The City of Morro Bay is embarking on a major project to repair and rehabilitate its main drinking water tanks and address issues with its lesser tanks as well, a project that tops $2.6 million.
In early March, the City Council approved a contract amendment with Superior Tank Solutions to rehab its storage tanks at the Kings Street tank farm, that’s where the City receives its State Water allocations and mixes it with other sources, mainly the groundwater from the Morro Creek aquifer wells at Lila Keiser Park, before delivering it to customers.
The initial contract for a “factory rehab” was awarded last November to Superior for $2.03 million, and this first amendment adds some $326,000, increasing the total contract to over $2.3M, according to a staff report from the Public Works Director. The project has an approved budget of some $2.69M, so with the amendment the remainder on the budget was to be $53,000.
But some costs are still being worked on. “The costs of Contract City Engineering Services, Tank Mixer Electrical Connection, Engineering Services During Construction, Construction Management and Coatings and Special Inspection are budgetary estimates at this point,” according to the report.
The job is to recoat the interior and rehab the water tanks at Kings Street and on Blanca Street, too, which is in North Morro Bay. After they awarded the contract, the City decided to add more tasks and address some issues with its other storage tanks “to better protect the City’s water storage tanks and improve the operability of the City’s water system.” Those included:
• Factory rehab at Blanca. With actual costs and credits now better known, the staff decided it would be cost effective to also factory rehab tanks Nos. 3 and 4 at Blanca Street.
• Tank mixers that blend water better in the Kings Street tanks would be installed to, “Improve the capability for City Staff to utilize supplemental disinfectant to increase the chlorine residual for water entering the distribution system to help better protect public health.”
• New tank couplings installed at both the Kings and Blanca tank farms to increase sampling ports and better be able to test the water and “to adequately characterize water quality.”
• Ridgeway tank to be included in the maintenance contract. “Included as part of the Kings/Balance Tank Rehab Project is a 10-year Asset Management Program, which includes annual inspections, coatings repairs, and periodic tank washouts and touchups.” The tank on Ridgeway was not part of the maintenance plan and would be added in, “to provide enhanced inspection and coatings repair to extend the useful life of the Ridgeway Tank.”
• Elena tanks need washout and spot repair work. The City plans to take out its tanks at Elena Street in favor of adding storage at the Nutmeg tank farm atop the ridge in North Morro Bay, but until that happens, “the Elena Tanks are deteriorated and in need of spot repairs to extend their life until they are decommissioned. Washing out and performing spot repairs will temporarily extend the life of the Elena Tanks to allow them to operate until their replacement as part of the Nutmeg Tank Project.”
• A contingency fund is being established. “Due to the number of tanks included in the Kings/Blanca Tank Rehab Project, it is anticipated that additional rehabilitation or replacement needs could arise during the remainder of the project. To better prepare the City to be able to address any additionally identified deficiencies it is recommended that a Contingency amount of $101,981 or 5% of the original contract be included in Amendment No.1 with STS for the Kings/Blanca Tank Rehab Project. The use of this Contingency would only be allowed under the authorization of the City Manager.”
Money for these repairs is coming out of the City’s Water Fund paid for by commercial and residential customers.
