Daggett County officials seek gravity bypass to control groundwater at new clinic site

Daggett County Municipal Building Authority members heard on July 22 that construction crews have encountered more groundwater than expected at the new clinic and adjacent water treatment plant site, and staff told the authority a gravity bypass to a storm drain will likely be required to keep work moving.

A staff member who updated the authority said engineers, the contractor and county staff have visited the site and propose trenching a 6-inch perforated drain line, placed on roughly a 1% slope, from the front corner of the building to the storm drain in front of the courthouse. The excavation would remove some asphalt; the county would restore the surface and could combine that work with a larger overlay project if funding allows. "Gravity works," the staff member said when describing the preference for a passive bypass rather than relying on pumps.

The nut graf: the change would be a short-term fix to allow footings and foundation work to proceed and a longer-term first line of defense against groundwater; it would not replace footing and foundation drains planned beneath the slab or the footing drains already in the design.

Staff described technical details discussed with the design team: an over-excavated exterior layer outside the building edge, crushed rock bedding with a permeable fabric layer above it, and perforated drain pipe inside that rock. The elevator pit will remain the low point under the slab and will house a single sump as a backup, not the primary dewatering system. The elevator pit sump is expected to sit about 5 feet below grade. The staff member said existing plans already sized the system conservatively for heavier spring flows and infrequent storms, and the bypass is intended to reduce reliance on pumped discharges that can fail or lose power. "The sump will become our backup instead of our primary option," the staff member said.

County staff told the authority the project team is awaiting a written change-order cost estimate from the engineer. Staff said they do not expect the work to exceed the project's contingency but did not provide a dollar figure. Because the work is time sensitive, staff asked whether the authority would be available for a special virtual meeting or phone vote if the change order is ready before the next regular meeting.

The report to the authority also noted temporary operational issues the team addressed: a clogged culvert/can at the low end of the road had been cleared and staff had run a 4-inch and a 2-inch pump in tandem to control flows while crews worked. Staff said sediment had to be flushed from the low structure after pumping began.

Other project-related items mentioned during the clinic update included moving and managing large volumes of excavated soil (staff said the "cream of the crop" topsoil had been set aside for reuse near the rodeo grounds), and that the rodeo advisory board should be included if fence realignments accompany soil placement.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of Municipal Building Authority minutes for July 8, 2025 — approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; no roll-call recorded). - Approval of Municipal Building Authority minutes for July 15, 2025 — approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; no roll-call recorded). - Receipt of cash summary and accounts receivable report — approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; no roll-call recorded). - Approval of open invoice register dated 07/17/2025, $33,983.20 — approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; no roll-call recorded). - Acceptance of disbursement listing for MBA projects, $38,684.97 — approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; no roll-call recorded). - Motion to adjourn the Municipal Building Authority meeting — approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; no roll-call recorded).

What remained unsettled at the meeting was the formal change order for the gravity bypass: staff asked the authority to be prepared to convene quickly if the engineer delivers the estimate this week. Staff said the contractor is becoming concerned about schedule risk if a permanent bypass is not authorized soon. No formal change-order approval occurred at the July 22 meeting; authority members discussed using a virtual or phone call to approve that single, time-sensitive procurement if necessary.

Ending: Authority staff said they expect to have the detailed change-order paperwork from the engineer in the coming days and will notify members if an interim vote is needed to keep the project on schedule.