New force main adds another $700K to Paradise’s Lift Station No. 10
By Chad Feehan
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
November 17, 2023 Edition
Paradise will have to foot another bill to fix the problems caused by the failure of Lift Station No. 10, the troubled sewage pumphouse at the corner of Topsail Road and the St. Thomas’ Line.
On Tuesday, council approved the construction of a new force main for the plant to be twinned adjacent to the existing one. According to Councillor Deborah Quilty, the old force main, through which wastewater is transmitted, is of poor quality and has failed several times in the past.
Quilty said the twinned force main will give the setup redundancy while the new lift station is being commissioned.
Two other options were considered, she said, but were ruled out as they did not “invest toward the ultimate replacement” of the main.
“Option three eliminates the failure risk and complexity of the commissioning procedures,” Quilty added.
The additional cost to the project will be a further $679,991. Quilty later added that ratification of this latest change order will result in construction costs of $781,991, with additional engineering costs totaling $69,253.
Last month it was calculated that additional consultant fees for the project totaled some $2 million.
Council approved the latest change order in a motion with a vote of 5-1. Councillor Glen Carew was the only member of council to vote against the motion.
Deputy Mayor Kimberly Street said she does not want to risk another failure with the lift station, agreeing the replacement of the force main is the best course of action.
“I wouldn’t choose any other option,” she said.
Carew pointed out the twinning of the force main was not specified in the original scope of the project.
“We were told that that the twinning of the force main is imminent almost immediately after LS 10 will be commissioned,” said Carew. “And we were also told that we may have the ability to receive and apply for some funding for the twinning of the force main from Lift Station No. 10 to Plateau Park where it will essentially make its way down to the secondary treatment plant… We had ample time to include this in the scope of work, I believe, before we commissioned and voted on this project on December 20th of 2022.”
Councillor Patrick Martin echoed Street’s comments, arguing it is the “only viable route to go.”
“This was the smart option to go,” he said. “I think it’s good decision-making that we are choosing to do this now rather than in the future. I don’t want another blowup of pipes.”
Olympic Construction will carry out the project.
Lift Station No. 10 will also see the substitution of two ventilation dampers with two fire damper units to the tune of $2,861. That motion passed unanimously.