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Chehalis awards engineering contract for Chehalis River intake crib; staff to amend 2025 budget
Summary
The council awarded a $260,705.50 contract to design a replacement raw-water intake crib on the Chehalis River. The project is tied to a FEMA grant but requires the city to finance 60% design costs up front and amend the 2025 water capital budget for $63,105.50.
The Chehalis City Council voted Feb. 24 to award an engineering contract to Grayling Engineers for replacement design work on the Chehalis River raw-water intake crib damaged in the 2021 flood.
City staff told council the intake crib — originally built in 1961 and located roughly 15 feet off shore — protects the intake pipe that feeds the pump station. A temporary repair performed after the December 2021 flood requires replacement to meet current standards and permitting. "The crib itself is located about 15 feet offshore towards the center of the river," a staff presenter said, describing the existing structure and the need for a modernized screened intake.
Grayling Engineers was selected through the RFP/RFQ process. Staff said the city previously secured a combined FEMA and Washington State grant of $1,887,767.50 (awarded in 2023) to support design and engineering and had already allocated smaller amounts to reach prior design estimates. The city reported the cost to reach 60% design came in higher than previously estimated: the engineering proposal for 60% design was $237,005, and staff recommended a 10% contingency of $23,750, bringing the total contract amount to $260,705.50.
City staff said an additional $63,105.50 is required from the water capital fund to cover the current phase and will be included in a forthcoming 2025 budget amendment. Staff explained the city must reach 100% design before it will qualify for further FEMA construction reimbursements; the 60% design milestone is required to clarify permitting and construction scopes needed for that 100% design.
Councilors asked for technical clarifications, including why the new crib might occupy less hydraulic volume in the floodway and which screening and debris-handling systems would be used. Staff and the consultant said modern crib designs — driven by fish-protection rules and other agency standards — are more complex and site-specific and may include automatic mechanical or air-compressed screen cleaners and additional permitting, geotechnical work, and environmental constraints. The city noted that the Chehalis intake currently supplies a portion of the system (staff estimated roughly 15–20% of annual supply but said most water comes from the Newaukum source), and that upgrades are a first phase of larger water-rights and transmission-line work.
A council member moved to award the Chehalis River Intake Crib Project to Grayling Engineers in an amount not to exceed $260,705.50 and to authorize the city manager to execute project documents; council approved the motion on voice vote.
