Council authorizes $272K professional-services agreement for redundant well design

Crescent City on Nov. 17 authorized the city manager to sign a professional-services agreement with engineering firm GHD for the design phase of a redundant-well project aimed at providing an alternative supply to the Smith River collector and building redundancy in the water system.

Director Yeager explained the project's rationale: the city's surface-water intake on the Smith River supplies about 4,000 customers and the redundant well site is adjacent to the existing main feeder, which minimizes required new infrastructure. The project has been scaled to available funding: a $500,000 grant plus $153,000 in city water-fund monies for a $653,000 project budget. GHD's professional-services agreement for phase 1 is about $272,000; drilling and well installation costs were estimated at roughly $100,000'$150,000 and connection costs around $183,000. Staff noted that because the grant funded only one test well, the 12-inch test well is intended as the production well; if the well proves nonviable the project would stop and the grantor would reimburse eligible expenditures.

Council authorized the city manager to sign the professional-services agreement and to approve change orders in an aggregate amount not to exceed $60,000 (single change order limit $20,000). The motion passed unanimously.

Staff said the design/permit/construction timeline anticipates testing and analysis through late 2026, and additional work on SCADA/telemetry and pump-house connections could extend into 2027. If the well is viable, staff will return with recommendations for phase-3 funding and construction contracts.