Groundwater Authority approves Blue Mountain contract and two design/environmental change orders for imported water pipeline

The Groundwater Authority board approved a contract with Blue Mountain Development for project management of the imported water pipeline and two change orders to Provost & Pritchard to cover environmental revegetation and additional design work.

Board members voted to hire Blue Mountain Development to support the pipeline project as it transitions to construction under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The board also approved a $15,000 change order for Provost & Pritchard to prepare a revegetation and restoration plan and a $159,004 change order for additional trenchless crossings and expanded corrosion design work.

The approvals come as the project moves from design toward Corps-led construction and after federal land-management requirements from the Bureau of Land Management added scope to environmental and design work. Staff said the Blue Mountain contract is intended to provide technical and project-management expertise for coordinating Corps requirements, utility coordination and design transition work so the authority can stay on schedule.

Omar Dandashe, who introduced himself to the board as a licensed civil engineer and project manager for Blue Mountain Development, said the firm has experience with NEPA/CEQA and Army Corps projects and expects to help integrate complex pieces of the program. "I'm a licensed civil engineer," Dandashe said when asked to summarize his background. He told the board his firm has handled large program- and construction-management efforts and would work to bring the project to construction on schedule.

Staff explained the Blue Mountain contract includes a budget established at $220,000 and would cover project management tasks through December 2026. Board materials and staff said the contract is expected to reduce staff and consultant project-management burdens and produce net savings by minimizing change orders during construction.

Bianca (staff) presented the Provost & Pritchard environmental change order, describing recent BLM requirements that increased the scope of environmental documentation. The firm requested $15,000 to prepare a revegetation and restoration plan required as part of a special-use permit and categorical exclusion work on BLM land. Bianca said this change is approximately a 1 percent increase to the current environmental contract sum and would bring that contract to roughly $1,541,114.

For design, Provost & Pritchard explained updated geotechnical and scour studies and coordination with Kern County changed the number and type of trenchless crossings and altered pumping-station tank design. At the 90 percent design level, engineers identified 16 required trenchless crossings (7 additional beyond the original estimate) and determined the project requires seven tanks (instead of one) that need corrosion protection. Provost & Pritchard requested $159,004 to cover seven additional trenchless crossings and corrosion design for the extra tanks; staff said this represents about a 2 percent increase to the current design contract and roughly a 5 percent increase compared with the original contract sum.

Jeff Davis of Provost & Pritchard described the technical reasons for the adjustments: delays in geotechnical work, new scour analysis, coordination with Kern County, and hydraulic modeling that changed the preferred tank types and locations. Davis explained that trenchless crossings are used to avoid open cuts across creek beds and roadways and that hydraulic modeling showed above-ground tanks would be more cost-effective than large underground concrete tanks for several pump stations.

Votes at a glance - Blue Mountain Development contract (project management): approved. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain. Yes — Chairman Heyman, Vice Chair Peters, Director Itt Nyer, Director Vallejo; Abstain — Director Cetimonde. Motion carries. - Provost & Pritchard environmental change order (revegetation plan, $15,000): approved. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain. Yes — Chairman Heyman, Vice Chair Peters, Director Ettnerier, Director Vallejo; Abstain — Director St. Amond. Motion carries. - Provost & Pritchard design change order (trenchless crossings and corrosion design, $159,004): approved. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain. Yes — Chairman Heyman, Vice Chair Peters, Director Itt Nyer, Director Vallejo; Abstain — Director Saint Amond. Motion carries.

Board discussion emphasized the need to coordinate with Southern California Edison and the Army Corps of Engineers and noted that the additional work resulted largely from federal permitting requirements on BLM land. Staff and consultants said the added scope and cost were primarily driven by environmental permitting, delayed geotechnical work and updated hydraulic modeling.

Next steps outlined by staff include onboarding Blue Mountain to assist with the Corps transition, completing remaining 90 percent design work with Provost & Pritchard, and incorporating Southern California Edison design inputs into the pipeline design and environmental reviews. The board did not direct additional formal actions at the meeting beyond approving the contracts and change orders.