Agenda Item: 15(d)
Prepared By: Jeffrey E. Poteet, General Manager
Business: City Council Item
Department: Water & Sewer
Subject:
Title
Award of Contract to Eaton Corporation, Electrical Engineering Services and Systems for the South Water Treatment Plant Switchgear Upgrades Project in the Amount of $1,413,471.00 - Jeffrey E. Poteet, General Manager, Water and Sewer Department
Body
BACKGROUND:
The City of Marco Island operates two water treatment plants located on Marco Island. The North Water Treatment Plant (NWTP) is 6.67 million gallons per day (mgd) capacity facility, which treats raw water from Marco Lakes surface water supply using lime softening and microfiltration (MF). South Water Treatment Plant is 6.0 mgd capacity reverse osmosis (RO) treatment facility which desalts brackish groundwater from the Mid-Hawthorn aquifer wellfield located on the island.
The existing South Water Treatment Plant power system includes a transformer, an emergency generator and electrical switchgear designed to feed the water treatment plant. The electrical switchgear was installed in 1990 and consists of three motor control centers and three main circuit breakers. This existing electrical switchgear equipment is unreliable and has failed during hurricane events. Parts for the replacement of the existing switchgear are no longer manufactured, and city staff have had to purchase used replacement parts from eBay to maintain the plant in operation.
In 2019, the City hired an engineering firm to design the SWTP Generator Switchgear and Electrical Improvements. The design was completed, and the project was put out to bid in May 2021. The lowest bid received was $2,346,958.77. However, all bids were rejected due to insufficient funding.
In 2025, during an inspection of the SWTP electrical transformer, the manufacturer EATON recognized the outdated electrical switchgear system and proposed retrofitting the equipment within the existing enclosures. This approach offe...
Click here for full text