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Council awards $811,750 contract to install hydrodynamic separator at Greenville-Banning Channel
Summary
The city awarded a contract to install a hydrodynamic separator (HDS) to capture debris from stormwater inflow into the Greenville-Banning Channel. The project is funded in part by a $500,000 OCTA ECP grant; the low bid was $811,750 plus a 10% contingency.
The Costa Mesa City Council voted 7–0 on Feb. 4 to award a public-works contract to install a hydrodynamic separator (HDS) at the western boundary of the Costa Mesa Country Club, connecting the device to an existing storm drain to reduce debris and sediment entering the Greenville-Banning Channel.
City Engineer Sung Yang and Public Works Director Seth Raman told the council the device uses a cyclonic separation (a vortex) to settle out bottles, cans, sediment and other debris before cleaner stormwater discharges to the channel. Staff showed photos of recent debris after rain and explained the HDS is a flow-through device designed for a storm-drain connection.
The city received an Orange County Transportation Authority Measure M2 Environmental Cleanup Program (ECP, Tier 1) grant for $500,000 toward the project. The apparent low bidder on Nov. 12 was Susser Company (Los Angeles) with a base bid of $811,750; staff requested a 10% contingency ($81,175). Funding beyond the OCTA grant includes a $125,000 match from the city’s drainage fund and approximately $271,000 from the West Side storm drain improvements project to cover the project total.
Sung Yang said a short construction timeline is expected: roughly four to five months, with staff planning to start the contractor in April and complete the work in summer. Staff also recommended a CEQA categorical exemption for the installation.
Council questions focused on jurisdiction and cost-sharing. Public Works staff explained that as an MS4 permittee under the Clean Water Act the city shares responsibility to reduce pollutants entering natural waters; in this instance the storm-runoff catchment along Placentia feeds the installed device so the city is leading the installation while OCTA provides grant funding.
Councilmember Perez (asked about cost and timeline) and Councilmember Arledge Reynolds asked whether flood-control channels are county responsibilities; staff explained the device treats stormwater before it reaches the county channel and that OCTA funding and the grant structure support city-led installations at the storm-drain connection points. Councilmember Lauren Gumeros asked whether the project was subject to the Community Workforce Agreement list; staff said the project did not meet the local CWA threshold and therefore does not carry the local-hire mandate.
Staff recommended and the council approved awarding Public Works Agreement (PWA) to Susser Company in the amount of $811,750 plus a 10% contingency, authorized execution of the agreement, and authorized the transfer of approximately $270,280 from the West Side storm drain improvements project to supplement remaining costs. The motion carried 7–0.
Staff listed follow-up steps including contract execution, field coordination, and notifying adjacent property stakeholders of schedule and short-duration construction impacts; construction is expected to begin in April with completion in summer.
