Fresno City Council Approves $4.4 Million Chemical Contract for Water Treatment — Photo: Saiphani02 — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fresno City Council Approves $4.4 Million Chemical Contract for Water Treatment
The Fresno City Council approved a $4.4 million contract February 27 to buy calcium hydroxide — a chemical the city uses to treat drinking water — from Univar Solutions USA LLC.
The contract runs three years with options for two more, at about $1.5 million a year. The city uses the chemical at two treatment plants to prevent pipe corrosion and meet state and federal drinking water standards.
City staff say the chemical is “essential” and “critical” to the water treatment process. The contract passed on the consent calendar — a batch of routine items the council votes on together without separate discussion.
The Breakdown
- What it is: A “requirements contract” to buy bulk calcium hydroxide, meaning the city agrees to buy what it needs from this one supplier over the contract period.
- How much: Up to $4,374,165.77 total, with annual spending capped at $1,458,055.25.
- How long: Three years guaranteed, with the option to extend two more years if the city wants to.
- Where it’s used: The Northeast Surface Water Treatment Facility and the Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility. Staff say the chemical “enhances treatment chemistry” and prevents damage to pipes and plumbing.
- Who got it: Univar Solutions USA LLC, a Washington state company. The material doesn’t say how many other companies bid or what their prices were.
What This Means for You
The council’s vote commits $4.4 million to a single supplier for a chemical the city says it can’t do without. The material doesn’t say whether other companies bid, what they charged, or whether the city shopped around.
What to Watch
This contract passed on the consent calendar — no separate discussion, no questions from the council. That’s how routine spending is supposed to work, but it’s also how a bad deal can slip past without anyone looking hard at it.
The material gives you the total price and the annual cap, but nothing about the per-unit cost, how much the city actually uses each year, or whether $1.5 million annually is high, low, or typical for a city this size. You don’t know if the city locked in a good rate or just locked itself in.
Univar Solutions gets a guaranteed customer and three to five years of steady revenue. The city gets a steady supply of a chemical it needs.
The staff report references Bid File 12402973. If the city won’t release it, or if no other companies bid at all, that’s a problem worth naming out loud.
