Lipstick On A WWTF With A Camera

Photographer Paul Cockrell has done the impossible, making wastewater treatment plants into works of art with his camera. Have a look:

https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2016/11/beautifying_wastewater_treatment_plants_one_photo_at_a_time?ref=related_sidebar

An interesting side note, Mr. Cockrell used to work as a water/wastewater design engineer for HDR. Guess who managed the construction on our WWTF? HDR!

https://www.hdrinc.com/sites/default/files/2017-05/hdr-extreme-sewer-makeover.pdf

I have to give credit to our own San Luis Obispo County photographers for their beautiful shots of our rather picturesque WWTF that we have seen in their drone shots and drone time-lapse videos. (Our setting for a sewer beats most too of course.)

LO on BOS Agenda, January 28,2014

Posted today:

Board Business:

28. Update on the Los Osos Wastewater Project and approval of recommendations on: 1) a budget adjustment in the amount of $9,981,407 from unanticipated revenues and authorization for the Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector to make short-term loans between County funds; 2) collection system approvals including authorization to use existing construction contract contingencies for roads restoration and approval of Amendment No. 2 with HDR Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $2,840,642; and 3) a resolution extending rebates for the Project Water Conservation Program, and approval of right of way documents securing an easement from Crizer for an amount of $4,850 for the Los Osos Wastewater Project, Los Osos, CA. District 2.

29. Submittal of bid opening report for the Los Osos Wastewater Project, Los Osos Water Recycling Facility, to award the subject contract to Auburn Constructors, the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, in the amount of $48,180,299; a resolution approving the Construction Change Order Policy; a resolution approving a project Labor Compliance Program; and authorization of engineering services under the existing agreement with Carollo Engineers, in the amount of $1,444,095. District 2.

Click the links to the relevant documents!

Advised, But No Consent

Today at the Board of Supes there was an item on the Consent Agenda regarding the Los Osos Wastewater Project.  It was to approve two contract amendments for more money out of the wastewater budget to extend work on the project. Naturally, the usual Los Osos' public speakers were challenging the entire project once again. The item was postponed to some late date in January for a couple of frustrating reasons:

• Supervisor Mecham hadn't had time to look at the staff report until Sunday as he was busy with the Paso water issues, leaving no time to consult with county staff with his questions. So he was unprepared to vote on anything he hadn't studied. 

• Supervisor Arnold wanted a presentation to hear more. She didn't like that this was placed on the Consent Agenda.

Mecham responded to an angry Supervisor Hill saying that he wasn't pandering to the L.O. people who blurt out from the back of the room (who had been among those pushing for a postponement). Chairperson Gibson then had to tell the back of the room to be quiet and stop interrupting or they would be asked to leave the chambers; they'd had their time to speak uninterrupted. (I wonder how sick and tired he is of having to keep doing this? I'm fed up with those speakers' displays of rudeness and entitlement in their boorish behavior.)

Hill was angry because of the 30 years of sewer obstruction, people had found ways to sabotage projects. Clearly this delay was feeding the angry speakers red meat. That is my opinion anyway, and I was temporarily really mad at them "winning." But then, this is merely a battle, not the war. This WILL pass in January.

(Oh, what will they have to complain and bash the County over once we are wastewater compliant?  Fast food? Bus routes? I know, solid waste rates!  What kind of lives do these people have that all they can come before the Board with is anger and complaints? I'd hate to be any one of them. Really, is it a good psychological strategy to just swing with a sledgehammer every week? How well does that work in their own lives when they are on the other end? But then, this all really is just punishment to the County for voting to take a project they didn't like or want—and certainly did not want to pay for. Watchdogging is only a guise. What logic do you operate with when your own obstructionism caused massive price increases in the project? In 2001 the estimated cost for a wastewater treatment plant was $84.6 million; in 2005 it was $154 million; now it is $173 million (if you don't count the part of the approximately $20 million bond where the environmental work and permits for the last project were paid from. But I digress.)

Supervisor Ray tried to make peace and suggested that a delay in voting would be OK if time time was not of the essence.

John Waddell, Project Manager said that it was desirable to have approval this year for budgeting and planing but that there was money still left to pay contractors until the end of January so this could work.

Another frustrating part for delaying this item; upping the money HAD been discussed twice before, on June 18 and October 8. The Corollo contract had been approved and more money was just being disbursed today with a vote. Their overall design and job performance was to be evaluated before releasing these additional funds. On the HDR adjustment, its not their fault that the trenching schedule was pushed out six months (and the pump station work comes after that). This requires them to do the additional project management. Any budget adjustments later won't come out of community money, but from unanticipated revenues from grants anyway. The amounts from the 218 vote and the 2007 estimates remain the same. The strategy Paavo Ogren said, was to award tighter amounts of money to contractors and then adjust upward when more money is required, its not good to put all the money out there at the beginning.

