Council meets Avertex half way

September 3, 2015 · 0 Comments

Shelburne Town Councillors gathered for a special Council meeting August 31st to examine a variety of issues with the Well #7 project. The meeting started with a discussion regarding costs incurred by a watermain break that took place during pipeline drilling by the company hired for the construction, Avertex, in the spring of this year.
The report by engineer Jamie Witherspoon of WSP indicates that on May 28th, during pipe installation, Avertex struck an existing 200 mm water main causing a leak. The company took steps to shut it down and put a temporary overland bypass connection in place until an underground line is brought into service – scheduled for completion sometime in October.
Avertex was provided with utility locates from the Town, but the as-built drawings, done prior to construction, showed inaccurate trace wire readings apparently due to poor ground conditions. Witherspoon noted that in the contract “the contractor is responsible to verify the location of underground utilities,” but that “reasonable care” had been taken by Avertex and the as-built locate information provided to the Town was inaccurate.
Witherspoon therefore recommended the Town share the cost of the main break and pay for half the cost currently submitted by the company. The engineer said he felt it was “a fair solution.” Avertex had submitted a force account for their work to repair the 200mm line over the two days for a total of $43,671.29. Council passed a motion to pay Avertex $21,835.65, fifty percent of the cost to repair the break above ground and get the water up and running.
Additionally, Council held discussions around options for a standby generator at Well #7. Initially, the plan had been to purchase a natural gas generator, but inquiries by WPS into the supply of natural gas by Enbridge concluded that delivery via an upgrade could not be guaranteed on time. “Enbridge is not able to provide a guarantee at this time for when their system reinforcement project will be complete and that gas would be available for operation of a standby generator at the Well 7 Pumphouse,” reported the engineer. Enbridge could provide WSP with an update in September, but there would still be no guarantee as to a specific supply date.
WSP recommended that the Town provide a diesel generator in place of the natural gas generator, noting that it was equally reliable and the capital cost was less. Council discussed the issue and decided to explore the option of a propane generator with the possibility of conversion to natural gas when it became available, as suggested by Councillor Egan, prior to committing to a diesel generator for the pumphouse.

By Marni Walsh