Sugar Land picks Reytec for $10m live-plant rehabilitation
City of Sugar Land Utilities Department, Texas · Meeting date: November 3, 2026 · Published: November 4, 2026
Sugar Land City Council has approved a $9.994 million contract for Phase 1 rehabilitation of the city’s surface water treatment plant, alongside a $2.142 million utility-fund budget amendment. The award prioritised Reytec Construction Resources’ qualifications and past performance over a proposal roughly $1.7 million lower.
Key points
- Council unanimously approved the $9.994 million Reytec Construction Resources contract and a $2.142 million transfer from utility CIP fund balance for SWTP Rehabilitation Phase 1.
- The nominal 11mgd plant supplies 30%–50% of Sugar Land’s average daily water demand and can provide more than half of demand when groundwater supply is low.
- Reytec scored 88.9 out of 100 in the competitive sealed-proposal evaluation, compared with 75.3 for ICON, Inc.; ICON’s price proposal was about $8.31 million.
- Phase 1 includes chemical-feed and chlorine-dioxide-system replacement, membrane-building piping, containment improvements, and upgraded safety showers and tepid-water systems.
- The 610-calendar-day contract is expected to begin after a January 2027 notice to proceed, with the plant remaining in operation and no water-service interruptions expected.
Full report
Sugar Land has awarded Reytec Construction Resources a $9.994 million construction contract to rehabilitate critical chemical, disinfection and safety systems at its surface water treatment plant, opting for a higher-priced bidder after concluding that plant-specific experience was worth the premium.
The City Council approved the contract unanimously on 3 November, together with a $2.142 million budget amendment from the utility CIP fund balance. The added funding brings the project requirement to about $10.8 million, including a 5% contingency, construction-phase services and materials testing.
The nominal 11mgd plant, completed in 2013, supplies 30%–50% of the city’s average daily water demand. It can provide more than half of the city’s drinking-water demand during periods of low groundwater supply, either from non-functioning wells or extreme drought conditions.
City staff used a competitive sealed-proposal procurement rather than a low-bid award, citing the need to maintain treatment operations during construction. Two proposals were received. ICON, Inc. submitted a price proposal of about $8.31 million, compared with Reytec’s $9.994 million contract value. But Reytec achieved an overall evaluation score of 88.9 out of 100, ahead of ICON’s 75.3.
The scoring gave price a 50-point weighting, with the remainder split among scope management, project-management and personnel qualifications, quality assurance, and past experience and references. ICON received the full 50 points for price, while Reytec received 45.6. Reytec’s principal advantage was experience and references, where it scored 18.3 points against ICON’s 7.0.
Jonathan Braun, Assistant City Engineer, told councillors that Reytec offered greater confidence in its ability to execute the work safely, meet regulatory and quality requirements, maintain the schedule and minimise disruption to essential water services. Utilities Director Katie Clayton added that the lower bidder had not attended the pre-bid meeting or two optional site visits, limiting the city’s confidence in its understanding of the scope and importance of keeping the plant online.
Phase 1 will replace ageing chemical feed pumps, piping and controls for sodium hypochlorite, caustic, LAS and PACL. It also includes replacement of chlorine dioxide generation equipment, associated tanks and piping, secondary containment and a temporary mobile disinfection unit to maintain disinfection during construction. Other work covers fusible polyethylene chemical piping in the membrane building, chemical-resistant floor coatings and containment improvements, and replacement indoor and outdoor safety showers with a heat-traced tepid-water system.
The city has retained the full scope rather than exercise a deductive alternative that would have omitted some floor coatings, retained existing piping and excluded additional vent ducts. Braun said deferring those items could result in higher prices and create a future critical need.
A notice to proceed is expected in January 2027. Reytec must reach substantial completion within 610 calendar days. The work is classified as a localised project, with construction impacts confined to the treatment-plant site and no interruption to water service expected.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council Meeting, City of Sugar Land Utilities Department