Bayfield town trustees voted on Oct. 21 to award a contract to the sole bidder to slip-line sections of old sewer lines where groundwater infiltration is a problem.
Trustees approved the bid of $324,370 from Layne Inliner, plus $65,000 for contingencies.
Town Manager Chris La May told the Times the work probably will start in mid to late November. It will be done through manholes and won't require tearing up streets, he said.
Some of the work will be in Gem Village. Much of it will be in the downtown area north and south of Mill Street, the area south of the old community gym, the South Los Pinos and South Mesa area, Appaloosa Lane, also some areas along Mountain View Drive, Columbine, Schroder, and East Oak Streets.
This is the second part of major sewer line work this year to reduce infiltration, which causes big increases in daily flow volume into the sewage treatment plant during irrigation season. That could trigger expensive plant expansion years sooner than otherwise needed.
Infiltration repairs are a major budget item this year, with a $600,000 loan from the Colorado Water and Power Authority and a $300,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).
The $900,000 was supposed to pay for replacement of some old lines and slip-lining of others, plus chemical grouting of service line connections into the main line.
The replacement and slip-lining/ grouting were advertised for bids separately back in May. No companies bid on the replacement work, apparently because they were too busy, and there was only one bid, also from Layne Inliner, for the slip-lining and grouting. Their bid price totalled more than $800,000. That was rejected, with intent to advertise again later.
The line replacement was re-advertised in June and got bids from two local contractors, both well above the $300,000 budget. Trustees approved the $430,000 bid from Crossfire. That work was nearing completion as of Oct. 21.
The slip-lining/ grouting was advertised again in August, with Layne Inliner again the only bidder. The town budget for this part of the project had been reduced to around $385,000. As approved, the contract plus contingency totals $389,244. The chemical grouting would have been an additional $128,000 and was not part of the approval.
In reviewing the bid, town engineer Brent Adams wrote that "future infiltration reduction projects will likely be required to reduce total infiltration to an acceptable level as funding is available. In particular, leaking service lines will remain a significant source of infiltration for the town's sewer system."
