H146--Sources Sought - Water Testing Services for the VA Black Hills Health Care System

The VA Black Hills Health Care System is conducting market research in accordance with FAR 17.207 Exercise of Options for Water Testing Services as described in the Statement of Work below.
This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE only looking for businesses to provide the services listed in the Statement of Work below for market research purposes. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this notice. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS OR PRICING AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS NOTICE. This notice shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Responses to this notice will be treated only as information for the Government to consider as part of their market research efforts. The information provided will be used by the Government in developing its acquisition strategy regarding possible set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Veteran-Owned, and other socio-economic categories of small business. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to pay for the information submitted in response to this notice and parties responding will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs incurred in responding to this notice.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541380, Testing Laboratories and Services, with an SBA Small Business Size Standard of $19.0 Million.
If you are a vendor capable of providing the requested information and required services described below with competitive pricing, send your information with a description of proof of capability and answers to all questions to: contact@example.gov on or before Friday, November 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM Central Time.
Please provide answers as appropriate to the following questions in the table below with your response to this Sources Sought. Failure to respond accurately to the following questions may affect the acquisition strategy. Failure to respond to the questions at all, or not respond to select individual questions, will result in your response being determined as non-responsive.
1.  Please provide all socio-economic categories of your firm (e.g., SDVOSB, VOSB, WOSB, Large Business, 8a, etc.) as well as your firm s SAM Unique Entity ID number (replaces DUNS number) and Government Contract POC. 2.  State whether the requested services may be ordered against a government contract awarded to your organization (e.g Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), General Services Administration (GSA), etc.). 3.  State if subcontracting is contemplated for this requirement and what percentage of the work will be subcontracted and for what tasks. 4. Provide estimated lead time to deliver a fully functioning solution as described in the Statement of Work below. 5. Complete the ITEM INFORMATION and RATE TABLE directly below this section for market research pricing for the services described in the Statement of Work.
ITEM INFORMATION ITEM NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT 0001
1.00 YR $__________ $__________
Perform Water Testing Services in accordance with the Statement of Work and Rate Table. Contract Period: Base POP Begin: 01-01-2026 POP End: 12-31-2027 PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 541380 - Testing Laboratories and Services PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: H146 - Quality Control - Water Purification and Sewage Treatment Equipment

RATE Table Line Item 0001 Base Year: (1/1/2026 12/31/2026) Est. Yearly Samples     Description Fort Meade Hot Springs Unit Price Est. Total Microbiological/Bacteria in total colony forming units (cfu) (taken monthly) 290 317 $ $ Revised Total Coliform Rule (taken monthly) 14 14 $ $ Total Organic Carbon (taken monthly) 32 6 $ $ Alkalinity (taken monthly) 14 14 $ $ Fluoride (taken monthly) 14 14 $ $ Disinfection By-Products (taken during summer) 2 2 $ $ Nitrate (taken during summer) 2 2 $ $ Nitrite (taken during summer) 2 2 $ $ Volatile Organic Chemicals (taken during summer) 2 2 $ $ Inorganic Organic Chemicals (taken during summer) 2 2 $ $ Transportation (1 Monthly Routine, 12 Possible Annually Retests for each campus) 24 24 $ $       Estimated Yearly Total: $
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT OF WORK
Water Testing Services VA Black Hills Health Care System, South Dakota
Black Hills VA Health Care System, Fort Meade and Hot Springs, requires a qualified Contractor to provide testing kits, transportation of samples, and perform laboratory analysis of samples for various water quality testing for VA Dental, Dialysis, Sterile Process Service, and Facility Maintenance departments. These services are conducted for various tests with an occurrence ranging from monthly, annually, bi-annually, triennially, or 6 9-year spans.
The Contractor, its employees, agents, and subcontractors shall not be considered government employees for any purpose. The Contractor shall furnish all labor, test sampling kits, transportation containers with ice packs, transportation services, insurances, licenses, and certificates. The Contractor is pursuant to lawful application of the provision of services for a contract of this size, scope, and complexity. The successful Contractor must perform in a professional manner as recognized by commercial industry standards as good to excellent.