Now for the mysterious part of today's BOS meeting! Why was Agenda 21-er Laura Mordaunt taking a video of John Waddell and Paavo Ogren with her phone? She lives in San Luis Obispo, not Los Osos. Her red phone case matched her red sweater perfectly though!

The far odder part was non-Los Osos resident Mike Brown from COLAB bashing the County on this Los Osos item. He fronts a group whose board and members remain anonymous! Kinda creepy!

Shrieks of Protest Upcoming

Be prepared! Next week at the Board of Supes a Los Osos wastewater item is on the agenda!

Consent Agenda - Public Works Items:

23. Request approval of 1) Amendment No. 2 with HDR Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $2,840,642 for Construction Management Services for construction of the Collection System (increasing the contract amount from $6,891,632 to $9,732,274) and 2) authorization of Engineering Services during construction of the Water Recycling Facility, under the existing agreement with Carollo Engineers, in the amount of $1,444,099 for a revised total contract amount of $4,826,599, Los Osos Wastewater Project, Los Osos. District 2.

Be warned in advance on the public exhibit of gnashing of teeth and spittle flinging. With the three minute public comment limit however, you'll only need to endure around fifteen minutes of angst.

When the support documents are posted, I'll post the link! Here it is:

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/Proposal.html;jsessionid=334F3662BBED3F2567D52F8343E853E0?select=2863

Read the last column off the document link below "Remaining Budget." No reason for anyone to panic, yet this will be ignored. And off the transmittal document, "(9) BUDGETED? Yes." 

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/2863/RXhoaWJpdCBBIC0gQnVkZ2V0IFN0YXR1cyBVcGRhdGUucGRm/12/n/22429.doc

I will pull out a quote or two from the transmittal document located at the link below:

http://agenda.slocounty.ca.gov/agenda/sanluisobispo/2863/SXRlbSBEb2N1bWVudCAoUHVibGljKSA=/14/n/22438.doc

Page 3 - The bids are currently being evaluated and the apparent low bid is for $46,390,171, or about $200,000 under the Engineer’s Estimate. A staff report being prepared for recommendations to award the contract, which is expected to be presented to your Board in January. 

Page 4 - However, after the start of construction, the project team began receiving a significant volume of requests from property owners to confirm or relocate the lateral connect point. To date, there have been about 850 requests to relocate laterals. The project team, including HDR and the surveying sub-consultant, has worked to accommodate almost all of the requests, since this is the single interface that exists between the project and most properties. The cost impacts of these changes to the construction management team are largely the result of additional survey efforts, as the lateral locations are staked multiple times. 

Page 5 - The recommended amendment and services authorization are for services necessary and planned for the completion of the Project and is within existing authorized budget. 

16th Street Water Works!

Well, it was a tough day on 16th Street for both the ARB construction guys and our own CSD water crew (and for residents and one of the schools too). There was an unmarked water pipe (where have we heard that story before?) a tad north of the El Moro Bike Path and one of the big machines hit it. I missed the first part, the fountain, but will show some later shots of the event. I only knew something had happened because I went to wash my hands, two drops of water came out, then nothing.

The CSD crew had already jumped into action, Frank was running up the street to the tanks to turn something off and our other CSD water crew guys were locating the shut off valves to shut the water off, of which there were more than one.

The ARB crew had to halt work until the water stopped off course, but some brave residents motored out of the mess with no problem.

Fortunately the drainage project at the bottom of 16th had been set up years ago and it worked to get the water across and under Paso Robles down to Walker Ditch and beyond.

Once the water stopped, the ARB crew was all ready to go with a new section of pipe and two couplings. So as one guy said, "we have an upgrade!"

The main things about this, no one was hurt, no homes flooded and the repair was done amazingly fast. Sure, too bad about the water loss, but now that the CSD is FINALLY out of bankruptcy, maybe some money will be available to do some capital improvement upgrades which have been on the back burner for years.

I had two in-depth conversations, one with with ARB's Paul Gallagher, Project Manager and one with HDR's Jim Brantley, Construction Manager. They both were on top of the problem immediately. They both have had experience with big projects like this, so this was not anything new to deal with, they had seen it all before. We are in good hands, no question, these guys and their crews are quite amazing and we are lucky to have them working for us!

Looking South

Drainage at Work

The Hidden Pipe

Looking North

All Fixed