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Newton Council approves WWTP repairs: $311,628 construction award for lime-piping replacement, catwalk and sludge budget updates
Summary
Council approved Turner-Murphy Construction for lime-piping replacement and adopted related capital and budget amendments totaling $404,428 for the lime project; it also approved a $75,000 budget amendment for increased sludge hauling costs and a contract to Gilbert Engineering for a new filter-building walkway.
Newton City Council on March 16 approved a set of repairs and safety upgrades at the Clark Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant aimed at preventing permit violations and reducing staff safety risks.
Public Works and Utilities Director Dusty Wentz told the council that decades of lime passing through underground piping had "tuberculated" lines, reducing a two-inch pipe to about one inch and a six-inch pipe to about three inches, which created system flow problems in 2020. Staff has been operating the plant using fire hoses as a temporary bypass; Wentz said the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality treats the fire-hose workaround as "a temporary solution," and failure to meet permit pH parameters for land application of sludge could prompt fines.
Wentz said staff solicited bids and received three responsive proposals for replacing the lime piping. Turner-Murphy Construction was selected as the lowest qualified bidder with a total bid of $311,628 (base and alternate). With engineering and administration costs of $27,800 and a recommended construction contingency of $31,000, the total project cost for lime-piping replacement is $404,428. Council adopted a resolution of intent to reimburse, awarded the construction contract to Turner-Murphy and approved the capital project and budget ordinance amendment (motions carried unanimously).
Wentz also told council that heavy rainfall over the past two years nearly doubled sludge production versus the rolling 10-year average, increasing Synagro, Inc.'s hauling and land-application costs. The FY2021 budget included $110,000 for sludge hauling; staff requested an additional $75,000 to finish the fiscal year. Council approved the budget amendment unanimously.
On worker safety, Wentz said there is no safe walkway to access filter valves without walking across a two-foot-wide wall over a 20-foot drop; contractors refused to work on actuating valves until an OSHA-compliant walkway was provided. Bids for a walkway produced Gilbert Engineering Company as the lowest qualified bidder at $112,150. With $9,300 in engineering fees and a recommended $12,000 contingency the project cost is $124,150, which exceeds the previously budgeted $64,050 by $60,100. Council approved the budget amendment and awarded the contract to Gilbert Engineering Company unanimously.
Why this matters: Council framed the projects as necessary to maintain regulatory compliance, avoid environmental penalties, and protect workers. The lime-piping project creates a capital asset that could be reused if the plant is upgraded to a larger permitted volume.
Next steps: Contracts and ordinances are on file with the City Clerk; staff said they will coordinate project administration and construction oversight.
