting Officer that further efforts to advance the drill hole are impracticable. If rendered impracticable, the Contracting Officer may adjust the depth to conform to that of the obstruction or may direct the Contractor to abandon the well and construct another at an adjacent site. At no time will circulation continue with no advancement, for longer than 30 minutes. Pipe and Screen Installation The assembled riser pipe and screen shall be placed in the hole in such manner as to avoid jarring impacts and to ensure that the assembly is centered and not damaged or disconnected. After the screen and riser pipe have been placed, a filter pack shall be constructed around the screen section. Verticality Each well shall be installed and maintained straight and plumb during placement of filter and development. Immediately before placing the filter pack and with the top of the well fastened securely in a vertical and horizontal position, the Contracting Officer may elect to perform verticality tests to check alignment and plumbness. This test, if performed, will be performed using approved methods to verify the verticality of the well. Filter Pack Placement The filter pack shall be placed in a tremie hopper so constructed and balanced that filter material will feed freely and equally to two tremie pipes located at 180 degrees on each side of the screen. The Contractor shall be equipped to quickly and efficiently add filter material to the hopper in any position from the ground surface to the maximum height of the hopper. The filter pack material shall be placed using clean water introduced at bottom of hopper and without significant segregation. Tremie pipe shall consist of two rigid 4-inch inside diameter tremies with no obstructions. The tremie pipes shall consist of equal 5 foot lengths of standard 4-inch pipe with 1/16 inch wide equally spaced slotted openings. A tremie guide with consist of shall consist of a metal ring or rings of sufficient diameter to slip freely over riser pipe and screen with 4 inch collars welded to the guide at 180 degrees to securely hold the tremie pipe in place. The filter pack shall have a thickness of 8 inches between the outside of the well screen and the outside of the filter pack. The filter pack shall be placed in increments not to exceed 2 feet. The tremie and temporary casing shall be raised in small increments approximately equal to the increments of the filter pack placed, except that at no time prior to the completion of placement of the filter pack shall the bottom of the casing be less than 1 foot below the top of the filter pack in the hole. The Contractor shall provide a means of measuring the filter pack depth in the hole. Well Development and Equipment The well development shall be accomplished by high-velocity, horizontal jetting and simultaneous airlift pumping. The outside diameter of the jetting tool shall be 1/2 to 1 inch less than the inside diameter of the screen. The exit velocity of the jetting fluid shall be between 150 and 300 fps and have a pressure at the nozzle of approximately 200 psi. A water level indicator, bubbler tube, or other approved means shall be used for accurately determining the water level in the well under all conditions. Sizing of the eductor pipe, airline, and air compressor shall be adequate to efficiently pump the well at a rate from 10 to 20 percent more than the volume of water introduced through the jetting tool. If at any time during the development process it becomes apparent that the well may be damaged, operations shall be immediately stopped. If after initial development and 6 hours of additional development, a well continues to produce excess sand, the Contracting Officer may order the Contractor to abandon the well. Development Records The Contractor shall obtain and furnish to the representative of the Contracting Officer for record purposes the elevation of the water in each well before and after the development pumping, the flow in gpm at the completion of the pumping and the time of observation. The water surface elevation shall be obtained immediately before starting the surge pump and the water surface elevation and flow shall be obtained just before stopping the pump upon completion of the development pumping. This data shall be recorded on WES Form 797. Pumping Test The Contractor shall perform pumping tests to determine whether the new wells have been adequately developed. Prior to the relief well pumping test the Contractor shall determine that ground water levels are sufficient to cover the well screen. In the event that ground water levels are low enough to expose the well screen, no pumping test shall be performed. Development shall continue until the sand content of the discharge, per well, averages no more than 5 milligrams of sand per Liter of discharge water (5 mg/L) for a complete pumping cycle of 2 hours duration when pumping at a minimum constant rate of 500 gpm or underseepage design flow required, if higher than 500 gpm. Pumping Test Equipment The Contractor shall provide a deep-well submersible pump capable of producing the specified discharge over a period sufficient to satisfactorily perform the pumping test specified. The Contractor shall provide, without additional