California American Water Selects CDM Constructors, Inc. to Design and Build Monterey Desalination Facility

After a nine-month procurement process, California American Water has selected CDM Constructors, Inc. to design and build the desalination facility proposed as part of its $320-million Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project. CDM Constructors ranked highest of the four finalists on a combined business, technical and price evaluation. CDM Constructors submitted a proposal of $86 million for the desalination facility portion of the project, which is consistent with earlier estimates from a consulting engineering firm. CDM Constructors’ bid was the lowest of the four proposers, with other proposals ranging from $90-110 million.

“All four firms had some great technical concepts and innovations, but CDM Constructors’ proposal scored highest overall in our team’s ranking criteria,” said California American Water’s Vice President of Engineering Rich Svindland.

CDM Constructors is a wholly-owned, design-build and general construction subsidiary corporation of CDM Smith which was founded in 1947. CDM Smith’s team brings proven technical expertise gained from other similar projects locally, nationally and throughout the world, including seven in California and more than 35 international desalination projects. Their projects involving advanced membrane treatment in California include two Monterey Peninsula successes - the Sand City desalination facility, which produces potable water from brackish groundwater, and the Pebble Beach Company’s reclamation project, which irrigates golf courses with highly-treated recycled water.

“We’re looking forward to being part of the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project team,” said Stephen Hickox, CDM Smith Chairman and CEO. “The project provides a forward-thinking and environmentally sensitive approach to solving a very serious water supply shortage. We understand the time constraints and have the capability to deliver the desalination project the Monterey Peninsula community needs.”

California American Water identified its preferred firm after short-listing responses to its Request for Qualifications, issuing a Request for Proposals to those firms and conducting formal interviews. The company will now send the statements of qualifications, proposals and reports regarding its findings along with a draft contract to the project’s Governance Committee, which will have ten days to conduct its own review and make further recommendations. The committee is set to discuss the matter in public during a special meeting set for Wednesday, December 11, 9:30 am, at the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District office located at 5 Harris Court in Monterey.

The Governance Committee is made up of representatives from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and California American Water. The committee was formed in early 2013 to provide an additional layer of public oversight and shares decision making authority with California American Water on several key aspects of the project.

“This is a major step toward solving the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply issue,” said California American Water’s President Rob MacLean. “This procurement has brought the most reputable desalination experts in the world to the table to compete in what has been a professional and thorough process. The residents of the Monterey Peninsula will have the opportunity to review our selection criteria via the Governance Committee’s public examination.”

The California Public Utilities Commission is currently reviewing the company’s application for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project and is scheduled to make a ruling on the application by August of 2014.

California American Water will post all of the proposals received on the project’s website www.watersupplyproject.org. More information on the project and the Governance Committee, including its meeting schedule and links to agendas and minutes can also be found on the website.

California American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK), provides high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 600,000 people.

Founded in 1886, American Water Works Company is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs approximately 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 14 million people in more than 30 states, and parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.