Solicitation
East Canal Efficiency Improvements
Department of the Interior · Bureau of Reclamation
AI summaryThe Bureau of Reclamation (Upper Colorado Regional Office) wants a small business to build canal improvements on the East Canal near Olathe, Colorado. The work includes about 4,200 feet of 36-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pipe, concrete structures, a double siphon and metal work. It is a total small business set-aside, firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work ends up costing), with performance January 25, 2027 to November 1, 2028. The response due date is November 20, 2026, 1:00 PM Mountain. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 2 of 14 attachments weren't read (140R4026R0025_-_Site_Visit_Sign_In_Sheet_0001.pdf, Attachment_9_-_Price_Schedule.xlsx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Bureau of Reclamation (Upper Colorado Regional Office) wants a small business to build canal improvements on the East Canal near Olathe, Colorado. The work includes about 4,200 feet of 36-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pipe, concrete structures, a double siphon and metal work. It is a total small business set-aside, firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work ends up costing), with performance January 25, 2027 to November 1, 2028. The response due date is November 20, 2026, 1:00 PM Mountain.
Who can bid
- Small business under NAICS 237110; the notice is a total small business set-aside, so only small businesses can bid
- Key onsite personnel (project superintendent, HDPE welder(s), concrete foreman) and subcontractors who are available, committed and have experience on similar work
Things to watch (12)
From the version posted Oct 20, 2026.
- Serious: Total small business set-aside. Only small businesses can bid; firms that are not small under NAICS 237110 cannot take part.
- Serious: Letters of commitment required for key staff and subcontractors. Key personnel and subcontractors without a letter of commitment are not evaluated, which weakens the team factor.
- Serious: Every price schedule line must be priced. An offer that leaves any line of the price schedule blank is non-responsive and is not evaluated.
Show all 12Show fewer
- Worth checking: Canal work limited to a winter window. Several canal structures must be finished between November 1 and April 1 so irrigation can resume, which limits the construction schedule.
- Worth checking: Similar past performance required. Past performance must show work with similar principal components, for the offeror or the subcontractors doing that work.
- Worth checking: Bid guarantee provision listed. A bid guarantee provision (FAR 52.228-1) is listed in Section L, and the form asks about performance and payment bonds; whether and how much are required was not readable, so check the solicitation.
- Worth checking: Full-time survey support and quantity surveys. The contractor must provide its own full-time surveying, and survey data must go with each monthly progress payment invoice.
- Worth checking: Strict environmental compliance. Reclamation says it strictly enforces Clean Water Act rules, including a storm water pollution prevention plan, and expects the contractor to manage this itself.
- Worth checking: Davis-Bacon wage rates apply. Construction wage rate rules apply, meaning workers must be paid at least the U.S. Department of Labor wage rates in the attached wage determinations.
- Minor: The site visit was Oct 13, 2026. Check the notice and its amendments for whether attendance was required, and whether another visit is offered.
- Minor: Liquidated damages clause. A liquidated damages clause (a set daily charge for finishing late) is part of the contract; the daily amount was not read.
- Minor: Buy American rule for construction materials. Materials such as pipe and metalwork fall under the Buy American clause, so foreign-made items may need an approved exception.
Read from the notice and 12 attachments. 2 of 14 not read. Show which files.