cost to the Government, the electrical power, control box and the necessary wiring which shall be removed at the completion of the pumping test. The Contractor shall provide means for accurately determining the water level in the well to within 0.01 foot, under all conditions. Flow Meter The Contractor shall furnish and install a calibrated flow meter of standard design for measuring the discharge from the well during the pumping test. The meter shall have an accuracy within 1% of measured flow or better and a turndown ratio of between 4:1 and 8:1. Meter shall also be equipped with a totalizing register. The calibration of the flow meter shall be checked as specified by the manufacturer. Calibration record shall be provided prior to testing. Rossum Sand Sampler The Contractor shall furnish an approved Rossum centrifugal sand sampler and appurtenant piping and valving for accurate determination of the discharge sand content. Pumping Test Procedure The Contractor shall test each well by pumping continuously for a minimum of two hours. The pumping shall be at a constant rate sufficient to produce a minimum discharge of 500 gpm or the underseepage design flow required if higher than 500 gpm, or 10 feet of drawdown, whichever is less. No test pumping of a well will be permitted when wells are flowing or concurrently with drilling or pumping of any other well within a radius of 500 feet. Pumping Test Recording Data shall be recorded on WES Form 796 "Relief Well Pumping Test Report", a copy of which will be furnished to the Contractor. It includes: (1) Time of water level measurement, (2) Depth of water in well before, during, and after pumping, (3) Flow in gpm and cumulative volume, (4) Elevation of water in well before and after pumping, (5) Elevation of water in 4 closest adjacent wells or piezometers before, and during, and after pumping, when requested by the Contracting Officer, (6) The depth of sand in well before, during, and after pumping, and (7) Sand content of discharge in mg/L ppm. If sands or other materials infiltrate the well as a result of the pumping test and hasn't been reduced during the latter part of the two-hours to 5 mg/L or less, the well will be resurged by the test pump for 20 minutes after which, the test pumping will be resumed at a minimum constant rate of 500 gpm or the underseepage design flow required, whichever is higher, until the sand infiltration rate is reduced to 5 mg/L, but not for more than a total of 8 hours. If the sand infiltration rate has not decreased, the well will be abandoned at no cost to the government, except that the Contractor may elect to continue the test pumping and perform such other approved remedial work considered desirable, all at the Contractor's own expense. If, after such additional test pumping and other remedial measures, the sand infiltration rate of a well is reduced to 5 mg/L (ppm), the well will be accepted. Unacceptable wells shall be abandoned with a new well installed at a location directed by the Contracting Officer. Well Sealing After each new well has been developed the annular space above the filter pack shall be backfilled by extending the filter pack a minimum of 24 inches above the top of the screen or higher, if necessary to achieve the design grade. Five feet of bentonite chips shall be backfilled above the filter pack to create a seal. The remainder of the hole shall be filled with either a cement-bentonite mixture tremied into place or concrete, where the height drop does not exceed 8 feet. A tremie equipped with a side deflector will prevent jetting of a hole through the sand and into the filter. "D"-Type Wells The outlet works shall consist of a well guard with check valve, cover plate, concrete pad, numbering/welding and other appurtenant items as shown on drawings following this scope. Well Guard The well guard shall consist of a section of 20 inch diameter, stainless steel Type 304, continuous slot well screen. End fittings shall be welded to the screen body. The width of the clear space between the wire wrappings shall be 0.250 inches. The wire wrappings shall be composed of "130" wire. Welding rings shall be furnished on both ends of the screen and stainless steel 3x3 angles (4) welded to the weld rings. The guard screen shall be attached to the concrete pad by bolting of well guard by the angles to the embedded bolts of the concrete pad as shown on drawings following this scope. Concrete Pad Contractors shall be prepared to construct concrete well pads using formwork to maintain the pads integrity. Earthwork may be required around the pad to provide an adequate level surface and prevent pad "float" and erosion beneath the pad. Dimensions and details of the concrete are project-specific. Earth-moving equipment may include front-end loaders, excavators, and hand equipment. Check Valve The check valves shall be fabricated in accordance with details shown on construction drawings supplied by the government. The aluminum parts, at the Contractor's option, may be any one or a combination of aluminum alloys 3005 H14, 6061 T 4, or T6. The 3/8 inch diameter aluminum guide rods shall be carefully bent to avoid flattening at the bends. The seat for the check valve shall be constructed of two 