Rock Hall Water Clarifier to Run $400,000 More Than Estimated

The engineering firm that won the contract to oversee the replacement of Rock Hall’s ailing water clarifier told the town council on Monday that the project will cost $400,000 more than the firm estimated a year ago. The clarifier removes iron from the water.

“The site work was much more than we estimated, the clarifier came in a little more than we estimated, and the electrical work was significantly more than what we estimated,” said Ryan Rangel of McCrone Inc., the engineering firm overseeing the project. He said additional costs are also associated with increasing the project’s duration from seven to ten months and the recent decision to replace the aerator, a component of the clarifier.

Actual bids from contractors came in at $300,000 more than estimated and additional engineering and project managements costs to extend the project duration from seven months to ten months brings the total shortfall to $400,000. USDA, the agency funding most of the project with grants and loans, recommended increasing the duration of the project by three months to avoid overruns associated with the aggressive construction schedule that McCrone and the town had planned.

USDA is providing $498,000 in grants and $260,000 in loans — and a state Community Development Block Grant of $442,000 funds the project to a total of $1.2 million — but the additional construction and engineering estimates bring the project to $1.6 million.

Rangel said that USDA would most likely fund the additional $400,000 but Town Manager Ron Fithian and the council are concerned that additional funding may come in the form of loans and not grants. Rangel also said the USDA will require documentation to explain the higher estimates.

The town has needed a new water clarifier for about four years and Fithian was able secure the USDA funding last year.