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Council approves sole‑source chemical purchase from NTU Technologies for water treatment
Summary
City authorized a sole‑source purchase from NTU Technologies for treatment chemicals; staff said changing suppliers would require bench testing, state approval and added time and cost.
The Folsom City Council on Aug. 12 approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement with NTU Technologies for chemicals used at the city’s water treatment plant.
The resolution (No. 11437) was approved unanimously by Councilmember Leary, Councilmember Raffel, Councilmember Kozlowski and Mayor Sarah Aquino; Councilmember Rorba was absent.
Marcus Yasutaki, the city’s Environmental Water Resources Director, told the council the purchase is treated as a sole‑source item because the NTU product is formulated for the city’s specific treatment process and local raw‑water quality. Replacing the product would require a trial testing program (“bench testing”), additional staff time and testing costs, and formal approval from the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water before full use in treated water distribution.
Yasutaki said the city has used NTU Technologies since 2018 and recommended continuing the relationship because of familiarity with the product and consistent operational performance. He told the council that, historically, chemical costs have stayed within budget — “typically under budget maybe 5 to 8%,” he said — but acknowledged staff would provide additional procurement context in future reports if council wished to assess price reasonableness.
Council discussion focused on procurement transparency, market comparison and the time and expense of testing alternative products. Councilmember Leary asked whether switching chemicals could cause differences in test results and Yasutaki described the bench testing process that would be used to evaluate alternatives across seasons.
The council approved Resolution No. 11437 to purchase chemicals from NTU Technologies and staff noted they will provide more procurement background in future staff reports.
