Post Falls approves amended warranty terms and service contract for new membrane filters at water reclamation plant

The Post Falls City Council on Nov. 18 approved a service contract and modified warranty arrangement with Wiggin Water Technologies for the membrane filtration portion of the city’s water reclamation tertiary treatment upgrade.

Public Works Director John Beacham told council the membrane modules have been in operation since March 31, 2025, but the manufacturer’s (DuPont, formerly Dow Chemical) warranty to the vendor was dated from shipment rather than the city’s start of operation. That production/shipment-based warranty start left a gap between the contract warranty the city expected and the warranty Wiggin could secure from the manufacturer.

Beacham summarized the city’s original contract requirement: a one-year full warranty followed by a six-year prorated warranty on the membrane modules — products that typically last seven to 12 years. He said DuPont’s warranty to Wiggin was backdated roughly 22 months to the module ship date, creating a financial and operational risk for Wiggin if Wiggin were to bear full warranty liability for failures occurring after the city’s operational start date.

Wiggin proposed a compromise: accept a lesser prorated warranty (the vendor-provided warranty that starts earlier) in exchange for a separate service contract with the city. The service contract would provide ongoing remote technical support (the vendor offered four hours per month at no charge) and periodic site visits, intended to reduce operational errors, support the city’s operations staff, and extend the effective life of the modules through better operation and troubleshooting.

“Wiggin proposed providing free remote tech support and site visits to help us operate the system in a way that does not damage the membranes and to improve our chances of running it correctly for the ongoing future,” Beacham said. He added that extending competent, vendor-provided remote support could materially reduce the risk of membrane failure and reduce lifecycle costs by keeping equipment operating longer.

Beacham presented an expected-value-style risk calculation suggesting the monetary value of the warranty risk over the prorated period was modest relative to the value of continued service and the operational benefits of vendor expertise. He said replacing the membrane modules prematurely could cost roughly $143,000 per year of service-life extension avoided, assuming a seven-year replacement cycle.

Council members voiced concerns about the warranty discrepancy and whether Wiggin and the manufacturer should have disclosed the ship-date warranty terms during bidding. Staff said if the project had been completed on its original schedule the discrepancy likely would not have become an issue. They also noted the vendor’s willingness to continue remote support and site expertise would help the city’s operators respond to alarms and reduce downtime.

After discussion, the council approved the recommended service contract and the adjusted warranty terms with Wiggin Water Technologies. The vote authorizes the city to enter a separate service agreement with Wiggin for ongoing remote support and site visits and to accept the manufacturer's dated warranty to the vendor with Wiggin’s proposed operational support as mitigation.