Antioch OKs $87M for desalination plant
Over protest from a rival, Shimmick Construction Co. will build site that will make salty river water usable
Shimmick Construction Co. has been awarded a nearly $87 million contract to build Antioch’s brackish water desalination plant.
The City Council unanimously approved the company’s bid during a special meeting Friday after rejecting a protest bid from C. Overaa & Co., which also wanted the job. The $86,689,000 contract with Shimmick will include a 5% contingency of $4,334,450 in case of unforeseen costs for a total of $91,023,450.
In addition, council members authorized city staff to increase the total budget for the desalination project to $110 million. Earlier projections had estimated it would cost nearly $70 million.
C. Overaa & Co., which was the second highest bidder, alleged in its protest that Shimmick did not meet the required qualifications. But the city’s attorney said the protest had no merit and recommended the council reject it.
City Manager Ron Bernal said the
new desalination plant will allow the city to produce treated water at a lower cost.
“I want to thank the City Council past and present for your leadership in making the necessary decisions to bring this historic project to this point where you will now be approving the (building) contract and getting the project under construction,” Bernal said.
The city plans to build a 6-million- gallon-a- day desalination plant to treat the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta river water, which has been increasing in salinity because of
the drought, water diversions and climate change. The salinity could get worse if the proposed California WaterFix tunnels project to divert water south is approved, some officials have said.
The city already pumps water from the river, but cannot do so in the summer and fall when the river flow lessens and the saltwater intrudes. The city then must buy water from the Contra Costa Water District’s canal, which it then treats.
Antioch is not alone in wanting to treat its river water. As of 2013, nearly two dozen desalination plants, including one in Newark, were producing about 96,000 acre-feet of water a year in California.
Three more were under construction and more than a dozen were proposed.
Seven years in the making, the Antioch project will be funded by a variety of sources, including a $10 million grant from the state’s Department of Water Resource Board, a $56 million State Water Resources Control Board low-interest loan, $17 million from the city of Antioch Water Enterprise Funds, which were set aside for the project, and $27 million from a state Department of Water Resources settlement agreement regarding water rights.
The project, which will be located at a site within the current water treatment plant area, allows the city to preserve its pre-1914
water rights so it’s possible to use the water from its river intake year-round. Also included will be a replacement and relocation of the river pump station and pipeline while a new 4.3mile disposal pipeline will be constructed to convey the brine to the Delta Diablo Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it later gets blended with treated sewage that’s already pumped back into the bay.
C ou nc i lwoma n L or i Ogorchock asked whether the project will result in a rate hike for customers.
Bernal replied that the rates won’t increase, at least not for the next two years.
“Because of all of the grants and settlement, we are able to produce a finished water product that is
at a lower cost than what we are paying for alternative untreated water currently,” he said. “This is creating less expensive water than we are currently producing at the water treatment plant.”
The project also includes an agreement giving hiring preferences to local residents, he said.
Before voting on the expense, though, Councilman Mike Barbanica asked about potential future costs for maintenance or overhaul of the desalination plant.
“How many years down the road do we look before we are hit with another large price tag?” he asked. “… Five years down the road do we have another $10 million in maintenance or over
haul that comes up?”
Bernal said routine maintenance will be built into the operating costs.
“We don’t anticipate any other large-scale costs apart from the normal costs of maintaining the facility,” he said.
“We’re feeling the impacts of climate change, and our ability to pump water and provide it to our residents is impacted by climate change,” Mayor Lamar Thorpe said. “… As we start to prepare as a city for climate change, I hope that we are just as innovative with other areas — not just water — because there are going to be real impacts that affect our community, so I am excited we were able to take the lead.”