Title
Approving a professional services agreement with the Thornhill Group, Inc. in an amount up to $132,700 to provide hydrogeologic services for the City of Pflugerville to develop an Edwards Aquifer drilling and testing program.
Summary
The proposed services include evaluating well and aquifer data for the local Edwards aquifer in order to conduct evaluations regarding optimizing current ground-water supplies, and to locate favorable well sites to obtain additional ground-supplies. A key component of this project will be evaluating and assessing the City's existing wells and their current conditions, and conducting drilling and testing programs to assess the potential for developing additional ground-water supplies from one or more new wells completed in the Edwards aquifer. Additionally, the project will include a detailed inspection of the City's existing Well No. 6 to assess the potential for modifying or recompleting the well to enhance production capacity.
This proposal covers the drilling and testing of up to 3 new test wells located near the water treatment plant. The number of wells ultimately drilled and tested will depend on the early success of the testing program. If the first test well drilled locates an aquifer source location capable of producing high volumes of good quality water, it might not be necessary to drill additional test wells, thus reducing the cost of this agreement by approximately $62,900.
Status
As the City continues to determine viable options for planning and providing water to our customers, staff has determined the need to examine all possible opportunities to optimize ground-water supplies. This evaluation will assist with determining possible alternatives.
Fiscal Impact
This project will be funded from Utility Fund Balance.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the agreement.
Drafter
Tom Word
Assistant City Manager for Community Services