Council Report

City of Mesa — City Council (2026-05-18)

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City Council Report 
 
Date: 
May 18, 2026 
To: 
City Council 
Through: 
Michael Kennington, Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer 
From: 
Edward Quedens, Business Services Director 
 
Kristy Garcia, Procurement Administrator 
Subject: 
Five-Year Term Contract for Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) for the Water 
Resources Department (Citywide) 
 
Recommendation 
 
Council is requested to approve the award as recommended. 
 
A committee representing the Water Resources Department and Procurement Services 
evaluated responses and recommend awarding the contract to the highest scored proposal 
from Arq Purification, LLC in an amount not to exceed $420,000 annually, with an annual 
increase allowance of up to 5% or the adjusted Consumer Price Index.   
 
Background / Discussion 
 
Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) is a critical treatment chemical used at the Brown Road 
Water Treatment Plant to remove total organic carbon and control taste and odor in the raw 
water supplied through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal system. PAC absorbs 
naturally occurring organic compounds as well as synthetic organic contaminants, 
improving overall water quality and supporting compliance with regulatory standards. 
 
This contract ensures the reliable supply of PAC needed to maintain effective treatment, 
particularly during the summer months when water demand is highest. Without adequate 
PAC application, the City would be unable to effectively treat CAP water and could face 
challenges meeting customer demand in Southeast Mesa. Continued procurement of PAC 
is essential to sustaining uninterrupted operations and maintaining public confidence in the 
City’s drinking water supply. 
 
City staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to all registered Powdered Activated 
Carbon providers. Eight proposal responses were received, five of which did not meet the 
minimum qualifications and were deemed non-responsive. The remaining three proposal 
responses were evaluated and scored in accordance with the City’s established policies 
and procedures and relative to the scoring criteria in the solicitation. Scoring criteria 
included qualifications and experience, conformance to the powdered activated carbon 
specifications, proposed pricing, and compliance to the terms and conditions. Staff 
requested Best and Final Offers from the three highest-scoring proposals. Based on the 
evaluation results, the committee recommend awarding the contract to the highest-scoring 
and lowest priced respondent.

2 
 
Purchase Information 
 
Action: Award 
Procurement Type: Request for Proposals 
Contract Number: 2026009 
Local Consideration: Not applicable as there were no Mesa responses 
Protests Received: None  
Initial Contract Term: Five years 
Possible Renewals: None 
Funding Source: Water Enterprise Operations and Maintenance Fund  
 
No Bid Response Received 
 
Pencco, Inc. 
Univar Solutions USA, LLC 
 
Proposals Deemed as Non-Responsive 
 
Arq Purification, LLC: CarbPure: HRA (does not meet specifications) 
Atlas Carbon, LLC (Procurement could not verify conformance to specifications) 
Carbon Activated Corporation: RUWA-PL1500 (does not meet specifications) 
Norit Americas, Inc. (does not meet specifications) 
PM Chemical Solutions, LLC (did not submit PAC sample) 
 
Proposal Responses  
 
Arq Purification – Greenwood Village, CO (CarbPure TRA) (Recommended) 
Calgon Carbon Corporation – Moon Township, PA  
Carbon Activated Corporation – Phoenix, AZ (COL-PL800) 
 
Preliminary Proposal Scoring Results 
 
Respondent 
Total Points Possible / 800 
Arq Purification, LLC  
637.50 
Calgon Carbon Corporation 
490.18 
Carbon Activated Corporation 
560.47 
 
Final Proposal Scoring Results 
 
Respondent 
Total Points Possible / 800 
Arq Purification, LLC (Recommended) 
637.50 
Calgon Carbon Corporation 
503.49 
Carbon Activated Corporation 
578.75