Anchorage water chemical contract returns $855,400 higher with no explanation

The Anchorage Assembly votes tonight on a contract for the chemical that clears dirt from most of the city's drinking water. It costs $855,400 more than the one the administration recommended two weeks ago, on the same solicitation, and the memorandum returning it does not say what changed.

On Aug. 4 the administration recommended awarding the work to Alaska Mill & Feed at $2,746,380. The clerk recorded that the item died for lack of action. Tonight's memorandum lists that company's bid as non-responsive and recommends Univar Solutions instead, at a not-to-exceed $3,601,780 if all three contract years are exercised, running through July 31, 2029.

Three bids came in when they opened July 15. Alaska Mill & Feed and Pacific Rim Chemicals were both deemed non-responsive, meaning their bids failed to meet the solicitation's requirements, leaving Univar as the lowest and only responsive bidder. AWWU General Manager David Persinger recommended the award.

The contract covers liquid polyaluminum chloride, supplied as needed to the Eklutna and Ship Creek water treatment facilities, with no guaranteed minimum order. Eklutna produces about 9 billion gallons of treated water a year, roughly 94 percent of AWWU's total.

Against an annual quantity of 91,000 gallons, the price reaches $13.18 per gallon in year two and $13.78 in year three. In 2023, a municipal memorandum recommended a Univar contract at $10.96 per gallon.

Tonight's item sits on the consent agenda, which under Assembly rules is not set for public hearing.