Wastewater catch basin bid awarded
– the first step in meeting state deadlines for sewage
improvements
It won’t smell, and it won’t percolate sewage into the ground
like a coffee pot, and it will only be used in emergencies. But for
Hollister to emerge victorious from the state water board version
of
”
Survivor,
”
it has to be built.
Wastewater catch basin bid awarded – the first step in meeting state deadlines for sewage improvements
It won’t smell, and it won’t percolate sewage into the ground like a coffee pot, and it will only be used in emergencies. But for Hollister to emerge victorious from the state water board version of “Survivor,” it has to be built.
An emergency catch storage basin to hold wastewater during the rainy season must be built by Jan. 1 or the city faces a $150,000 fine, check made payable to the state of California. So far city staff says it will survive its first test in the wastewater challenge held by the Regional Water Quality Control Board – punishment for the sewer breaking open last May.
Tuesday evening, the City Council pushed the wastewater process along by selecting Mark Nicholson Inc. as the contractor to build it the giant basin. The catch basin would capture any overflow created in the event of a spill or a flood. The project will cost about $180,000 of taxpayer money.
“We’re on a very short timeline,” City Engineer Clint Quilter told the council. “There’s a couple of changes they’re requiring. We don’t see that as a big issue we believe we can negotiate that with the contractor”
The water board wants the city to build berms higher around the catch basin so the basin won’t be deep enough to reach groundwater. The council made few comments on the issue and selected Mark Nicholson Inc. unanimously out of five contenders.
The city’s next challenge is a double-header. It has to come up with a $300,000 water study proposal for the water board, plus a $126,000 water conservation plan by Dec. 6. If the city doesn’t meet this deadline, it will pay the state of California $426,000.