- Sol_140R4026R0025_Amd_0001.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_-_Site_Visit_Agenda_0001.pdf (read)
- Sol_140R4026R0025.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_1_-_Specifications.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_5_-_Construction_Contract_Administration.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_6_-_Past_Performance_Questionnaire.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_7_-_Experience_Form.docx (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_8_-_Key_Personnel_Form.docx (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_2_-_Drawings.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_3_-_WD_CO20260003_Heavy_-_Montrose_County__CO.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_Attachment_4_-_WD_CO20260001_Building_-_Montrose_County__CO.pdf (read)
- 140R4026R0025_-_Site_Visit_Sign_In_Sheet_0001.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment_9_-_Price_Schedule.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Mobilize, remove and dispose of existing features, and do earthwork for the new concrete structures
- West Loutzy Diversion Pipeline: concrete inlet and outlet structures and about 4,200 feet of 36-inch HDPE pipe with fittings
- East Canal Side Channel Spillway: a concrete structure, changes to an existing concrete structure for the pipe outlet, and about 65 feet of 48-inch and 100 feet of 42-inch polypropylene pipe
- Double Barrel Siphon: 54-inch inlet and outlet structures and about 170 feet of two parallel 54-inch HDPE pipes
- East Canal Ramp Flume structure and GK Check Structure, both concrete
- Miscellaneous metal work (guardrails, trash racks, gratings, vault covers), valves, PVC pipe, canal gates, air vents, drains and flow measuring equipment
- Clearing and grubbing, control of water, riprap, gravel surfacing and seeding of disturbed areas, with substantial completion by April 1, 2028 and seeding, cleanup and demobilization by November 1, 2028
- Quantity surveys, as-built drawings, quality control testing and environmental compliance, including water pollution control
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP) construction contract with a price schedule of 52 contract line item number (CLIN: one priced line of the order) items, some lump sum and some with estimated quantities
- Period of performance
- January 25, 2027 to November 1, 2028; substantial completion by April 1, 2028; seeding, final cleanup and demobilization by November 1, 2028
- Place of performance
- East Canal, Uncompahgre Project, near Olathe, Colorado (Delta County), at several work locations along the canal
- Estimated value
- Government's stated magnitude of construction: between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000
- How they'll choose
- Best value tradeoff: Factors 1 to 4 are equal in importance to each other, and combined they are equal in importance to price
- Offers due
- November 20, 2026, 1:00 PM Mountain
- Page limits
- Experience worksheet: maximum 2 pages per project; other limits are in the proposal instructions, which were only partly read
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor 1, Technical Approach: a narrative of the strategy and approach, addressing every item the solicitation lists
- Factor 2, Construction Schedule: tied to the specifications, within the performance period, and consistent with the Factor 1 narrative
- Factor 3, Project Team Composition: onsite project superintendent, HDPE welder(s) and concrete foreman, plus subcontractors, with experience on similar work and letters of commitment
- Factor 4, Past Performance: recent (less than 8 years) and relevant work of the offeror and subcontractors, with a neutral rating if none
- Factor 5, Cost/Price: completeness, price reasonableness and the total price of the price schedule
What to include when you submit
- Send three volumes: Volume I business proposal with representations and certifications, Volume II technical proposal, Volume III pricing
- Put no pricing in Volume II, the technical proposal; pricing goes only in Volumes I and III
- Fill in every line of the price schedule and mark the total price clearly; a quote missing any line is non-responsive
- Show overhead, profit and general and administrative rates, subcontractor pass-through rates, equipment rates and labor rates, which are kept for later changes to the contract
- Number the pages of the cost proposal consecutively and mark proprietary information with the required legends
- Give the key personnel on the Key Personnel form (Attachment 8): onsite project superintendent, HDPE welder(s) and concrete foreman
- Include a letter of commitment for all key personnel and subcontractors listed
- Give past performance for the offeror and any subcontractors doing the principal work, using the Experience Worksheet (Attachment 7) and the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 6)
- Subcontractors send proposals to the prime contractor, not directly to the Government
- Acknowledge Amendment 0001 by returning it or in a letter or electronic message that names the solicitation and amendment numbers
- Send technical questions in writing to Tyler Spencer at tyler_spencer@ios.doi.gov, naming the solicitation number and the section, clause, paragraph or drawing
After award, you must have
- Full-time survey support under a registered professional land surveyor licensed in Colorado From 140R4026R0025.pdf:
…under the direction of a registered professional land surveyor licensed in the state where the work is being completed IAW the…
Not in the notice text
- Parts of the solicitation (140R4026R0025.pdf), the specifications and the drawings were attached but only partly read, with middle sections left out, including most of the proposal instructions in Section L; check them on SAM.gov
- Attachment_9_-_Price_Schedule.xlsx and the site visit sign-in sheet were attached but not read; the wage determination files could not be read
- How and where to submit the offer (email, portal or address)
- Page limits for the technical proposal, and how many past performance projects and references to send
- Whether a bid guarantee and performance and payment bonds are required, and in what amounts
- Daily rate for liquidated damages
- Whether attending the October 13, 2026 site visit is required: no requirement is stated
- Wage determination files are named for Montrose County, while the specifications place the work in Delta County; confirm which wage rates apply
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 237110
- How and where to submit is in the notice text and its attachments on SAM.gov.
- SAM.gov has no description for this notice beyond its title. The work is described in its attachments, listed under Notice details.
- Construction contracts over $2,000 pay at least the local Davis-Bacon wage rates, from the wage determination in the solicitation. Price your labor from it: How to price a government contract, and how Davis-Bacon differs from the Service Contract Act.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Upper Colorado Regional Office, Salt Lake City, UT
- Product/service code
- Y1NE · Construction of Water Supply Facilities
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 237110)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 20, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 20, 2026
- Sep 25, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 20, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 4, 2026 · PresolicitationDate Sep 25, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
EAST CANAL EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS
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