A contract cost for emergency watermain replacement in the South Pender Harbour Water System is more than doubling.
At the July 10 committee of the whole, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors endorsed a $91,883 increase to N.B. Contracting Ltd.’s excavation contract, raising the total contract value to $160,283. The change still needs to be confirmed at the board level.
While the board approved a $600,000 budget for watermain replacement back in 2022 –– with design, permit and archaeological work happening since –– a large break in March at Francis Peninsula Road, Murdoch Road and Beaver Road made the project an urgent priority, said a staff report.
The project involves decommissioning the 150mm diameter asbestos cement main and replacing it with 200mm diameter ductile iron (a change, which among other durability benefits, is said to enhance fire flow capacity).
The afflicted section earlier this year included 350 metres of main, comprising 18 service connections, one hydrant and five valves.
N.B. Contracting Ltd. is doing emergency roadway excavation, embankment and compaction with SCRD staff doing installation and replacement.
More work over a longer timeframe because of “unforseen conditions” including harder soil and rock formations, was credited with upping the contract cost.
Following this contract change, there remains just over $35,000 in the project budget. Staff note the cost per linear length for the project is about 20 per cent more than it was in 2018-2019.
Still to come in the project is replacement of 230 metres of main, challenging from geotechnical and archaeological perspectives, said the report. Staff plan to bring forward a 2026 budget proposal for that section.
