Winning Sewer Rehab Contracts

Florida Statutes Chapter 287 (F.S. 287.057) governs procurement for state agencies, defined as the executive branch of state government. It does not govern counties, municipalities, school boards, or special districts. For the vast majority of sewer rehabilitation contracts, which are issued by cities, counties, and utility authorities, the procurement framework is local-ordinance-driven. Miami-Dade has Section 2-8.1, Broward has Section 21, and JEA, Tampa, and Orlando each maintain their own procurement codes.

However, several state-law overlays apply to all Florida local government construction procurement. F.S. 287.055 (CCNA) governs how engineers are selected. F.S. 255.05 governs bonding. F.S. 255.103 governs Construction Manager at Risk. F.S. 218.735 governs prompt payment. F.S. 255.20 governs competitive bidding thresholds for public construction. Understanding which statute applies to your specific solicitation is the first step to avoiding disqualification.

Most Florida municipalities and utilities use three solicitation methods for construction. An Invitation to Bid (ITB), also called a sealed competitive bid, is used when the agency can fully define scope and specifications. Award goes to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. The vast majority of unit-priced CIPP, pipe bursting, and manhole rehabilitation contracts are awarded this way. A Request for Proposals (RFP) is used when scope cannot be fully defined or the agency wants a qualitative best-value selection, with price as one factor among several. Common for design-build and complex multi-method rehabilitation programs. An Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) is used when negotiations may be necessary to obtain best value and is less common for trenchless rehabilitation contracts.

Florida agencies are increasingly using Construction Manager at Risk (F.S. 255.103) for larger wastewater rehabilitation programs. The City of Crystal River, City of Winter Springs, City of Minneola, Hillsborough County Water Resources, and JEA all have active CMAR procurements. CMAR is a qualifications-based selection: the agency selects the CM during preconstruction, the CM provides constructability and cost feedback during design, then converts to a Guaranteed Maximum Price holding all subcontracts. For a trenchless specialist, this is critical: CMAR primes are typically large general contractors who self-perform little or no CIPP, pipe bursting, or lining work. Trenchless subs win task orders by being on the CMAR''s qualified-bidder list rather than by responding to public IFBs.

Sewer rehabilitation contracts are overwhelmingly unit-price: linear feet of CIPP by diameter, count of point repairs, count of manholes lined, count of lateral seals. Lump sum is used for mobilization, maintenance of traffic, demobilization, and bonds/insurance. GMP appears in CMAR. Florida public agencies generally have written change-order authority thresholds (often $50,000 to $250,000 for staff approval, above that requiring commission approval). A written change order must be approved before the work is performed. Contractors lose change-order claims most often by failing to document changed conditions in writing within the time windows specified in the General Conditions.

Contractors who win consistently look beyond bid platforms. FDEP publishes CWSRF and DWSRF priority lists quarterly (second Wednesdays of August, November, February, and May) at floridadep.gov. Each listing includes project sponsor, project description, funding amount, and engineer of record. A contractor who tracks the priority list will see a funded rehabilitation project 6 to 18 months before bid advertisement.

Adopted utility Capital Improvement Programs and rate studies are public documents. Every Florida utility publishes a 5 to 10 year CIP with annual funding for sewer rehabilitation or I&I reduction. Reading the budget reveals the funded linear footage for the next year. FDEP consent orders and stipulated penalty correspondence, published on DEP''s Oculus document site, contain milestone schedules that predict bid timing. A utility under consent order to rehabilitate a specified number of linear feet by a specific date will issue procurement roughly 9 to 12 months in advance.

Engineering firm task-order pipelines are the highest-value lead source. Once you know the engineer of record on a continuing-services contract (often disclosed on the SRF priority list), the task orders being authorized are the upcoming bids. Florida ACEC chapter newsletters, FWEA conference presentations, and engineering firm project portfolios all reveal active rehabilitation programs.

Trenchless Technology and Underground Construction magazines cover bid trends and contractor news. Key venues for engineer and contractor relationship building: the No-Dig Show (NASTT, annual), WEFTEC (annual, October), NASTT regional events (Southeast/Florida chapter), the Florida Water Resources Conference (FWEA/AWWA-FL), and Florida Stormwater Association events.

Florida''s Little Miller Act requires a payment and performance bond from any contractor entering a formal contract with the state, county, city, or political subdivision for construction of a public building or work at any project value over $200,000. Below $100,000, no bond is statutorily required. Between $100,000 and $200,000, the public entity has discretion to waive. Above $200,000, bonds are mandatory and must be recorded in the public records of the county where the project is located. The bond must reference F.S. 255.05 on its face. There is no mechanic''s lien on public property in Florida. Subcontractor payment recovery runs exclusively through the payment-bond claim process: a notice of nonpayment must be served on both the contractor and surety no earlier than 45 days and no later than 90 days after final furnishing, with suit filed within 1 year.

