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Reservoir consultant barely OK'd

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By NEIL JOHNSON

njohnson@tampatrib.com

Published: October 20, 2009

CLEARWATER - Over the objections of some board members, Tampa Bay Water voted Monday to spend nearly $1 million for a consultant to help select a company to fix the utility's flawed reservoir in southern Hillsborough County.

The regional utility's board voted 5-4 to sign a contract for $908,500 with KPMG to help with hiring a company to fix the cracked reservoir.

The reservoir is designed to serve as a prime source of drinking water for the Tampa Bay area during the dry season that runs from November through early June.

Under the contract with KPMG, the firm would help find a company to do the repair and Tampa Bay Water would pay a senior partner $350 an hour for 680 hours and senior staff members $300 an hour for 1,440 hours.

The work would be done in phases, so the utility would pay only for the jobs needed, said Gerald Seeber, Tampa Bay Water's general manager.

The proposed contract amounts to less than 1 percent of the expected repair bill, he said.

At an estimated $125 million, the repair cost is expected to come close to the $147 million the utility spent to build the 15 billion-gallon C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir. It could be five years before repairs to prevent further cracking of the soil cement that covers the reservoir's sides and bottom are finished.

Picking a contractor and designing how to make the repairs are expected to take three years. The work would last an additional two years and sideline the reservoir as a water supply for two dry seasons.

The utility has spent more than $4 million in a stopgap effort to patch the cracks.

The money would come from water bills. The utility has filed lawsuits against the builder, designer and company that oversaw construction of the reservoir in an attempt to recover some repair costs.

If Tampa Bay Water has to pay the full $125 million for the repair, water bills would go up about 13 cents for every 1,000 gallons. For a household using 10,000 gallons a month, the increase would be $1.30 monthly.

Those increases would not appear on water bills until 2011, when the board hires someone to make the repairs. The increases would be reduced by any money recovered from lawsuits.

Part of the task for KPMG would be to examine the financial health of companies considered for the repairs, Seeber said.

The utility did not hire anyone to perform the work envisioned for KPMG when selecting a firm to build its desalination plant, Seeber said.

The first two companies to undertake the desalination plant construction went out of business before finishing the job.

Tampa Councilman Charlie Miranda, a water board member, questioned whether the staffs of Tampa Bay Water's six member governments have the ability to do the work.

He didn't want to approve the contract until Tampa Bay Water found out whether the same task could be done with either the utility's staff or by other members of the utility.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham balked at the cost and voted against the contract. Miranda, Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel and New Port Richey Mayor Scott McPherson joined in opposing the contract.

Other board members were unhappy with the additional expenditure but also said the money spent now could avoid problems in the future.

St. Petersburg Councilman James Bennett didn't like the cost but supported the contract to help ensure the repairs are done properly.

"None of us wants to spend tons of money," he said. "We absolutely, positively have to get it right."

The cracks do not threaten the integrity of the reservoir's earthen walls, but their presence last year prompted the state to bar Tampa Bay Water from filling the reservoir during the rainy season, and it went dry in March during one of the driest periods since 2000.

This summer, the state gave Tampa Bay Water permission to put as much water as possible into the reservoir. It now has more than 13 billion gallons and should be full before flows in rivers that feed the reservoir fall too low.

The soil cement is intended to prevent erosion of a wedge of soil covering a membrane that holds water in the reservoir. The membrane is embedded in the dirt walls of the reservoir.

After at least two years of investigation, engineers determined the wedge of soil is saturated. The soil layer does not drain as quickly as the reservoir when water is drawn out; that puts pressure on the soil cement and causes the cracks. When the cracks first were noticed, in 2006, Tampa Bay Water officials said they were expected and cosmetic.

Tampa Bay Water provides wholesale water to utilities serving Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties and Tampa, St. Petersburg and New Port Richey.

The board also agreed to negotiate a contract with Black & Veatch Corp. to act as the utility's engineer for the project. The firm played no role in the original construction of the reservoir.

The utility's staff will work out the cost and what work the firm will perform, Seeber said.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.

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