Council approves change order to optimize wastewater plant, staff says reroute will reduce flood risk

A city public works staff member told Lancaster’s council the city needs a change order for its wastewater treatment plant to add electric actuators to valve controls and to reroute a drain line that caused an unexpected flood during heavy rain.

The staff member described the package as two parts: adding solenoid actuators to reduce hundreds of manual valve turns per day and rewrapping or rerouting an old drain line into a new manhole roughly 50 feet away. The presenter said the reroute portion was estimated at roughly $99,000 and that electrical installation and controls are included in the overall package. “We had those lines installed, and, after we install, we…came to find out each one of those valves are 50 turns to open,” the staff member said, adding the existing wheel valves would remain as a manual backup.

The change order drew technical questions from council members about long‑term function and whether drainage would again be problematic. The staff member said the new routing connects to an existing filtrate drain and that, barring a downstream failure, the reroute should prevent similar flooding; the city can use jet trucks and standard maintenance if problems reappear.

Council member Sowell moved to authorize Change Order No. 3; the motion was seconded and approved by roll-call vote. The council did not provide a full, itemized cost breakdown in the meeting; staff said they will confirm schedule impacts and finalized cost details as construction continues.

The authorization allows the contractor to proceed with the optimization and flood‑proofing work; staff said the work will remain largely above ground going forward and that manual operation will still be possible if electronic controls fail.