1/4-inch aluminum plates and a neoprene gasket, all bolted together as indicated on the drawings. The bolt holes shall be formed by drilling or punching the aluminum plates and neoprene gasket. The neoprene gasket shall have a thickness of 1/2-inch and shall be fabricated from neoprene gasket material. The aluminum guide rods and aluminum lifting ring shall be connected to the plates by welding conforming to the applicable provisions of the AA Specification SAS-30. The check valve shall be temporarily installed on top of the riser pipe immediately after completion of the development pumping, and thereafter shall be kept in place on the pipe at all times, except during pumping, cleaning operations, and actual addition of riser pipe during installation until the total length of the riser pipe is installed. Immediately after the riser pipe is installed to final height, the top of the riser pipe shall be modified for proper fitting of the check valve. Cover Plate The top of the well guard shall be fitted with a detachable Type 304 stainless steel cover plate as shown on the drawings. The plate shall be 1/4-inch in thickness and shall have a diameter of 21 inches. The cover plate shall be attached to the well guard using brass 5/8-inch bolts, and stainless steel washers and nuts. The nuts shall be tack welded onto the underside of the angles attached to the weld ring of the outlet works as shown on drawings following this scope. Numbering On all new "D"- Type well guards installed, the well number shall be bead-welded onto stainless steel plates. The numbered plates shall be ¼-inch thick and 6-inches in length. The numbered plates shall be tack-welded onto the upper side of the outlet works, facing the levee crown, and the lid. "T"-Type Wells The outlet works shall consist of precast concrete manholes, lateral pipes and flap gates, check valve, embedded bronze survey markers, and other appurtenant items. Contractors shall have experience constructing and installing the collector systems. Well Guard The well guard shall consist of a section of 36-inch diameter, reinforced concrete pipe, extending from the concrete well pad to 2 feet above the average existing ground elevation. The well guard pipe shall be provided with access ladder rungs, which shall support the weight of a 250 lb. person, shall meet the safety requirements of EM 385-1-1, and that do not restrict access to the top of the 8 or 10 -inch riser pipe and check valve movement. Check Valve Check valve requirements are the same as "D"-type wells above. Bronze Survey Markers The bronze survey markers shall be provided by the government. The Contractor shall add markings to indicate each individual relief well number and elevation of marker. Relief well numbering is located in the drawings. Backfill Backfill for the "T" type relief wells shall conform to the requirements as specified in the drawings. The final backfill surface including the topsoil shall be flush with the surrounding ground surfaces. The channel slope protection shall be filled and backfilled. SOURCE SOUGHT: NAICS CODE: 237990 Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction SIZE STANDARD: $36.5 Million CONTRACT ESTIMATED RANGE: More than $10,000,000 ANTICIPATED SOLICITATION RELEASE DATE: Any solicitation for the nature of work described in this sources sought is subject to the availability of funds. Should funding become available the Government will use responses to this notice as Market Research to develop an acquisition strategy. Any solicitation(s) for this type of work will be made public as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation at the Government Point of Entry (www.fbo.gov). POINT OF CONTACT: Responses are to be sent via email to Kristina Baker, at Kristina.J.Baker@usace.army.mil no later than 12:00 p.m. Central Time, 1 November 2017. SUBMISSION DETAILS: All interested, responsive and responsible SAM Database registered businesses are encouraged to participate in this sources sought by emailing the required information below to the point of contact listed above. If you are not SAM registered, please do so at www.sam.gov. Interested businesses shall include the following information to be considered for this Sources Sought announcement: 1. Company name, address, point of contact, phone number/email address and CAGE Code 2. Company's interest if a solicitation for this project is issued 3. Company's business category and size 4. Company's capability to perform on the project description outlined above Answer the following questions: 1. Does the Contractor have at minimum 5 years' experience in drilling and installing relief wells, well development and pump testing? 2. Does the Contractor's staff contain a Well Drilling Specialist? 3. Do the Contractor's rigs have the ability to supply reverse drilling techniques? 4. Does the Contractor have multiple methods of clearing obstructions within the well? 5. Does the Contractor have the ability to install and maintain a straight and plum pipe and screen? 6. Is there experience with a Tremie Hopper and Filter Pack placement? 7. Does the Contractor show the ability to complete test pumping as described? 8. Is there a history of the Contractor providing "D" and "T" Type Wells?