By the Numbers
$51.2 million: Cost of the high-rate treatment clarifier at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, believed to be largest single item approved by city commission.
$474,000: Cost of a recent change order for additions to the high-rate treatment project.
$11.3 million: Cost of design and construction services for the high-rate treatment project.
Sticking with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has reported on the approximately $51.2 million high-rate treatment clarifier being added to the Wastewater Treatment Plant since the story first broke in the summer of 2012.
The high-rate treatment clarifier at Springfield’s Wastewater Treatment Plant — believed to be the most expensive single item ever approved by the city commission — will now cost more than $51.2 million.
City commissioners approved an approximately $474,000 change order for the project Tuesday evening, bumping the cost to approximately $51.2 million, according to public documents.
A change order is when something is added or removed from the scope of a contract, which then increases or reduces the contract amount and completion date.
The change order, the fifth of the project, was for several different items, but the majority of the money was spent on $443,000 worth of structural repairs to existing primary settling basins. A settling basin is a concrete structure using sedimentation to control water pollution.
The original contract called for small repairs to be made to circular basins at the treatment plant. But the contractor discovered the concrete was weaker than expected. The city decided to repair the concrete for all three basins while the contractors were still working on the project.
“Over the years, it had gotten to the point where the concrete had deteriorated,” said Springfield Service Director Chris Moore. “It needed to be done.”
The high-rate treatment clarifier project is expected to be completed early next year, Moore said.
Kokosing Corp. of Delaware was awarded a $50.1 million bid to construct the clarifier in August of 2012. Another $11.3 million has been spent on both design work and other construction services.
The clarifier is being built to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act. The project is being funded through the stormwater utility and recent increases in sewer rates.
Testing began last week and could take up to a year, Moore said.
“It’s a long process,” Moore said.
The change order increases make up approximately 2.25 percent of the project costs, Moore said. It’s the equivalent of spending any extra $225 on a $10,000 project. A few of the change orders were for existing city projects, such as adding new telecommunications lines to the plant, but the city chose to pay the current contractor, Moore said.
“We’re happy right now,” Moore said. “Obviously no change orders would be great, but a project this unique and this large when you’re at 2.25 percent, it’s a good thing.”
The project is being federally mandated by the EPA. Construction began in September 2012 on the project, which is located behind the Wastewater Treatment Plant at 965 Dayton Ave. The equipment will control sewer overflows during storms.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant currently treats 40 million gallons of sewage per day. When a large storm hits, raw sewage floods into the Mad River. The clarifier will allow for the overflow to be captured and treated. When construction is complete, the city will be able to treat approximately 130 million gallons of sewage per day.
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