Sulphur Springs utility hears $5.69M plan to shore up wastewater headworks

Garney Construction and McClelland Engineering presented a plan to repair and temporarily upgrade the Sulphur Springs wastewater headworks, citing a January 26, 2026 base bid of $5,693,000 and additional alternates that would raise the project total.

Justin Napier, the city’s Public Works Director, opened the item by introducing the firms and said the presentation would update the commission on the headworks project’s current design and pricing. Wade Pierpoint, senior project manager with Garney, told commissioners the January contract drawings produced the $5,693,000 base bid covering earthwork, concrete, process piping, instrumentation, plumbing, electrical and equipment. “So, based on the January 2026 drawings, we were able to give a base bid number of $5,693,000,” Pierpoint said.

Why it matters: presenters and staff said the work is intended to reduce manual handling of screening debris that currently forces staff to rake screens by hand, shortens pump life, and increases maintenance costs. Pierpoint said adding automatic perforated-plate screens and washer-compactors will dewater and compact captured solids to reduce hauling tonnage and limit non-biologic material entering downstream biological processes.

The proposal: the team described a progressive design-build/CMAR delivery that remains contractually separate for engineer and contractor but allows early contractor involvement. The base bid includes two automatic screens and equipment to meet hydraulic and reporting requirements; presenters said subsequent iterations would provide capacity for two automatic screens plus a redundant manual screen (three total capacity). The base scope would also add a Parshall flume to measure flow, which staff said is required to meet state reporting obligations.

Alternates and contingencies: presenters outlined three alternates — clarifier rehabilitation (drawing down and rebuilding or replacing the drive unit), an allowance to evaluate and rehabilitate the existing grit removal system, and removable insulated “Thermax” jackets to prevent winter freeze-ups on exposed equipment. A presenter stated the base-plus-alternates figure at about $5,938,000. Equipment warranties were described as typically one to two years after substantial completion; equipment life was estimated at roughly five to ten years, with the concrete infrastructure expected to last substantially longer.

Schedule and procurement: Garney estimated about 13 months from board approval through completion, noting contract negotiations, vendor submittals (eight to ten weeks), and screen delivery lead times of roughly 24–25 weeks. The project would move toward a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) after CMAR engagement, with contingencies and allowances to cover unknowns such as existing buried pipe locations.

Capacity and compliance: when asked whether the work would meet future growth, a staff member said the permitted average plant flow is about 5.3 million gallons per day and presenters said each proposed screen can handle about 17.5 million gallons (presenters stressed current average flow is under 5 MGD, but the improvement would help during high-flow/flood events). Presenters emphasized the sequencing would maintain plant operation during construction by building the new structure beside the existing box, bypassing flow as needed, then demolishing obsolete structures and eliminating multiple bends that cause hydraulic head loss.

Next steps: the presentation was informational; staff indicated no vote was required at this meeting. Presenters and staff said they are pursuing grant funding (the team has applied to an Arkansas grant program and expects an updated project priority list soon) and will return with contract documents and a recommended procurement path.

Funding, risk and oversight: Garney noted material price volatility (with a 90-day price-hold on some equipment) and the use of contingency allowances in the GMP to cover price escalations. Presenters recommended choosing equipment based on performance and reliability rather than lowest bid alone.

The commission thanked the presenters; no formal action on the headworks project was taken at the meeting.