Guideline
Advertising for Bid of Engineering Projects Governed by the Texas Water Code
The Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Concerning the Practice of Engineering and Professional Engineering Licensure require that a licensed professional engineer (PE) follow all laws, statutes, rules, codes, and ordinances.
§137.63 Engineers' Responsibility to the Profession
(b) The engineer shall:
(1) endeavor to meet all of the applicable professional practice requirements of federal, state and local statutes, codes, regulations, rules, ordinances or standards in the performance of engineering services;
Texas Water Code, Title 4 – General Law Districts, Chapter 49 Provisions Applicable to All Districts, Subchapter A General Provisions, Sec 49.273 Contract Award, states "(a)...The bidding documents, plans, specifications, and other data needed to bid on the project must be available at the time of the first advertisement and the advertisement shall state the location at which these documents may be reviewed."
To show compliance with these rules and codes the Board requires that the responsible PE for the project ensure that all website, newspaper, or any other bid advertisement of such projects have enough information to indicate availability and where plans can be viewed, regardless of whether the plans are releasable. While plans may not yet be obtainable by the bidders, it must be clear that those plans are reviewable.