PUB authorizes water project contracts
Second screening system at wastewater plant fails
Members of the Parkersburg Utility Board and the utility’s staff met Tuesday morning at the utility’s offices. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Parkersburg Utility Board Manager Eric Bennett discussed potential repairs for stair screens that failed at the wastewater treatment plant during a meeting Tuesday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Members of the Parkersburg Utility Board and the utility’s staff met Tuesday morning at the utility’s offices. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Parkersburg Utility Board Manager Eric Bennett discussed potential repairs for stair screens that failed at the wastewater treatment plant during a meeting Tuesday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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PARKERSBURG -- The Parkersburg Utility Board on Tuesday unanimously authorized contracts for the upcoming $19 million water system improvement project and an amendment to cover additional expenses for the design of that work.
Manager Eric Bennett also informed the board the second stair screening system to prevent rags and other objects from entering the wastewater treatment plant failed on Feb. 18. The first was damaged earlier in February by a brick that apparently broke off an older manhole.
"So right now, the staff is manually cleaning the bar screens," Bennett said.
The contracts approved were:
* $4,553,934.37 with Stonegate Construction in Belpre to replace 20,000 feet of small-diameter water mains.
* $8,400,185 with Tribute Contracting & Consultants from South Point, Ohio, to replace 36,400 feet of large-diameter water mains.
* $1,416,327 with Caldwell Tanks Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, to build a 200,000-gallon elevated water storage tank near Parkersburg South High School.
* $2,825,400 with Orders Construction Company Inc. of St. Albans to make improvements to the water treatment plant's backwash basin and minor mixing and storage tanks, as well as rehabilitation of the existing south reservoir.
The last contract will be reduced to $2,357,500 after a change order eliminates demolition of the old south reservoir, Bennett said, a decision officials made to cut costs after the bids for three of the four contracts came in higher than expected.
"It still gets to stand until I come up with another way of getting it down," he said.
The closing of the bond for the projects and a pre-construction meeting are slated for next week. After that, the contractors will be able to start, Bennett said.
The board also voted to approve an amendment to the agreement with engineering firm Burgess & Niple to increase the design costs for the project by $90,000. The work was already done and includes the evaluation of potential modifications to the water treatment plant's clearwell, an underground tank; changes to water mains on Blizzard Drive, Kanawha Street and 12th Avenue and DuPont Road; an upgrade to the capacity of the Pettyville booster station; and adding the old south reservoir demolition.
The design work is already complete and the additional cost was factored into the numbers for the overall project, Bennett said. The money will be paid from the utility's reserves because it is not eligible for the state loan or the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds with which the PUB is funding for the bulk of the project.
"It (the design) was done before ARPA existed," said Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, the board's chairman.
Bennett said it isn't clear what caused the second stair screen to jam, but it looks like the chain and sprockets need replaced.
"Luckily, they have that in stock," he said.
The equipment for the other stair screen -- which lifts debris once the water reaches a certain level -- needs parts that come from Germany. The price of those parts is estimated at $112,000, while a complete replacement is expected to cost $113,000, Bennett said. But action on that will be delayed until the more recent damage, for which repairs are expected to cost $3,000, is addressed.