RFP I-3 Well Replacement Design

Request for Proposals

Design Services for a Replacement Well at Hipkins Well Site

8704 Hipkins Rd SW Lakewood, WA 98498

 Proposals are Due on Thursday, February 8, 2024

The Lakewood Water District (District) is seeking proposals from consultants to provide design and permitting assistance services for the addition of a new groundwater supply well to replace the District’s existing Hipkins I-3 Well. The existing I-3 Well is approximately 277 feet deep and provides water from the C-Level aquifer. The I-3 Well has detections of PFAS in excess of the State Action Level and has been out of service since 2022. The replacement I-3R Well will be at the same site as the existing I-2, I-3, and I-4 Wells. The site address is 8711 Hipkins Road, Lakewood, WA.  The replacement I-3R Well will be completed in the deeper E-level or G-level aquifer, depending on the preliminary investigative work and field-testing results. The selected design team will be assisted by the District’s hydrogeologist to investigate, design, and permitting of the well drilling, design and permitting for the well building and equipment, and support during bidding and construction as required. Depending on the quality of the water, treatment systems may be required. Some groundwater wells in the District that pump water from the E- and G-level aquifers utilize ATEC filtration systems to remove iron and manganese. 

 This project is funded through a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan. The budget amount for this project is $4,064,800.

 Project Background 

In June of 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) levels for six PFAS compounds, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) - 4 ppt and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) - 4 ppt. EPA’s proposed rule includes the use of a hazard index to consider the combination of four contaminants are Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) and GenX. This project will treat the wells to filter PFAS from the drinking water to levels the meet the proposed EPA MCLs. 

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made toxic chemicals that include PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX and many other chemicals. These chemicals are not found naturally in the environment. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. There is evidence that exposure to PFAS over time may lead to adverse human health effects. 

 In 2017, Joint Base Lewis McCord (JBLM) sent out a press release notifying the District that high levels of PFAS were found in 5 of the military base’s wells as concentration levels were in excess of the EPA’s health advisory level of 70 PPT during the UCMR3 monitoring. After sampling of water produced from District wells close to JBLM it was found that PFAS was detected well below the EPA health advisory level of 70 ppt. As a result, the District implemented ongoing monitoring of its shallow aquifers – the A-level and C-level aquifers. PFAS levels detected at the Hipkins site were above the EPA health advisory level 70 ppt, and above the State Dept. of Health State Action Levels (SALs). Once the EPA health advisory level was above, I-3 Well was taken offline in accordance with District Board Policy.  

Site information 

The District owns the parcel where the I-3 Well is located, within the City of Lakewood. The site also contains I-2 and I-4 wells. Figure 1 shows a general site layout and property lines for the parcel. Both wells are offline due to PFAS levels, but the tank remains in service to the District’s 404 pressure zone. Historically, all three wells did not require treatment, only chlorination.  

For complete details regarding the RFP I-3 Design Services for a Replacement Well at the Hipkins Site, please see the attached documents.