Consulting & Program Management Services for Water Reuse Policy Project

The City of Charlotte, North Carolina, is now accepting Proposals for Consulting and Program Management Services for the Water Reuse Policy Project.

CLTWater seeks proposals from qualified firms with demonstrated experience developing reclaimed water or non-potable water reuse policies for municipal utilities serving industrial and commercial customers. Experience with residential reuse programs alone is not sufficient. The selected vendor will evaluate industry best practices, applicable regulatory requirements, and successful reclaimed water programs at peer utilities, including utilities within North Carolina and other regions with established water reuse programs or similar reuse policy, to develop recommendations tailored to Charlotte Water's operational, regulatory, and strategic objectives.

Charlotte Water (CLTWater) is seeking a qualified vendor(s) with demonstrated experience in municipal water reuse, reclaimed water program development, policy development, and regulatory compliance to provide services for the development of a comprehensive Water Reuse Policy.

The selected vendor shall provide technical, regulatory, policy, and stakeholder engagement expertise to assist CLTWater in evaluating its existing reclaimed water practices, researching industry best practices, benchmarking comparable utilities, identifying opportunities and challenges associated with future reclaimed water service, and developing a consistent framework for the administration and expansion of CLTWater's reclaimed water program.

The project is anticipated to include the following primary objectives:

• Develop a comprehensive Water Reuse Policy that establishes a consistent framework for current and future reclaimed water service.
• Evaluate CLTWater's existing reclaimed water practices, customer agreements, operational requirements, and administrative processes.
• Research and benchmark reclaimed water policies and programs implemented by comparable municipal utilities.
• Evaluate applicable federal, state, and local regulatory requirements affecting reclaimed water service.
• Identify opportunities to improve consistency, transparency, and equity in the evaluation and approval of reclaimed water customers.
• Develop recommendations for customer eligibility, service requirements, system expansion, and connection requirements.
• Define operational and maintenance responsibilities for CLTWater and reclaimed water customers.
• Establish appropriate water quality, monitoring, cross-connection control, metering, and reporting requirements.
• Identify permitting, regulatory, and compliance responsibilities for CLTWater and customers.
• Evaluate potential impacts of future reclaimed water demand on system planning, water resources, infrastructure, operations, and capital improvement programs.
• Develop a Council-ready Water Reuse Policy and supporting implementation materials.

CLTWater anticipates that the selected vendor will provide services through the following general phases:

• Phase One: Research, Benchmarking, and Existing Conditions Assessment
• Phase Two: Policy Development and Stakeholder Engagement
• Phase Three: Final Policy, Implementation Framework, and Council Support

The final scope, schedule, and level of effort for each phase will be refined in coordination with CLTWater during contract negotiations.

Charlotte Water is using the Bonfire/Euna City of Charlotte e-Procurement Portal ("Procurement Portal" - https://charlottenc.bonfirehub.com) to accept and evaluate proposals for this RFP. Proposals must be submitted electronically through the Procurement Portal on or before the Due Date in order to be accepted.

Proposal submissions are due no later than **November 12, 2026, 2:00 p.m.** All times stated in this RFP shall be of the Eastern Time Zone (ET).

Questions must be submitted in the Procurement Portal by the deadline stated in Section 2.1.

Any exceptions to the Sample Contract must be uploaded in word format (with redlines/tracked changes).

If awarded a contract, your company will be required to provide an insurance certificate(s) that meets or exceeds the requirements set forth in the Sample Contract.

Services Commence. Company begins providing the Services on January 1, 2027.