The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is the third largest water utility in the United States, treating an average of 650 million gallons of water per day to serve a population of about four million people in 126 separate communities in Southeastern Michigan. In order to have an appropriate level of checks and balances in the system and to safeguard the interest of the public as it relates to the quality of services provided and financial accountability, many levels of review and approval are required to implement most DWSD contracts. This paper discusses a procedure that will provide the necessary checks and balances, reviews and approvals, and a quality based selection of designers and engineers, while providing cost competitive procurement of contractors. Also the procedure will provide flexibility to DWSD in time sensitive system improvements and should reduce overall costs to the utility customers.