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Breckenridge officials report wastewater overflow, approve TWDB lift-station contract and major waterline schedule extension
Summary
City leaders said a clarifier clog prompted an SSO report while TCEQ remained on site; commissioners approved a $1.1857 million TWDB-funded lift-station contract and a change order adding 228 days to a waterline project and $5,580 for extra services.
Breckenridge city leaders told the commission that a clogged clarifier at the wastewater treatment plant led staff to drain part of the unit and, out of “abundance of caution,” to report a sanitary sewer overflow while the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was on site.
The city manager said the release was partially treated and emphasized that TCEQ monitored the response; ‘‘we did release an SSO ... out of abundance and caution,’’ the manager said, and added that preliminary checks found no evidence of fish kills and that follow-up test results will be released when available.
Why it matters: Commissioners approved multiple items Tuesday intended to reduce future operational risk and accelerate long‑planned infrastructure work. The commission voted to award the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB/PWDB)-funded lift-station improvements contract to Legacy Construction LP and to approve a substantial contract change order on a separate waterline replacement project.
The engineering presenter told the commission that bids were opened April 22 and that ‘‘the low bidder is Legacy Construction, the amount of $1,185,700.’’ Staff said remaining TWDB funds can be used and that final contract execution requires TWDB concurrence.
On the related waterline replacement project (TWDB DWSRF), staff explained that approval delays and on-the-ground complications have forced a formal time extension. ‘‘It is a total of 228 additional days to the contract,’’ Sage said, citing 95 days tied to agency approval delays plus additional days for scheduling constraints and no-dig Fridays/Saturdays; the change order also requested $5,580 to cover three additional water-service connections. Staff warned further change orders may be needed to reconcile final quantities.
Staff also discussed operational drivers behind frequent boil‑water notices and service interruptions during construction: aging mains, third‑party excavations, nonoperational valves that make isolating work areas difficult, and the need to insert new valves while crews locate buried infrastructure.
Next steps: The lift-station award will move to TWDB for concurrence before a final contract; the change order will also go to the state funding agency for review. City staff said they will continue to publish testing results from the wastewater incident and to return with any additional change-order requests and a final reconciliation of quantities at project closeout.
Provenance: Topic introduced SEG 110; lift-station award discussion SEG 406–526; change-order discussion SEG 527–689; wastewater incident description SEG 110–187.