Sureties evaluate capacity (working capital, equipment, technical staff), capital (net worth, liquidity), and character (credit, claims history). Standard surety underwriting commonly approves single-job bonds at roughly 10 times working capital and 10 times net worth, with aggregate programs at approximately 20 times working capital. The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program is the entry point for emerging contractors: it guarantees 80% to 90% of surety loss and supports individual contracts up to $9 million (non-federal) or $14 million (federal). A trenchless contractor planning to bid municipal work should aim for at least $1 million single-job capacity and $5 million to $10 million aggregate before pursuing a Florida county-scale contract.

Typical Florida municipal minimums for sewer rehabilitation: $1 million per-occurrence / $2 million aggregate Commercial General Liability; $1 million Auto; statutory Workers'' Compensation; $5 million Umbrella/Excess (common for projects above $500,000); and Pollution Liability of $1 million to $5 million (now standard given the styrene release history of CIPP). Specifications typically require additional-insured endorsements for the owner and engineer of record.

Underground utility and excavation work in Florida requires a Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor (CUC) license from the DBPR Construction Industry Licensing Board (F.S. 489.105). The scope expressly includes directional drilling, auger boring, jacking and boring, trenchless technologies, and slip lining of sanitary sewer collection systems. Requirements include passing the trade-knowledge exam (80 questions, 5 hours) and the Business and Finance exam (120 to 125 questions, 6.5 hours), both open-book at 70% passing. Four years of experience including one year as a foreman is required, with college credits substituting for up to three years. A FICO score of 660 or higher is required, or the applicant must post a $20,000 surety bond. Minimum GL of $100,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage is required. License renewal requires 14 hours of continuing education every two years. Every Florida municipality also requires a local Business Tax Receipt, and many require a separate municipal contractor registration.

EPA''s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise rule (40 CFR Part 33) governs SRF-funded and other federally funded EPA infrastructure work. Public Law 102-389 establishes a combined 8% MBE/WBE national participation objective. EPA recipients negotiate separate MBE and WBE fair share objectives for each procurement category (construction, equipment, services, supplies) per 40 CFR Section 33.401. The DBE rule is a goal, not a quota, but prime contractors must demonstrate six good-faith efforts: make DBEs aware of opportunities, divide work into smaller tasks where feasible, advertise to DBEs, provide adequate response time, document outreach, and require subcontractors to take the same steps. Reporting is on EPA Form 5700-52A annually for any agreement above the $350,000 Simplified Acquisition Threshold. A contractor pursuing SRF-funded work who fails to document good-faith efforts is at material risk of contract default.

BABA (Section 70914 of P.L. 117-58, effective May 14, 2022) permanently applies to all equivalency SRF projects and to all WIFIA projects. All iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials must be U.S.-produced unless waived. The American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirement continues for non-equivalency SRF projects. EPA has issued limited waivers including a de minimis waiver (5% of total project cost), a small-project waiver (under $250,000 total), and an adjustment-period waiver that has been amended and effectively sunsets for projects funded with State Fiscal Year 2025 and later capitalization grants. For any 2026 contract pursuit, contractors should plan for full BABA compliance. Standard practice: require BABA/AIS certifications from your CIPP material supplier as a procurement document on every bid response.

F.S. 448.095 (effective January 1, 2021) requires every Florida public employer, contractor, and subcontractor to enroll in E-Verify for all new hires. Subcontractors must provide affidavits to primes. Since SB 1718 (effective July 1, 2023), private employers with 25 or more employees are also required. Penalties include $1,000 per day fines after a third violation in any 24 months, Florida Department of Commerce (formerly DEO) license action, DBPR license suspension, and mandatory contract termination if the public agency forms a good faith belief of a violation, with no cure period.

The Department of Labor publishes wage determinations by county and construction type (Building, Heavy, Highway, Residential). Sewer rehabilitation is generally classified as Heavy construction. The determination lists a basic hourly rate plus a fringe benefit rate for each classification. Classifications typically applied to a CIPP crew: Laborers (Group 1 for general, higher groups for skilled tasks), Power Equipment Operators, Truck Drivers, and sometimes Pipefitter or Plumber for connection work. There is no specific CIPP installer classification in most determinations. Contractors apply the laborer or operator rate appropriate to the actual work and document this in conformance requests where necessary.

The Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. Section 3145) and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii) require weekly certified payrolls. Form WH-347 is the functionally standard format. Each weekly submission must include a signed Statement of Compliance, a list of every laborer or mechanic working that week with hours by day, classification, hourly rate, fringe credits, gross earned, deductions, and net paid. False statements on a WH-347 are subject to 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 and 31 U.S.C. Section 3729 (False Claims Act). Common errors that trigger investigation include classification mismatches, improper fringe benefit credit, missing apprentice registration, and arithmetic errors on overtime.

Assign a job number to each Davis-Bacon project and segregate cost coding. Require timekeeping that captures classification by hour, not just by day. Calculate fringe credits separately for each fringe type. Use certified payroll software that generates WH-347 from time data (LCPtracker, eMars, Foundation Software, Hammr, Sage, or QuickBooks with a payroll add-on). Train one designated person to review every payroll before submission. Set this up before you need it. Contractors who try to retrofit Davis-Bacon payroll mid-project consistently make classification and fringe errors that result in back-wage findings.

Two sequential reviews determine the winner. Responsiveness asks whether the bid materially complies with the solicitation: bid bond present, all forms signed, math correct, no conditional bids, submitted on time. Responsibility asks whether the bidder is financially capable, properly licensed, with adequate experience and bonding. Common reasons bids are rejected as non-responsive include missing or improperly executed bid bond, failure to acknowledge addenda, unsigned bid form, unbalanced unit prices, conditional or qualified bids, failure to list required subcontractors, failure to submit DBE/SBE participation forms, and late submission. Florida agencies are strict: 3:00:01 p.m. on a 3:00 p.m. deadline is non-responsive.

When a Florida agency uses an RFP for a sewer rehabilitation program, typical weighting runs approximately: qualifications and relevant experience at 25% to 35%, technical approach and methodology at 20% to 30%, price or cost at 20% to 30%, project schedule and ability to perform at 10% to 15%, references and past performance at 5% to 10%, and DBE/SBE participation at 5% to 10%. These weights are illustrative; each solicitation is unique and contractors must read the evaluation criteria in the document.

Specifically relevant municipal CIPP, pipe bursting, or manhole experience (residential CIPP experience is heavily discounted). NASSCO PACP/MACP/LACP and ITCP-CIPP certifications on named project personnel. Crew certifications (CDL, OSHA 30, confined space, traffic control). Equipment ownership versus rental, with owned equipment scoring higher on schedule reliability. Safety record with EMR below 1.0 strongly preferred. Bonding capacity letter from a Treasury-listed surety. Audited or reviewed financial statements for the last three years. A project list with reference contacts, not just project names. A DBE/SBE/WBE participation plan with named subcontractors and suppliers. A technical approach that demonstrates understanding of this specific project; generic boilerplate is heavily penalized.

Under F.S. 120.57(3), a notice of protest must be filed within 72 hours of award posting (excluding weekends and Florida state holidays). This deadline is jurisdictional. A formal written protest follows within 10 calendar days, plus a protest bond. Filing triggers an automatic stay of the procurement. The agency must convene a settlement conference within 7 business days. If unresolved, the matter goes to the Division of Administrative Hearings for a hearing within 30 days. The standard of review is whether the agency''s action was clearly erroneous, contrary to competition, arbitrary, or capricious. Important: these timelines apply to state agency procurements under the Administrative Procedure Act. Local government bid protests follow local procurement codes, which often but not always mirror the 72-hour/10-day framework. Some local codes use shorter or different windows. Always check the specific solicitation''s protest procedures.

Major Florida engineering firms active in sewer rehabilitation include Hazen and Sawyer (Miami-Dade WASD, Fort Lauderdale CO program management), Jones Edmunds (Gainesville-based, north and central Florida), CDM Smith, Jacobs, Brown and Caldwell, Carollo, Wade Trim (Pinellas County WWCSMP), McKim and Creed (Pinellas flow monitoring), RS&H (FDEP post-hurricane SSO evaluation), Kimley-Horn, Ardurra, Stantec, and Black and Veatch. The FDEP SRF priority list and bid advertisements both name the engineer of record. Track these to identify which firm has which utility''s continuing-services contract.

The continuing-services and task-order model means an engineer often selects or strongly influences the selection of the contractor for individual task orders within a multi-year program. Attend every pre-bid meeting in your region, even on projects you don''t intend to bid. Engineers track who shows up. Request to be on the engineer''s notification list for upcoming solicitations. Offer technical input during the design phase when permitted. Speak or sponsor at FWEA, Florida Water Resources Conference, and NASTT regional events where engineers present. Provide feedback on draft NASSCO specifications when shared. Maintain a clean track record on every engineer''s projects; one bad project with one engineer in Florida''s tight municipal water community will follow you for years.

