This year’s cast iron water main replacement program will require an extra $800,000 to complete because inflation has increased material costs and all bids came in above the project budget.
During its April 11 regular meeting, city council voted unanimously to approve the transfer of $400,000 from the WW1 water distribution account and $400,000 from the WW16 Buffalo Pound transmission line fund to the WW17 water main replacement account to complete all planned locations during phase 7 of the replacement program.
City hall plans to replace 3,300 metres of cast iron pipe this year. If that happens, it will have replaced 18 kilometres of cast iron pipe since 2016. This leaves about 84 kilometres left to replace.
Overall, the City of Moose Jaw operates 274 kilometres of underground water distribution infrastructure that varies in age.
2022 cast-iron program
The locations that city hall plans to address this year include:
- Saskatchewan Street East from Main Street North to Third Avenue Northeast
- Athabasca Street East from Second Avenue Northeast to Third Avenue Northeast
- Second Avenue Northeast from Athabasca Street East to Hochelaga Street East
- Grandview Street West from Sixth Avenue Southwest to 10th Avenue Southwest
- Main Street South from Grandview Street to Home Street
- Grandview Street East from Main Street South to First Avenue Southeast
- First Avenue Northwest from Caribou Street West to Laurier Street West
Project update
City hall has replaced more cast-iron pipe each year since the project began seven years ago, said Bevan Harlton, director of engineering services.
The municipality used an external consultant during the first four years and replaced about 2.4 kilometres each year. Once the city took over in 2020, 2.65 kilometres of cast iron were replaced that year and three kilometres were replaced last year.
The goal this year is to replace 3.3 kilometres of cast iron pipe. All that work should be completed this year, Harlton said, since the contractor must provide three underground construction crews that should expedite the work.
Six contractors pre-qualified for the project, but city hall allowed only three to proceed, he remarked. Of the three bids submitted, $7.2 million was the lowest proposal received; the budget for replacing just the cast-iron pipes this year is $7.1 million.
In reviewing the bids, the department determined that the cost to install polyvinyl chloride pipe (PVC) had increased by about 25 per cent from last year, Harlton continued. Furthermore, several surface works bid items — including road work — also increased, causing the overall bid to exceed the budget.
The total budget committed to this year’s replacement work is $8.5 million. In comparison, total capital funding within engineering services this year is $8.8 million, leaving $359,986.75 available for unexpected expenses.
Harlton added that that four-per-cent contingency is “very, very tight” but is enough to award the project and have it started.
The extra $800,000 is included in that capital funding, while money is also available to replace sidewalks, curbs and gutters that construction affected.
Finance director Brian Acker told council that city hall estimated in 2016 that it would take 20 years to replace all cast iron pipes for $120 million. However, it did not factor in inflation.
Lengthy completion process
One recommendation in Harlton’s report was to re-tender the bid so it came in under budget, but Coun. Doug Blanc disagreed with doing that. He pointed out that 84,000 metres of cast iron pipe need replacing and it could take 28 years to complete at the current rate.
“So, we have to carry forward and do this,” he added.
There are three aspects that city hall looks at when determining which roads to dig up to replace cast iron, Harlton said, including whether the pipe is cast iron, the number of breaks, and input from public works. However, breaks are the primary factor considered.
Darrin Stephanson, director of public works and utilities, said that there were 54 pipe breaks last year, 53 in 2020, and 116 in 2019. Meanwhile, there have been 28 year-to-date.
Shutting down a busy street
Coun. Dawn Luhning had some concern with the replacement happening on First Avenue Northwest from Caribou Street West to Laurier Street West, noting it’s one of the busiest streets in Moose Jaw.
She hoped city hall had a communications strategy prepared for that stretch of street, while she also wondered how long it would be closed and hoped it wasn’t longer than two months.
While city hall hasn’t yet spoken to the selected contractor, the engineering department usually seeks to complete work when school is over, said Harlton. A relevant example is last year’s work on Caribou Street West from fourth to 10th avenues, which took six to eight weeks per block.
“It can be a long time, but that doesn’t mean … work can’t be happening at adjacent blocks and behind,” he continued. “The best mitigation we have is to ensure that roads are sealed up behind the contractor as the undergrounds are completed.”
Coun. Heather Eby expressed joy that this project had reached phase 7, noting it took about seven years before the municipality even reached phase 1. Meanwhile, this project would likely face continued inflationary pressures, so she thought city administration should think ahead since there wouldn’t always be money available to pull from other accounts.
“I don’t want us to come to a future phase and say we can’t do (anything) because there’s no money,” she added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, April 25.
