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Town of Edson Office of the Chief Administrative Officer

Request for Decision Meeting Date: September 18, 2018

Subject: Tiffin Booster Station Repair

Recommendation: That Council rescind Resolution #5 passed at the August 21, 2018 Council meeting, instructing Administration to pursue inline pumps as a means to improve water pressure for individual affected homes in the Tiffin area.

Background: Following the direction received from Council to pursue development of an inline booster pump installation program Administration observed the less than enthusiastic public response. This combined with the exorbitant pricing of the tendered repair pushed Administration to reconsider previous alternatives that were deemed unpalatable. Operations staff re-inspected the water break and consulted with a contractor who has proposed a workable solution to repair the water break. Should Council rescind the motion of August 21, 2018 as recommended by Administration the following motion passed at the May 15, 2018 Council Meeting would once again be in force: Resolution #4 Moved by Councillor Wilkinson that Council direct Administration to engage in the process of repairing the Tiffin Area Booster Station, with an allotted budget amount of $350,000.00 to come from unrestricted surplus. Restoring this allocation of funds for a repair will allow for engagement of a contractor to enact one of two newly formulated repair scenarios: Option A: approximate cost ~$35,000 – localized repair of leak at source. This repair offers the most cost-effective opportunity to repair the leak which has rendered the booster pump station inoperable. However, this does not address any of the bigger picture concerns regarding the sub-optimal deployment of the booster station and may provide only temporary relief as the localized solution can be compromised by a subsequent failure of adjacent infrastructure. It is also not possible to predetermine the success of this option. Should Option A be unsuccessful Option B can still be implemented. Option B: approximate cost $100,000 – bypass the compromised section of the waterline and connect upstream from the failed pipe. This repair is somewhat costlier but still substantially lower than other

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options which have been explored. Like Option A this alternative does not address the larger scale concerns with the design and function of the booster station and does not improve the water system overall. It will merely return the station to its pre-break condition which remains sub-optimal. It should be noted that the original concerns remain with working around and under the foundation of the building on site. It is never without risk undertaking repairs in this circumstance. It is possible that these repair efforts will not be successful.

Strategic Plan Alignment:

Building and Strengthening our Foundation

Financial Implication:

Service Level/Staff Resource Implication:

Consultation: Engineering Department, Operations Department

Alternative(s): Retender the more substantial fix as designed; proceed with inline booster pump program.

Attachment(s) Project chronology

APPROVALS:

Originated By: (name and title)

Mike Derricott, CAO

Chief Administrative Office or Designate:

Mike Derricott, CAO

Zone 2 Booster Pump Station (BPS) - Chronology:

• Mid-August 2017: Leak was detected at the (BPS).

• Public works had engaged KSM to open and fix the leak. Work had continued for about a week

or more at which time it was established that the leak was from the underside of the BPS.

(Utilities had sufficient time to inspect the steel pipe condition, establish whether rusting or

otherwise, whether fitted with anode packs or not, etc., and report back findings)

• August 26, 2017: Advice from Engineering department was sought, more than a week after the

leak was first discovered.

• August 28, 2017: IVIS Construction and Advanced Trenchless were invited to complete camera

inspection and provide proposal to line both the discharge (dia. 250mm) and the suction (dia.

300mm) pipes.

• September 07, 2017: Only IVIS Construction responded to the call and their estimate for repairs

was in the amount of $350,000.00, which includes the cost of cleaning/pigging and installation

of a 7mm thick NSF 61 standard NordiPipe liner inside the dia. 250mm discharge line. It did not

include lining the dia. 300mm suction line, neither did it include associated costs for civil work

by KSM, estimated at $90,000.00.

• September 08, 2017: On establishing that the cost of lining and associated deep utility works is

in excess of $440,000.00., the Engineering department began looking into various mechanisms

to underpin the structure from the exterior, ensure that there is no slab movement and dig into

the underside, continuing from where KSM and Public Works had left. This first step was to

support the structure before the repair work could begin. The cost of material to assist in this

regard, i.e., I-Section Beams and steel plates from Maximum Metals, here in Edson and helical

support piles from Prairie Erectors in Nisku (historical estimates) were found to be favorable.

