Problems push up cost of water project

A water line project along West Colorado Street has been something of a hassle for both area residents and the city of Kalispell.

Crews first hit an unmarked natural gas main, forcing the neighborhood to be evacuated while that was repaired.

Now, because of complications with an unmarked water line, the project will be coming in about $90,000 over its $178,000 estimated cost, city officials said Monday.

The project replaced about 1,600 feet of 2-inch water line with a new 8-inch line to boost water pressures for better fire protection in the area.

It was pulled from the city’s rolling five-year capital improvement plan and financed with bonds that will be repaid with revenue generated by the West Side Tax Increment Finance District.

Those bonds also will fund proposed improvements to the intersection of Meridian and Appleway Drive. The debt issuance extended the life of the tax increment finance district, which otherwise was on track to sunset in mid-March.

When work crews started digging into the ground for the water project, they found a second, unknown water line in the area. About 13 houses were attached to a higher-pressure 2-inch line connected to the upper zone of the city’s water system.

Those houses saw a “radical” loss of water pressure as soon as they were hooked up to the new 8-inch water line, which connects to a lower zone of the city’s water system that has significantly lower water pressures.

“What we do now is take that two-inch line we didn’t know was there and replace it,” City Attorney Charlie Harball said.

A couple of pressure valve boxes will have to be installed to boost water pressures back up to what those houses had before. Those boxes are estimated to cost $30,000 each, but the city continues to look for a cheaper alternative.

The water line project should take another two or three weeks to finish, Harball said.

The project initially was estimated to cost about $300,000, went out for bid with an estimated cost of about $250,000 and came back with a bid of $178,000. This setback pushes the cost back toward that original estimate, Harball said.

“Bottom line is that the work is being completed as [City Council] intended. We’ll have accomplished everything we wanted.”

Meanwhile, the public works department is proposing to spend $34,000 in next year’s budget to implement a new utility asset management program to better track infrastructure inventory and improvements. That should help with these types of “unmarked water line” issues, Harball said.

“In the old days, all this kind of stuff was just kept on index cards, so that’s what we’re trying to improve.”

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.