Motts Run Water Treatment Plant, a 12 million gallons per day (MGD) (expandable to 24 MGD) water filtration plant, is under construction in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It will use the Rappahannock River, the existing Motts Run Reservoir, and the future Hunting Run Reservoir as sources to supply the County and the City of Fredericksburg. During the final design stage, the owner and engineer determined that selection of the most cost effective clarification equipment option would depend on the bid prices between two differing, but technically suitable technologies. One is a system supplied by a locally established firm with equipment in current operation in the County. The other is an emerging technology with potential for significant capital and operational cost savings, but not in operation in the United States. The question was how to allow the County to competitively bid the two equipment packages to capture the best value, within legal guidelines, avoid the owner headaches associated with direct pre-purchase, and specify for the contractor fully detailed biddable final design drawings. This paper describes the methodology used to solicit contractually binding cost proposals, with warranties, without execution of a direct pre-purchase contract; the evaluation and selection procedures; assignment of the pre-bid package to the contractor; the problems encountered; and the outcome. Early in the process, the owner and design engineer liked the selected strategy so well, that they decided to procure the plant instrumentation and control package in the same manner. Political end-run attempts and potential sub-contract disputes involving indemnity and warranty were successfully resolved. Includes tables.