The design of a new 8-million-gallon-per-day (MGD) water treatment plant for South Blount County Utility District (SBCUD) utilized microfiltration (MF)/ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. Several manufacturers can provide MF/UF membrane systems. However, all of these systems are configured and operate differently. Once a membrane system is selected, future replacement of membrane modules will be limited to the one manufacturer. The configuration of these membrane systems also would require different building footprints to house them. Therefore, a Request for Proposals was prepared to select a system around which to design. The selection process included a ranking of proposals based on both economic and non-economic criteria. Negotiations were then made with the highest ranked manufacturer to determine the final cost, scope of supply, schedule of delivery, and future replacement guarantees. This approach allowed SBCUD to procure a membrane system for a competitive cost and select a system that best met their needs while providing guarantees for future membrane replacement costs. Design costs were minimized since the membrane system was selected prior to design. Includes tables, figures.