Please note: This is a Sole Source Notification. The College has been awarded a five-year NOAA grant for $1.35M to investigate water quality and ecosystem dynamics in Charleston Harbor. We have partnered with Charleston Waterkeeper to collect samples for 6 months every year. One important parameter that determines water quality is the concentration of nutrients. The SEAL nutrient autoanalyzer can determine different inorganic seawater nutrient concentrations on 5 separate channels. For example, we can measure the concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and silicate simultaneously. We will collect approximately 500 nutrient samples per year, or a total of ~ 2500 samples over the 5-year project. In addition, we have a backlog of ~ 1500 samples from the last few years of sampling. Description of market research Agency has performed to determine the availability of products or services that would meet the Agency’s needs: Description of supplies, construction, information technology, and/or services Vendor will provide under the contract: Docusign Envelope ID: A8C5C261-6FE6-4DDF-920D-50BFE3B221C5 Market research through Procurement IQ and GovSpend did not provide any findings. However, research using Google verified that the AA500 Nutrient Analyzer is proprietary to SEAL Analytical, Inc., and they are the only source for purchasing it in the United States. Description of supplies, construction, information technology, and/or services Vendor will provide under the contract: Docusign Envelope ID: A8C5C261-6FE6-4DDF-920D-50BFE3B221C5 Market research through Procurement IQ and GovSpend did not provide any findings. However, research using Google verified that the AA500 Nutrient Analyzer is proprietary to SEAL Analytical, Inc., and they are the only source for purchasing it in the United States. The College has been awarded a five-year NOAA grant for $1.35M to investigate water quality and ecosystem dynamics in Charleston Harbor. We have partnered with Charleston Waterkeeper to collect samples for 6 months every year. One important parameter that determines water quality is the concentration of nutrients. The SEAL nutrient autoanalyzer can determine different inorganic seawater nutrient concentrations on 5 separate channels. For example, we can measure the concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and silicate simultaneously. We will collect approximately 500 nutrient samples per year, or a total of ~ 2500 samples over the 5-year project. In addition, we have a backlog of ~ 1500 samples from the last few years of sampling. 76,708.00 SEAL Analytical, Inc. Nutrient autoanalyzer for seawater chemical analysis (SEAL Analytical AA500); 5 Channel AA500 HR System with Auto Start-up and Shutdown,1 Random Access Sampler – AS2 (2 sample racks) (Includes 1 pack of 1000 5mL Sample Cups),1 Pump with Digital air injector and automatic platen release, 5 Chemistry Multi-Test Manifolds for NOx, NO2, NH3, oP, Si; 5 Flowcells ; 5 Wavelength filters/LED; 5 Complete method documentation as detailed above; 5 Single Channel High Resolution Digital Colorimeters; 1 AACE Software; 1 System Accessory Kit; 1 Consumable Kit, including one change of pump tubes. The AA500 is the only nutrient autoanalyzer that combines four key specifications that are critical to the research project. One of those is unique and critical to our work: software-controlled automatic engage/disengage. This will ensure that we can process thousands of samples without having a full-time technician constantly monitoring the equipment. Additionally, it will result in less long-term 'wear' as the automatic disengage ensures that the equipment is not damaged when unattended. No other nutrient autoanalyzer on the market performs this specific function, and this is critical to this grant-funded research project.
