Report - Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

acquisitions involved the preparation of detail specifications, Board letters, advertisements,
coordination of the receipt and review of bids, recommendations to award, processing of purchase
requisitions, change orders, payment of invoices, release of bid deposits, and execution of
agreements.
The Division prepared and administered twenty-five (25) consulting services agreements
for a total value of $11,803,237.00 during 2010. Also, the Division prepared and administered
twenty-three (23) maintenance service agreements with an aggregate value of $1,591,323.00.
The acquisition of these services involved preparation and processing of purchase requisitions,
change orders, Board letters, and preparation and execution of consultant agreements, preparation
of requests for proposals, and coordination of the receipt and review of proposals.
Laboratory Accreditation
In 2010, the seven Monitoring and Research Department (M&R) laboratories previously
accredited or certified with the State of Illinois maintained their status. The participation of our
laboratories in these programs helps to ensure that the laboratories are operated in a manner that
meets or exceeds the standards established by the applicable accreditation or certification program.
Some benefits of maintaining the high standards required by these programs are better
documentation of procedures, increased quality control and quality assurance, improved analyst
training, and increased accuracy and precision of test results.
The five laboratories of the Analytical Laboratories Division (ALD) have been accredited
under the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) since 2001. The
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEP A) Division of Laboratories is the NELAP accrediting
authority for the State of Illinois. The Calumet, John E. Egan (Egan), Stickney and Industrial
Waste Analytical Laboratories are accredited for inorganic analysis of wastewater. The Organic
Compounds Analytical Laboratory is accredited for organic analysis of wastewater and
solid waste.
The ALD participates in four proficiency testing studies per year. The studies encompass
both aqueous (water) and soil matrices. Participation in these studies is a requirement of the
NELAP accreditation program. Each laboratory must receive an acceptable result in two of the
last three studies to maintain accredited status for each analyte.
In 2002, the State of Illinois created an advisory committee to review and evaluate the
IEPA management of the NELAP accreditation program. Under the enabling Public Act, the
District maintains a permanent member on the nine-person committee. The fee schedule for accredited
laboratories established in 2002 remained unchanged in 2010. Fees for the five accredited
District laboratories range from $3,400 to $4,400.
Since 1979, the Analytical Microbiology Laboratory has been certified for microbiological
analysis of water from public water supplies and their sources by the Illinois Department of
Public Health (lDPH).
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