Sparks council awards bleach supply contract to Pioneer Americas, citing roughly $500,000 annual savings

Sparks City Council on June 8 unanimously approved award of bid 25‑26‑010 (contract AC6203) to Pioneer Americas LLC to supply sodium hypochlorite — commonly used bleach — to the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility.

Casey Menser, the treatment plant director, told the council Pioneer Americas was the lowest responsive bidder at $4.31 per gallon and that the city’s incumbent supplier had become a regional distributor rather than a local manufacturer. “Bleach is a necessary chemical for the plant; we use it to disinfect the wastewater of pathogens such as bacteria and viruses,” Menser said, explaining disinfection is required to meet surface‑water discharge and effluent reuse permit requirements. He told the council staff received three bids and that going directly to the manufacturer reduced market‑driven price volatility.

Menser said the price difference between the selected bidder and the incumbent amounted to about $500,000 on an annual basis according to staff calculations. The staff presentation stated Sparks’ share of the estimated first‑year annual cost as approximately $1,146,460; the total first‑year amount reported in the transcript was unclear. The contract is a one‑year fixed term with up to nine mutually agreeable extensions; it allows the city manager limited authority to approve unit‑cost increases of under 10% consistent with chemical price indexes.

Councilmember Bbey moved approval of the contract and Councilmember Rodriguez seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

The agreement, if executed, is intended to reduce the city’s chemical procurement costs and reduce reliance on intermediaries in the sodium hypochlorite supply chain. City staff said they would return to the council with any necessary contract documents and implementation steps.