Officials report Sam—s Branch reclamation program near completion of major components, set for wet-run testing

Town staff and the owner's advisor updated the Clayton Town Council on Jan. 20 on the multi-project Sam's Branch reclamation program, reporting substantial construction progress and an updated schedule for final testing.

Louis Duffy, project engineer for the town, gave an overview of the program and said three of five projects are complete, naming the Little Creek Pump Station, the Little Creek transmission line and the expanded Clayton-to-Raleigh lift station as finished and accepted. He said the East A Pump Station and the Sam's Branch wastewater resource facility (WRF) remain under construction.

Adam Sharp, owner—s advisor with HDR, said the Sam's Branch WRF is about 90% complete and that "we are scheduled, this coming Monday to start running water through the entire system, to test out the different pumps, valves, everything in there." Sharp told council the program has invested "about 160 almost $165,000,000 to date" with a balance to finish of $23.6 million, including retainage.

Sharp and Duffy described recent construction milestones: asphalt work on a loop road, substantial building of structures, power and control wiring installation, vendor testing, and progress on force main jack-and-bore operations. The ECIA pump station work was reported at 95% complete for the force main, with process piping and electrical installations underway and a forecasted completion of May 2026 for that component.

From a financial and schedule perspective, Sharp said the overall program is "tracking with the budget that was set many years ago," noted that two of the completed projects were under budget and said procurement delays and market conditions have driven schedule pressure. He told the council that the contractor has communicated a target of April 2026 for substantial completion of the Sam's Branch WRF and that the upcoming wet-run testing (running water through the full system) will be the key technical milestone to validate that date.

Sharp also summarized an amended agreement with the City of Raleigh that extends the Town's ability to send wastewater flows to Raleigh through 2040 and preserves flexibility to manage growth and future phasing (to 10 million gallons per day) if demand requires expansion.

Council members asked questions about schedule risks; Sharp identified procurement delays and the wet-run test as the principal near-term risks. Staff said they are actively coordinating with the contractor to minimize schedule impacts. The presentation closed with staff offering to return with further updates as testing and commissioning continue.

The status update required no formal council action at the Jan. 20 meeting.