Mesa council reviews $4.5 million contract to equip Desert Well 7, discusses total well program costs
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Summary
City staff told the council the $4.5 million contract covers equipping Desert Well 7; earlier drilling was a separate contract. Councilors pressed for cost breakdowns and were told combined drilling and equipping approaches about $6.7 million, with bid results below some engineer estimates.
Mesa City Council members reviewed a $4.5 million contract to equip Desert Well 7 and pressed staff for context on drilling costs and well depth during the council’s Oct. 20 study session.
City staff said the $4.5 million is for equipping the well — site construction, electrical work and mechanical equipment — and that drilling occurred under a prior, separate contract. "So this is Desert Well 7, and this contract... it's a bid. So it's a bid award just to equip the well. So we already drilled it a couple years ago and that was a separate contract to a driller," a city staff member said. The staff member said the earlier drilling contract was "about $2.02 and a half million" as recalled, and that combined drilling and equipping costs bring the total to about $6.7 million.
The staff member told the council the new well is a redrill of an older Desert Well 7 site in east-central Mesa and will produce "a lot more capacity than the old well." Councilors asked about depth and power requirements; staff said the new wells will be approximately 1,000 to 1,200 feet deep. "Which is a big departure from if you go back to 2019, you were less than half of that," the staff member said referring to earlier cost estimates.
City staff also discussed bidding market conditions. The staff member said engineers' estimates for the project had approached $9 million, but the city's competitive procurement produced multiple bids in the mid-to-high $4 millions range. "Some of the engineers estimates for this was approaching 9,000,000 ... there were 3 bids in the fours. So the market was very telling," the staff member said.
Council members framed the item as part of Mesa’s broader water portfolio and said maintaining well capacity in southeast Mesa is a strategic priority. A council member noted that the city had put some well sites on hold previously because of drilling and equipping costs.
No formal vote or ordinance was recorded on the item during the study session; the council reviewed the agenda item and asked clarifying questions ahead of the regular council meeting.
