STPUD water meter project costing more than expected
By Kathryn Reed
Cost overruns for the South Tahoe Public Utility District water meter project are approaching a half million dollars.
Campbell Construction Company as of June 16 had put in 165 of the 1,261 meters in the Lake Tahoe Basin portion of El Dorado County that it has been contracted to install.
“During the course of meter installations they have encountered changed conditions including deeper excavations, the need for additional fittings and the occurrence of groundwater,” according to the report principal engineer John Thiel prepared for the STPUD board.
The board on Thursday approved a change order for Campbell not to exceed $452,000. It’s possible a U.S. Forest Service grant will cover that expense. Cost overruns are not covered in the original that is paying for the meter project.
Paul Sciuto, the district’s assistant general manager, believes the firm will meet the Oct. 15 deadline to install the meters. He also told the board on June 17 he was not surprised by the cost overrun based on how fast the plans and specifications were put in place. But Sciuto also does not foresee another bill like this coming before the board.
Within the city, Tiechert Construction has finished the work in the Al Tahoe area. They are now on Gardner Mountain. As of Wednesday, the Sacramento company had finished 545 of the 1,915 meters it will install this summer.
Are the Keys also under STPUD and will they be getting meters?
No, the Keys has it’s own water system. Not part of STPUD.
Meters were never needed and will never be. With our extreme lack of development, our water supply is good for the indefinite future. It also can’t be used anywhere else in California, because there is no way to get it there.
So again, why are we getting meters? Damn the non-sensical law. Where is the American courage and ingenuity in fighting this insane law. It is also called derisively “lets have more people in California.”
It doesn’t matter what they do,it always cost more than well thought out math problems they never seem to mustard up..
This water meter deal nothing short of more money being spent so we can re[ay the so called need.
It’s total BS.
Doubleback
you make some good points. But, low developement is great for Tahoe, and all the tourists do use a huge amount of water. We do need to be water smart. I would guess So. Tahoe didn’t get a pass on the meters either because STPUD didn’t press hard enough, or some congressman in California has ties to a water meter company.
If the Keys have their own water system, do they have water days like those of us on STPUD?
Keys has no rationing or water days, 3 wells, 1 well has been out of order for a couple years. Plentiful water since the wells are right next to Lake Tahoe
When I ran, unsuccessfully, for the STPUD board last year I sure got my eyes opened on how inneffective the ratepayers are when it comes to representation on the board. The union runs the management as well as the board through their intimidation, trash talk around town (yes I have heard you guys) and cold shoulder routine of anyone with any new ideas that might help the rate payer but not the union. That’s not to say all the employees are this way just the ones in charge and who have been there for a long time. The water meter installs are mandated by the state and the board members were counting for an exemption to our area and never thinking we wouldn’t get one so they failed to plan ahead. The grants have to be used by a certain time and we were unprepared to do the work in house so they put it out to bid. The low bids were based on information given by STPUD engineers and was mostly inadequate. The bidding company’s got misinformed and now need to turn cost overuns and extras that are 38% (approx $452K) of the bid, and this is only one of the company’s as the other one will soon follow suit. The depth of the meters to be installed as well as water table and granite were not quite what they expected from the bid information. The money will be covered through a different grant but eventually we will pay. This is what happens when we continually allow the fox to guard the henhouse.