City presents $207.3 million overhaul of water reclamation facility; systems online targeted for 2027

The Rapid City Legal and Finance Committee heard a progress report April 30 on the city's Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) improvements project, which staff described as the city's largest infrastructure undertaking to date.

Operations engineering manager Eduardo (Eddie) Lopez, the WRF project manager, told the committee the project carries a $207,300,000 budget composed of $136,500,000 in State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans, a $52,800,000 ARPA grant and $18,000,000 from the city's enterprise sewer funds. "This is the city's largest infrastructure project to date," Lopez said, and added that staff now report all monies secured for the program.

Timeline and milestones: Lopez said phase 2 is scheduled for completion in winter 2028, with a major systems commissioning milestone planned for 2027. Construction milestones noted in the presentation included placement of the first concrete for Aeration Basin 3 in November 2024; excavation of secondary clarifiers, the RAS/WAS building and related mat slabs in January'February 2025; and completion of the solids holding tank structure. The project team drilled 36-inch-diameter concrete piers down about 30 feet to reach competent shell material and reported 84 piers for the solids holding structure.

Cost and contingency: Lopez said the city has encumbered $204,100,000 of the budget and has completed roughly $40,800,000 in construction to date, with about $163,000,000 remaining. He reported $3,000,000 set aside for contingencies and said staff will present the first change order to council on May 19. As a summary of recent adjustments, Lopez said the net increase to the contract stands at about $106,006.91 to date, and he described credits and operational value-added requests negotiated with the contractor.

Construction and outreach: The contractor (PKG) has been active on site through winter work, Lopez said; HDR serves as construction administrator with Russ Hawcraft as the CA on site. Lopez said the team is preparing a project website, newsletters and digital displays for city spaces, and offered to arrange construction tours for committee members.

Committee questions: Alderman Bill Evans asked what would be demolished at the north plant and whether the concrete domes could be repurposed. Lopez said several northern tanks would be removed and backfilled, and that the domes were "not being repurposed at this time" and that contractor salvage was the likely disposition. Evans criticized what he called a lack of creative reuse for notable local structures.

Alderman Kevin Maher asked about the location of the discharge to the creek and the quality of water returned to the stream. Lopez said discharge occurs near the horseshoe bend and that treated water quality is regulated by state permit criteria that change with flow; in some periods the plant uses UV disinfection depending on flow. "That's all flow dependent, and that's set by the state," he said.

The committee acknowledged the presentation by voice vote on a motion from Alderman Bill Evans, seconded by Pat Roseland.

Ending: Lopez said the team will continue to report to the committee with construction updates and that staff expect to bring a change-order request to council on May 19. Outreach products including newsletters and a project website are planned to keep the public informed.