AWWA JTMGT69639

East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) contracts for up to $200 million per year in construction work. As a public utility, EBMUD is generally required by law to select the contractor for each project that submits the lowest-price responsive bid. Disputes between owner and contractor may be inevitable, but both owners and contractors benefit tremendously by reducing the number and magnitude of disputes, and by resolving them quickly and fairly when they occur. This paper discusses several tools that EBMUD has developed over the years that are responsive to this need, and include the following: third-party review of bid documents; detailed bidder qualifications; multi-phase involvement of project staff; and, partnering.