TASKS and REQUIREMENTS: The Contractor shall perform the tasks and requirements for services during the applicable period of performance within the constraints of this Statement of Work (SOW) and the terms and conditions of this contract.
Important Note VA departments comply with various Handbooks, Directives, and/or Federal and State Drinking Water laws. If there are any future updates to these documents and/or regulations, the Contractor must also comply with the same during the performance of service on this contract, with the exception that an EPA and South Dakota state certified laboratory must perform all environmental testing analysis on the samples required by this contract. Holding Times specific to the time from which the sample is collected, to the time the sample is analyzed by the lab may vary from 8 30 hours. In some cases, Facility Management may conduct monthly raw source water testing, which requires the samples to be analyzed within eight (8) hours from the time samples are taken.
Required Training Appropriate Contractor staff (as determined by the VA) performing the duties of the Statement of Work shall complete the computer-based training course TMS 20939 No Access. Documented proof must be provided to the Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer's Representative/Point of Contact (COR/POC) prior to beginning any work.
Test Sampling Kits/Supplies Must be provided by the contractor to the department or COR/POC and should be available two (2) weeks before testing is to occur. Refer to the Rate Table for sample type and number of tests for yearly sampling at each location.
Testing of Samples The Contractor is responsible for arranging for the pickup, transportation, and analysis of the samples.
Note: All test results must be in total colony forming units (CFU) for microbiological/bacteria-specific tests for heterotrophic plate count.
Schedule It is anticipated that required samples for a given month will be taken as first action of the day by VA department staff in the mornings between 6:00-10:00am, and services are needed on the first Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of each month. The COR/POC will provide the Contractor with a schedule and type of test for each month. The Contractor must make best efforts to coordinate with the COR/POC with regards to planned testing dates and transportation of samples. The schedule is subject to change in the event of, but not limited to, VA activities and weather.
Retesting The Contractor will provide retesting for the departments if needed. The time frame for retesting will vary based on failed test results; however, the anticipation is that retesting will usually be conducted within 24 hours after notification of the failed test result. Any additional sampling due to a high result will be treated in the same manner as a standard test. Retesting is expected to consist of 15% of the yearly scheduled samples, which has already been factored into the quantities included within the Rate Table .
Reports The Contractor must provide individual service reports for specific test results to the COR/POC in electronic format, via email or online, within seven (7) days of receiving the test samples at the laboratory. Timely reports will assist with informing the departments so they can take immediate action and corrective measures to ensure water safety and hygiene, as well as reducing risks to VA patients. All service reports are to be signed and dated by the designated Contractor s Representative and provided to the COR/POC when each testing period is concluded. Service reports must be legible. Complete service reports must be received by the COR/POC or CO before any invoice can be certified for payment.
Each service report must legibly document the following to be considered complete:
Name of Contractor and contract number Purchase order number/task order number (if applicable) Contractor service report number/log number Description of services performed during the applicable service period Description of any problems during service (if applicable) Description of the sample information and testing results
Service Notifications Contractor must notify the COR/POC in writing when:
Testing sample kits are due to arrive at the VA, and When laboratory testing and analyses are concluded via the above-mentioned reports
CONTRACT REVIEWS: At least annually a review will be conducted to evaluate Contractor performance in meeting all the contract requirements. Non-compliance issues will be forwarded immediately to the Contracting Officer. The Contractor will be monitored through a variety of mechanisms. At a minimum, the following will be reviewed:
Overall compliance with SOW Deliverables meet the established time frames/deadlines Timeliness and accuracy of service reports Effectiveness of communication Compliance with use of South Dakota Certified Laboratory for various required tests to meet SD Drinking Water standards
PRIVACY ACT
Disclosed Information: Though there is no anticipation of information protected by the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 to be disclosed during the performance of this task, all personnel assigned to this Contract are required to take proper precautions to protect privacy information from disclosure in the case that such disclosures are made.
Commitment to Protect Sensitive Information: The Contractor shall not release, publish, or disclose sensitive information to unauthorized personnel, and shall protect such information in accordance with provisions of the following laws and any other pertinent laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of sensitive information.