DeKalb staff recommend $233.8 million award to address single point of failure at Scott Candler plant

DeKalb County staff presented the scope, risks and recommended award for a large Scott Candler water treatment plant upgrade, describing the project as a priority to eliminate a long-identified single point of failure and to increase storage and delivery resilience for county residents.

"The single point of failure was discovered about five years ago," the plant representative (identified in the transcript as Miss Dora) told the committee, explaining the project aims to provide redundancy in finished water delivery. The recommended contractor, Ruby Collins, offered a proposal of $233.8 million and a schedule the team says could reduce delivery time by about a year versus the standard completion timeline.

Staff said the project would add approximately 20,000,000 gallons of storage to the plant's current roughly 28,000,000-gallon capacity by demolishing an older filter plant, installing two 10,000,000-gallon tanks, building a transfer pump station and a new high-service pump station with multiple large pumps. The design also includes a bypass to existing ground storage tanks to allow alternative delivery paths and avoid service interruption during operations.

Project risks identified by staff included maintaining uninterrupted treated-water service during construction at the county's primary plant, construction in close proximity to reservoirs, shallow groundwater and the high cost of dewatering. Staff said they had spent five years on conceptual design and investigations and plan early procurement of long-lead equipment to reduce schedule risk. They also said they will deploy construction management services and progressive design reviews.

Commissioners asked practical questions about procurement compliance and lead times, whether the low bid savings could be eroded by change orders, and whether retaining walls or blasting would be required. Procurement staff said Buy‑American/Davis‑Bacon considerations and early procurement practices are part of the vetting process and that change orders would be controlled by vetting and contract terms; staff said records and documentation will drive any adjustments. On blasting, staff indicated they did not anticipate blasting but could not rule out limited demolition work and said they would monitor seismic impacts and coordinate public outreach.

Staff said the procurement schedule is pending audit clearance and that the county expects to issue a notice to proceed in the last quarter of 2026 if approvals proceed on schedule. The committee did not vote on the contract award at the meeting; staff will return with procurement and audit updates and is planning community engagement for nearby residents.

The committee asked staff to hold a town hall for residents near Winners Chapel and adjacent neighborhoods to explain construction timing and impacts when the schedule is firm.