GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Wastewater Department has to rebid and change the scope of a sewer rehab project in order to save tens of thousands of dollars, the utility department’s manager says.
The project would rehabilitate more than 8,500 feet of cracked and leaky sewer lines south of U.S. 40, a quadrant from Osage and Tague streets and between State and Noble streets.
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs awarded Greenfield a $500,000 grant in April for the project. city will contribute $125,000 — 20 percent of the project’s cost — to match the state grant.
David Scheiter, manager of the wastewater department, said the three bids the city received came in about $100,000 over budget. He said that was due to contractors charging more for a rehab method called “pipe bursting.” The project also includes the “cured-in-place-pipe” method, which costs less. The method involves threading a liner through existing pipes and requires minimal excavation.
Scheiter said to remain within budget, he asked for the Greenfield Board of Public Works and Safety to approve a rebid of the project to only include cured-in-place-pipe rehab of the sewer lines. He said that might also allow for more contractors to bid on the project to keep it competitive.
The board approved the rebid on Tuesday, and the city is anticipating new bids to be opened on Dec. 11.
In addition to the rehab method change, Scheiter said the project will now replace pipes connected to about 13 houses on the east side of Indiana 9. The initial proposal only included homes on the west side of Indiana 9, he said.
“So when we do get the job done, everybody along that stretch will be taken care of,” he said.
Scheiter said the rebidding won’t delay the expected project completion date of July 31.
Sewers in that area were installed in the 1930s, making them about 85 years old, Judy Cleland of Cleland Environmental Engineering told the Daily Reporter earlier this year. She said sewers typically need to be replaced or rehabilitated every 50 years. The lines in that area still function properly, she said, but they are slowly deteriorating. This project would extend the life of the sewer lines by half a century.
The OCRA grant program, funded through federal dollars, assists Indiana communities struggling with inadequate water supply or failing wastewater treatment systems, specifically those in rural and low-income areas.
