TO: Indian River County Board of County Commissioners
THROUGH: John A. Titkanich, Jr, County Administrator
Sean C. Lieske, Director of Utility Services
FROM: Howard G. Richards, PE, Manager, Capital Projects
DATE: June 14, 2025
SUBJECT: Amendment 1 to Agreement RFQ 2024039 Integrated Water Master Plan with HDR Engineering, Inc., for Wabasso Causeway Bridge Reuse Main Visual Assessment, IRCDUS Project ID: 31.24.509
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BACKGROUND
To address anticipated increasing growth within Indian River County (IRC), the Department of Utility Services (IRCDUS) is undertaking the development of an Integrated Water Master Plan (IWMP) to help ensure continued availability of water, wastewater, and reuse services to its customers. The IWMP involves comprehensive analyses and assessments of current conditions and future demand for services to define short- and long-range Capital Improvement Plans (CIP) for IRCDUS. HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR) was contracted to perform the IWMP project (IRCDUS Project ID: 00.23.547) for a total approved budget of $3,218,590.00.
HDR’s IWMP scope includes conducting condition assessments of horizontal (linear) assets to “develop estimates of remaining useful life (RUL), likelihood of failure (LOF), consequence of failure (COF), and overall risk using desktop data”. The IRCDUS horizontal asset base includes two (2) 12-inch diameter reuse water mains that are suspended along the Wabasso Causeway Bridge over the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), an environmentally sensitive estuary, and Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) that serve customers on the barrier island. Constructed in 1995, one of the mains was previously utilized for potable water and the other for sewer transmission before converting to reuse in 2003. Both mains are considered critical, in that failure can result in negative consequences for the County. For optimal management of assets to minimize total cost of ownership (TCO) at acceptable levels of risks, condition assessments (CA) of critical assets (high consequences of failure) are typically performed more than once, because the mode by which an asset could fail can change over time.
A condition assessment of the pipeline bridge-mounted aerial crossings along the Wabasso Causeway Bridge, was conducted in January and February 2016 to evaluate the conditions of the pipes, coatings, hangers, and linings. The approximately 3,400 linear feet (LF) of pipeline was separated into the main bridge sections: Bridge 1 (west low bridge), Bridge 2 (center low bridge), Bridge 3 (eastward low bridge), and Bridge 4 (high bridge over the ICW). The study concluded there was a range of deterioration including wall thickness losses, severely weathered coatings, and minimal internal corrosion, and that the hangers were in good condition overall. The report did not recommend any major intervention and instead recommended a reevaluation in 10 years (by 2026). Subsequently, a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) bridge profile inspection report completed on November 11, 2022, indicated and recommended cleaning and painting or replacement, if necessary, the utility hangers in several locations. A photograph of one hanger showed section loss of material.
Based on the previous reports and staff’s concern, the current IRCDUS CIP includes a project to replace the Wabasso Causeway Bridge reuse mains (IRCDUS Project ID: 31.24.509), with the optimal timing of the project to be determined under the IWMP study.
ANALYSIS
Conducting the reevaluation of the Wabasso Causeway Bridge reuse mains is critical for the completion of the IWMP to refine and update the Department’s CIP. Based on the FDOT report and other “distant” observations, there is consensus that the pipe hangers could be an imminent failure point. Not all, but failure of one could cause a domino effect leading to major damage. Upon reviewing the previous reports and discussions with IRCDUS staff, HDR recommends visual inspections of the mains along Bridges 2 and 4 to observe the condition of pipe coating, joints, anchors and other appurtenances, and take discrete wall thickness measurements, which will culminate in a technical memorandum outlining the need for rehabilitation as well as areas of concern along the lengths of the mains.
HDR provided the attached Scope of Services as Amendment 1 to Agreement RFQ 2024039 Integrated Water Master Plan for Wabasso Bridge Reuse Main Visual Assessment. HDR’s proposed compensation is on a time and materials basis and a not-to-exceed (NTE) amount of $293,128.00. To ensure seamless integration of rehabilitation or other course of action for the Wabasso Causeway Bridge reuse mains with the IWMP CIP development, IRCDUS proposes that the BCC approves the proposed Amendment 1 to HDR. Upon approval of Amendment 1. The total approved budget for the IWMP will increase to $3,511,718.00.
BUDGETARY IMPACT
Funds, in the amount of $293,128.00, for this project are budgeted and available in the Utilities/General & Engineering/Other Professional Services/Wabasso Bridge Reuse Main Renewal account, number 47123636-24509, in the Utilities operating fund. The Utilities operating fund budget is derived from water and sewer revenues.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTIONS
On June 18, 2024, the BCC approved Final Ranking of Firms and Selection of HDR Engineering, Inc. for RFQ 2024039 Integrated Water Master Plan for the IRCDUS.
On September 24, 2024, the BCC approved Award of Request for Qualifications 2024039 Integrated Water Master Plan to HDR Engineering, Inc.
On May 6, 2025, a six-month update of the IWMP was presented to the BCC. No action was required.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
Infrastructure: Planning, constructing, managing, and maintaining critical public infrastructure in response to our current needs, future demands, and the expectations of our community; embracing innovation, technology, and resiliency.
Governance: Delivering high quality local government services and managing resources in a financially responsible and sustainable manner, embracing accountability, transparency, innovation, performance, customer service, and community engagement; the hallmarks of good governance.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners approve Amendment 1 to Agreement RFQ 2024039 Integrated Water Master Plan with HDR Engineering, Inc. for Wabasso Causeway Bridge Reuse Main Visual Assessment, IRCDUS Project ID: 31.24.509 for an additional budget not-to-exceed $293,128.00 and authorize the Chair to execute it after review and approval by the County Attorney as to form and legal sufficiency. So long as there are no changes in the dollar amount under the agreement and upon adequate completion of the services set forth in the agreement, staff is directed to make final payment to HDR Engineering, Inc.