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Council approves $769,449 owner’s‑rep amendment as Wichita Water Works clarifier repairs continue
Summary
The council unanimously approved an amendment to extend the owner's‑rep contract (Garver) for continued oversight of the Wichita Water Works project while Westech and the design‑build team remanufacture and repair clarifier components; council also directed staff to include the $769,449 OSR cost in the city's ongoing claims negotiations.
The Wichita City Council on Jan. 20 approved an amendment to the owner site representative (OSR) contract—extending Garver's oversight and project‑administration services for the Wichita Water Works project—by $769,449 and directed staff to include that amount in the city's claims for damages related to clarifier failures.
Public Works Director Gary Janssen described the amendment as necessary oversight while the city and Wichita Water Partners address mechanical failures in six solids contact clarifiers and complete remaining performance testing and acceptance (PTA) work. "We will be in a very challenging situation, and not even sure what we would do to be able to move forward and manage the project without Garver," Janssen said, noting Garver provides technical and administrative services the city lacks in‑house.
Wichita Water Partners’ project executive Ron Koger (Burns & McDonnell/Albarisi) briefed the council on root causes, testing history and repair plans. Koger said testing and commissioning began in November and that production PTAs had met KDHE drinking‑water standards, but the project experienced mechanical and structural clarifier problems traced to the clarifier internals and to incorrectly supplied gearboxes. "Westech made us aware" that an undersized gearbox had been installed, Koger said; he further explained that certain manufacturing/shop drawings omitted a stiffening ring on the 'upper draft tube,' which allowed excessive flexing and eventual failure of a supporting C‑channel.
Koger outlined the planned repairs: temporary repairs on a single clarifier to re‑enable testing (targeted short timeframe, January–February) and remanufacture of the upper draft tubes in multiple shipments (pairs arriving as early as April, May and June) for permanent installation and retesting. He said the preferred permanent fix is to bolt the upper draft tube to an interior truss to eliminate the vulnerable external support detail. Koger said Westech has acknowledged design/manufacturing omissions, and the design‑builder has been engaged in settlement discussions with the city.
Council members pressed staff on liabilities and recovery of costs. Council Member Johnston asked whether liquidated‑damage language had been removed from the contract; Janssen said the contract applied liquidated damages only to the substantial‑completion date and that moving to a substantial‑completion finding in September 2024 meant those liquidated damages did not carry forward to final completion—"Nothing was removed from the contract," he said. The mayor emphasized that the council wanted the requested $769,449 included explicitly among the damages staff pursues. The council voted to both approve the contract amendment and to direct staff to pursue the specified amount as part of the city's claims; the motion passed 7–0.
Officials provided several financial and schedule details: the project's capital budget was discussed in the presentation (about $524 million capital), combined contracts billed at just over $500 million at time of contracting; Garver's aggregate contract—including the proposed amendment—was described as just over $17.9 million. Staff said about $7.5 million remains being held from Wichita Water Partners while claims and change orders are reconciled. City attorneys and staff reported they were assembling actual‑damage lists and preparing an amended claim; that process is expected to take months.
Mayor and council asked for monthly public updates on progress; staff committed to monthly reports, with the first update after the temporary repair is completed. The council recessed into an executive session later in the agenda to receive privileged legal advice on the construction claim.
Next procedural steps include completing temporary repairs on one clarifier, resuming selected PTA runs as soon as repairs permit, continuing settlement negotiations to recover costs and arranging for permanent remanufacture and installation of upper draft tubes. Staff said the city expects to continue regular updates to council as the repair and claims processes proceed.