Technical precision in submittals (correct ASTM references, calculations stamped by a Florida P.E.), on-time and complete pay applications, proactive change-order documentation rather than end-of-project surprise claims, responsive communication, and absence of NASSCO PACP-coded defects in post-installation CCTV.

The notice to proceed starts the contract clock. Mobilization is typically required within 7 to 14 days. Material submittals include liner manufacturer data, resin technical data sheets, ASTM test data (typically per ASTM F1216 for inversion-cured CIPP, F1743 for pulled-in-place, F2019 for fiberglass UV-cured), design calculations stamped by a Florida P.E., wet-out facility certifications, bypass pumping plan, and CCTV inspection methodology. The engineer typically has 14 to 30 days to review.

Standard municipal CIPP testing per NASSCO performance specifications: pre-installation CCTV by PACP-certified personnel, post-installation CCTV showing the liner is continuous and tight-fitting with all service connections reinstated (typically to 90% to 95% of original opening area, with many Florida utilities including Miami-Dade WASD requiring 95% or higher), and sample testing per ASTM D790 (flexural) and D638 (tensile) by an independent laboratory. Many specifications include a payment-deduction schedule for thickness or property failures.

Monthly invoicing is the norm. Under F.S. 218.735, the local government must pay within 25 business days of receipt of an approved invoice (or 20 business days if no agent approval is required). Retainage is capped at 5% of each progress payment, established by Ch. 2020-173 (SB 246), effective October 1, 2020. Late payments accrue interest at 2% per month. After 50% completion, the contractor may request release of one-half of accumulated retainage. SB 346 (effective July 1, 2023) requires the local government to develop a punch list within statutory deadlines after substantial completion, or the contractor may invoice the entire remaining balance.

Standard Florida municipal contracts carry a 1-year general construction warranty. CIPP-specific warranty terms commonly require a 10-year structural warranty on the cured liner, with additional inspection at year 1 or 2. Some specifications require a separate 2-year defect repair guarantee in addition to the structural warranty.

Liquidated damages are common at $500 to $2,000 per calendar day, scaled to project size. Florida has no mechanic''s liens on public property. Subcontractor and supplier recovery is strictly through the F.S. 255.05 payment-bond claim process. Subcontractors who do not preserve their bond claim rights within the 45-day and 90-day notice windows and the 1-year suit limitation have no recovery on Florida public projects.

Get the Florida Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor license now; it is the longest-lead-time item. Join NASTT and FWEA. Attend two FWEA events and one NASTT regional event in the next 12 months. Get NASSCO PACP/MACP certified for two field personnel within 6 months (initial combined certification runs approximately $1,075 for a 3-day course; ITCP-CIPP certification runs $1,375 for a 2-day course; all are valid for 3 years). Establish a surety relationship and target $500,000 to $1 million single-job capacity within 12 months. Pursue subcontract work with 2 to 3 prime contractors holding existing Florida municipal CIPP contracts. Goal: three completed municipal subcontracts in 18 months, totaling 5,000 to 15,000 linear feet of installed CIPP.

Threshold to graduate to prime bidding: $1 million single-job bonding, three documented municipal subcontracts, NASSCO PACP/MACP/ITCP-CIPP on at least one foreman, audited financial statements for the last two years, and a tested certified payroll system.

Prequalify with the top 3 to 5 utilities in your region within 6 months. Enroll in E-Verify today if not already done. Establish a Davis-Bacon-capable certified payroll system before responding to your first SRF-funded solicitation. Identify the engineer of record for each utility''s continuing-services contract and schedule a meeting with the project manager at each firm within 90 days. Bid only projects where you can document a competitive advantage. Pass on bids that require buying in below cost.

Threshold to scale into county-level work: $5 million+ aggregate bonding capacity, EMR below 1.0, demonstrated PACP/MACP/LACP-coded post-CCTV deliverables on five completed projects, and a BABA documentation system in place.

Pursue CMAR subcontract relationships with the major Florida CMs (PCL, Brasfield and Gorrie, Garney, Hensel Phelps, depending on who holds local contracts). Develop the capacity to self-perform 25,000 to 75,000 linear feet of CIPP per year with redundant crews and a bench of trained foremen. Track FDEP consent orders quarterly and identify utilities approaching milestones 12 to 24 months out. Establish pollution liability of $5 million+ and professional liability if pursuing design-build.

Threshold to bid IDIQ ceiling work above $20 million: $10 million+ single-job bonding, audited financials, in-house certified payroll administrator, NASSCO ITCP-certified resident project supervisor on every active job, and a BABA/DBE compliance program with documented good-faith effort templates.