Lacey awards contracts for production well, sewer main repair and Lift Station 3 replacement

The Lacey City Council on June 17 approved three contract awards for water and wastewater projects that the city said are intended to increase capacity, replace compromised sewer pipe and modernize an aging lift station.

For water supply, the council approved Lacey Contract PW2022‑27 to Holt Services Inc. for $1,706,136.67 to drill and equip a new production well on a city‑owned parcel near Marvin Road and 40th Avenue. Staff said the well design targets roughly 1,500 acre‑feet of water annually with up to 1,000 gallons per minute and the bore will reach approximately 750 feet, requiring two drilling rigs and oversight by a hydrogeologist. Construction is anticipated to start in August 2025 with 145 working days scheduled; staff said a second similar well (Meridian Campus well) is being advertised and the two will likely be drilled back‑to‑back.

Public‑works staff also presented Lacey Contract PW2023‑22 for Lakeview Meadows utility improvements, a $421,396.59 award to ANC Facility Services to replace roughly 300 feet of sewer main compromised by tree‑root intrusion. The project includes a planned water‑main tie‑in to improve looped service; staff said the pipe is a legacy installation and crews will remove trees that threaten future pipe integrity and restore the right‑of‑way with low‑growth seed mix.

The council approved Lacey Contract PW2021‑06 to Prospect Construction Inc. for $3,689,926.24 to replace Lift Station 3, the city’s oldest pump station (constructed in 1970) and one of the system’s largest with more than 1,800 customer connections. The replacement includes a new wet well, submersible pumps, valve vaults, electrical building and an emergency generator. The project also installs about 700 feet of stormwater conveyance to reduce surface ponding on nearby parcels. That project carries a longer schedule: staff allotted roughly 260 working days and warned the work will require deep excavation, dewatering and shoring.

Council members asked about depth, water quality concerns and tree removal; staff said they performed test drilling and well testing on the Marvin Road site and will run water‑quality tests once the production well is drilled, and they will monitor for salt‑water intrusion. For Lift Station 3, staff explained they added supplemental qualification criteria to ensure bidders had project experience with deep excavations; the city rejected the apparent low bidder on technical grounds for not meeting that qualification, then recommended award to the second‑lowest qualified bidder. All three awards passed by council voice vote with no recorded opposition.