CLEARWATER, Fla., April 11, 2000 — A team led by USFilter
was awarded a 15-year contract to design, build and operate (DBO) a 60-million-gallon
per day, state-of-the-art regional surface water treatment plant for Tampa Bay
Water.
Tampa Bay Water's board of directors approved the
$135 million agreement, one of the largest water treatment DBO contracts
in the United States and an essential component of Tampa Bay Water's
plan to meet the region's need for new water supplies. The contract
includes approximately $79 million in capital costs and $56 million in
operation and maintenance fees over the initial 15-year term and a five
year option period. The new water treatment plant will treat water at
a rate of 53.9 cents per thousand gallons, significantly lower than earlier
estimates. The agency will own and finance the facility.
"We're pleased with the way negotiations progressed
and are ready to begin the project delivery," said Charles Carden, Tampa
Bay Water project manager and lead negotiator. "Besides having the most
complete proposal and the best technical solution, the USFilter team's
proposal represented a good value. Our member governments and their customers
are assured an even better value than originally anticipated, as the contract
provides higher guaranteed water quality and several project enhancements at
a lower price than specified in the original proposal."
The powerhouse team includes some of the biggest national and
international names in water treatment plant design, technology, construction
and service, as well as a strong local presence. USFilter's design, construction
and operations expertise is teamed with Camp Dresser & McKee's design
power and Clark Construction's specialty in design-build projects.
"We commend Tampa Bay Water on its procurement process
that steered away from politics and asked potential partners to get straight
to the technical fundamentals of the project," said Mike Stark, executive
vice president and general manager of USFilter Operating Services. "This
enabled all companies to put their full energy toward providing creative solutions
and alternative designs that offer additional cost savings and long-term value."
The USFilter team plans to use a patented process called ACTIFLO
®, that is widely used throughout the world and is particularly advantageous
when treating large flow rates with variable raw water quality, the conditions
anticipated for the regional water treatment plant. The facility will
treat water from the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers and Tampa Bypass Canal to
standards that exceed the current EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements for
potable water.
A large-scale pilot testing program USFilter executed at the
Lake Manatee Water Treatment Plant demonstrated that the technology offered
better finished water quality, improved process reliability, reduced treatment
costs and reduced space requirements over the conventional flocculation-sedimentation
design specified in the base bid requirements.
The DBO contract is a relatively new form of public/private
partnership in the water industry. The approach takes advantage of recently
permitted long-term relationships between public utility owners and private
service vendors. A DBO project challenges the traditional procurement approach
by focusing on risk management and project performance, resulting in the owner
contracting with a single, unified design, construction and operations team.
Water agencies like the approach because of the potential for saving 10 to 20
percent of construction costs and 20 to 40 percent of operating costs.
Carden says that Tampa Bay Water estimates their total project
savings to be 21 percent or approximately $85 million over the 20-year life
cycle of the project.
The water treatment plant is the linchpin of Tampa Bay
Water's Master Water Plan, which will develop 53 million gallons per day
(mgd) by 2003 and an additional 58 mgd by 2008. The facility is scheduled to
begin treating water by December 2002 and will provide water to the utilities
of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties including the cities of St. Petersburg
and Tampa.
An extensive developer selection process began in April 1999,
when a request for qualifications was issued. Nine proposals from four developer
teams were submitted last October and evaluated over a two-month period.
The plant will be built on a 435-acre tract of land located
in an industrial area near Broadway and U.S. 301 in the Brandon area.
Tampa Bay Water is the largest wholesale water supplier in
Florida, providing high-quality drinking water to its members, who in turn supply
water to nearly 2 million residents of the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Bay Water member
governments include the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa
and the counties of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas.
USFilter,
a Vivendi Water company, is the leading global provider of commercial,
industrial, municipal and residential water and wastewater treatment systems,
products and services, with operations in more than 100 countries. USFilter,
which is based in Palm Desert, Calif. invites you to visit its website
at http://www.usfilter.com.
PR-202, 04/11/2000
USFILTER
40-004 COOK STREET
PALM DESERT, CA 92211
(760) 340-0098
MICHELLE KLASE
TAMPA BAY WATER
2535 LANDMARK DRIVE,
SUITE 211,
CLEARWATER, FL 33761-3930
PHONE: 727.796.2355
FAX: 727.791.2388
http://www.tampabaywater.org
CHRISTIE KALUZA
USFILTER OPERATING SERVICES
15403 VANTAGE
PARKWAY 320
HOUSTON, TX 77080
PHONE: (281) 986-3422
FAX: (281) 985-5630
E-MAIL: kaluzacm@usfilter.com
