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Water commission defers $6.6 million request for rural consolidation after members flag cost, schedule risks
Summary
The Water Sector Commission deferred a request from Tensaw/Tensile Water to add about $6.59 million to a phase‑4 treatment expansion and consolidation with Newton, citing cost escalation, procurement lead times for filters, and insufficient value‑engineering documentation. Committee members asked for more detail and possible phasing before the next meeting.
The Water Sector Commission on Monday deferred consideration of a $6,590,000 supplemental request from the Tensaw/Tensile/Tinsall Water Association to complete the final phase of a multi‑phase consolidation and treatment‑plant expansion.
Tensaw officials told the commission that clarified and vetted bids showed equipment and construction costs far above earlier estimates, and that adding Newton’s customers requires roughly doubling the plant’s treatment capacity. The association’s president and engineers said the town of Newton had gone without reliable water service at times — “they were out of water on Christmas day,” the association’s representative said — and that consolidation is intended to provide resiliency by moving Newton’s customers onto the larger system.
Commission members expressed deep concern about the size and timing of the request. Senator Bass and others noted the request would raise the project award to about $18.6 million, an increase of roughly 85 percent over the original award, and asked whether value‑engineering had been fully explored and whether the expansion could be phased. Senator Reese said the committee needed a deeper review of bids and potential cuts before approving such a large supplemental award.
Louisiana Department of Health engineering chief Steven Gubart told the panel the project is intended to support Newton, which “is in poor condition currently,” and said LDH supports the consolidation in principle but could not guarantee procurement or timeline outcomes. Tensaw representatives said manufacturers and contractors had indicated they could meet the committee’s deadlines if the funding were approved, but members worried a procurement delay or fabrication lead time would prevent timely expenditure of federal or ARPA funds.
Senator Reese moved to defer the request to next month’s meeting so the association, staff and LDH could produce detailed value‑engineering documentation, explore phasing options, and meet with committee leadership in the interim. The motion carried by voice.
Next steps: Commission staff and Tensaw representatives will meet with Senators Reese and the chairman to drill down on project costs, potential cut points for phasing, and procurement lead times before the item returns to the panel.