Implementing what was designed was however not as favorable because of the unending

process to relocate shallow utilities, including gas mains and telephone service lines on the

south side of the building.

• Meantime, a model run proved that though Tiffin had enjoyed high pressure, in excess of 88 psi

at some locations, all except three residences were at or above the minimum required pressure

of 40 psi at Peak Hour Demand (PHD) and all residences have sufficient protection in the event

of fire, with the BPS taken out of the supply system.

• This compelled us to examine why the BPS was there in the first place, where all except one of

the small pump, had been in use for over 30 years. This however did not stop us from looking

for a safe means at a reasonable cost to have the BPS repaired and put back into the system.

• September 11, 2017: NCGL Construction, a leading Electro-Mechanical Contractor, whose

services the Town had used for the past several years, was invited to do a site visit and provide

their thoughts on how the repair could be accomplished in a safe manner. Notwithstanding that

we had some differences with the solution proposed, the cost estimate, including KSM’s quote

for pipe works outside the building, $90,185.00, in the amount of $275,206.00, was even more

discouraging.

• September 15, 2017: A request was sent to AECOM to review our model findings for flow and

pressures at PHD and Fire event in the Tiffin area and to also provide a proposal for the repair of

the leaking pipe at the BPS.

• September 20, 2017: Considering the danger the excavated trench on the west side of the

building, now left open for about 6 weeks posed, I instructed that it be backfilled.

• October 31, 2017: A proposal in response to our request, was finally received from AECOM.

Their engineer’s estimate at the time was $670,000.00. This estimate includes access way to

both pipes in the event a replacement or a need for repair becomes necessary in the future.

• February 26, 2018: I wrote an email to the CAO and Councilors explaining findings from our

model run in the Tiffin Area and questioning the need to repair the BPS at the current state of

development in the areas the booster station was installed to serve.

• It may also be noted that we had received no complaint in the winter and early spring months,

maybe for the obvious reason, except from those who reported low pressures at the time the

BPS was first taken out of the supply system.

• Early May 2018: Results from another round of hydrant flow test (conducted by Public Works)

compared with results produced by the model run confirmed that all residences, except the

following (slightly below minimum), have no pressure issues:

o 5405 18th Avenue

o 5501 17th Avenue

o 5612 16th Avenue

• May 8, 2018: Report on the status of the BPS repairs was presented at the Committee of the

Whole meeting. Having deliberated on the report presented, the Committee directed that effort

be put and have the BPS leak repaired and existing pressure restored in Tiffin.

• May 15, 2018: A Request for Decision, including a budget estimate of $350,000.00 was presented to Council. Resolution to proceed with the repair work was passed.

• May 17, 2018: Request for proposal to complete design considering only the safe restoration of the BPS to its existing condition was sent to AECOM and Associated Engineers

• May 28, 2015: Proposals were received.

• June 15, 2018: AECOM, having met set criteria, was retained and a Professional Service

Agreement was signed.

• July 15, 2018: Bid documents were received for review. Changes to the design were made to

reflect only the tasks associated with the repair of the leaking pipe and to assess and replace the

existing suction pipe, if needed.

• August 2, 2018: Bid documents were sent out to select bidders with experience on similar tasks

in Edson and surrounding areas.

• August 15, 2018: Only one bid in the amount of $497,000 ~188% of the Engineer’s estimate,

was received.

• August 21, 2018: Bid results with Administration’s recommendation was presented to Council.

Considering the excessive bid amount Administration recommended that the project be either

rebid at a later date (when the market cools-off) or alternative options, including fitting affected

residences with an in-line booster system, be considered to improve pressure at those

residences whose pressures were found to be below the standard minimum. Council directed an

in-line booster system be fitted the at affected residences, as recommended.

• August 22, 2018: Instruction was given to Utilities to begin pressure testing starting at those residences closest to hydrants with below the minimum pressures and at the residences whose owners had reported low pressure.

• September 6, 2018: Concern of leaks with inline booster systems and pressure from

complaining residents was expressed by Utilities. This of course is far fetched, to say the least.

This type of system has been in use for many years in several communities all over the Country.

Almost all high-rise buildings, housing several units, depend on inline booster system to cater for

their flow and pressure needs. Tiffin is not the first and will not be the last.