Beaver City faces up to $1.2 million in added costs after engineers find missing lagoon liners

Beaver City public works officials told the City Council on Sept. 9 that engineering reviews have found at least one, and possibly two, wastewater lagoon cells constructed without the clay liner called for in the original plans, creating a large unplanned cost that could increase the project budget by about $1.2 million.

The discovery came during a project update from city staff and Jones & DeMille consultants. “There is no liner. There was never a liner,” Public Works staff member Boomer said at the meeting, summarizing the firm’s field testing. City consultant Marcus Keller told the council the absent liner is a major cost driver and that the city must go back to the CIB (Community Impact Board) for supplemental funding.

The finding matters because the lagoon rehabilitation is already underway under a contract the council awarded earlier; the city must secure extra financing to complete the work. Council members were told the city will prepare a new parameters resolution at the council’s second September meeting to increase the funding authorization enough to finish the job regardless of final liner solution.

Jones & DeMille’s preliminary estimates presented to the council showed a range of additional costs depending on material source and liner thickness. Pulling bentonite clay from an Iron County pit would add roughly $1.2 million. Using a Beaver County pit could reduce that add-on to about $700,000 if a 4‑inch liner is acceptable; if the Beaver County material fails to meet specifications and a 6‑inch liner is required, the cost difference narrows and could approach the Iron County option.

Marcus Keller, identified at the meeting as the city’s financial consultant, said the council will ask the CIB for supplemental funding on Oct. 1. “We will know on Oct. 1 if the CIB is going to approve it,” Keller said. City staff said their expectation, given current CIB resources, is that any approval is likely to be loan financing rather than additional grant funding.

Council members pressed staff on schedule risk and operational impacts. Public Works staff warned that continued use of existing lagoons risks anaerobic conditions and operational trouble if the project is delayed into winter or next spring. The city’s plan is to present an expanded parameters resolution at the Sept. 23 meeting to reduce the chance of returning to the council later for more money.

The council did not take a final funding vote at the Sept. 9 meeting. Staff said the city has awarded the construction contract already and now must secure the supplemental funds to proceed without interruption.

City staff indicated more testing of local clay pits is under way and that the Bureau of Land Management has been receptive to permitting access to a local pit if testing shows the material meets specifications. Marcus Keller is expected back for the council’s next regular meeting to present the revised financing resolution and options.