Lompoc officials signed off on the completion of the city’s Regional Wastewater Reclamation Plant Upgrade project, which included a $5 million settlement over a critical design error.
The private company responsible for the error—not the city and, therefore, local taxpayers—will be on the hook to pay for the overrun.
On Aug. 16, the Lompoc City Council unanimously accepted the completion notice for the project from the city’s utilities department, finalizing a project that began in January 2007.
The total upgrade project ran up a cost of more than $94 million, which included $84.1 million for the base upgrade, $4.8 million for aerobic digesters—which uses microorganisms to break down biodegradable sewage without the use of oxygen—and $5.7 for the aeration system replacement.
The design error involved the plant’s aeration system—specifically its “blowers,” which are mechanisms that infuse air into the incoming sewage in order to break it down more quickly. In June 2009, it was discovered in the midst of the upgrade that the blowers would be too small for a plant of Lompoc’s size to operate at full capacity, which could have led to a backup of untreated sewage.
Los Angeles-based wastewater consulting and construction firm Brown and Caldwell made the error, which was corrected in the final phases of the project. The cost for doing so was figured in to the overall project total.
The $5 million settlement covers the system’s redesign, new blowers, and its adjacent connecting pipes, as well as installation and testing costs.
City Management Services Director Brad Wilke told the Sun that the terms of Brown and Caldwell’s repayment to the city of costs associated with correcting the error are still in negotiation. He added that the company has made at least one payment toward the sum.
The three-plus year upgrade project consisted of performing state-required improvements to existing facilities, as well as installing state-of-the-art instrumentation and control systems.
The plant was originally constructed in the mid-1970s, and according to the city’s website, can treat up to 5 million gallons of wastewater per day.
A notice of completion for the project was submitted to the city council by the utilities department, a final sign-off required by the county for all public works projects.
This article appears in Aug 25 – Sep 1, 2011.