Orion Construction given RMWD contract to replace Rainbow Heights Pump Station

Orion Construction will be the contractor to rehabilitate the Rainbow Municipal Water District’s Rainbow Heights Pump Station.

The Vista company had the low bid of $2,637,397, and at the May 26 Rainbow board meeting, the board voted 4-0, with Helene Brazier unable to participate in the meeting, to award Orion Construction the contract for that amount.

“This is for the demolition of the existing Rainbow Heights station and the abandoned Eighth Street pump station,” district engineer Steve Strapac said.

The Rainbow Municipal Water District has seven potable water pump stations, and the Rainbow Heights Pump Station is the largest one. The facility pumps water from the North Zone to the Rainbow Heights Tank, which has a capacity of 4 million gallons. The Rainbow Heights Zone is the sole supply to the Magee Zone and is also an emergency supply for the Gomez, Vallecitos and North zones. The domestic and agricultural demand for the Rainbow Heights Zone is approximately 540,000 gallons per day.

The Rainbow Heights Pump Station was built in 1974 and expanded in 1978.

“The two natural gas motors need to be replaced,” Strapac said.

Not only do those motors not meet current air pollution control standards, but they have not been manufactured for years and are difficult to maintain.

“They are a challenge to operate,” Tom Kennedy, general manager of Metropolitan Water District, said.

“We can’t even find a way to get rid of the recycled engines. They’re so old,

Strapac said.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s First Aqueduct was constructed before the Rainbow district existed, and when replacement of the motors was discussed MWD also asked Rainbow to remove two existing pumps with electric motors and the associated canopy from the MWD easement area which includes much of the pump station site.

“MWD’s indicated we're going to have to get off their easement,” Kennedy said.

The Eighth Street Pump Station is across the street from the Rainbow Heights Pump Station. In addition to demolishing those pump stations, Orion Construction will install a pre-manufactured booster pump station and make site improvements including grading, yard piping, valves, a flow meter, paving, fencing and ancillary electrical and controls upgrades including an engine-driven electric generator.

“We’re going to reduce our electrical costs,” Kennedy said.

The pre-manufactured pump station will be purchased by Orion Construction and is included in the price of the contract. A hatch in the roof will allow for maintenance.

Rainbow staff prepared a bid package and advertised for formal bids April 16. Six bids from pre-qualified contractors were received by the May 11 deadline. Pacific Hydrotech, which is headquartered in Perris, had the second-lowest bid at $2,693,200. The $2,721,000 bid by SCW Contracting of Rainbow was the third-lowest amount. The engineer’s estimate for the project was $2.7 million.

The contract stipulates a construction period of 244 calendar days, so Rainbow expects the project to be completed by March 2021.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].