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Wausau's New Drinking Water Treatment Facility Has Been Delayed

Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 -- 10:01 AM

In a joint press release sent by the City of Wausau and Wausau Water Works, it has been announced that the construction of the new drinking water treatment facility in town has been delayed.

According to the release, the City of Wausau and Wausau Water Works are uniformly infuriated by the delays in the construction of the new Drinking Water Treatment Facility (DWTF). The new Drinking Water Treatment Facility (DWTF) completion date is proposed to be extended.

In October the contractors and engineers began startup of the facility meaning they were attempting to run the facility 24/7 to demonstrate it is meeting specifications. The facility did not perform and some of the treatment processes did not meet specifications.

There were a number of mechanical issues that prevented a complete startup of the facility, and the contract substantial completion date of October 4 will need to be extended.

The Wausau Water Works Commission at their Nov 1, 2022 meeting held a closed session discussion with legal counsel to provide a complete update on the project and the city’s full options under the contract.

City staff began further good faith negotiations with the Contractor and the engineers to come up with a timeline for completion that would not only be acceptable but realistic to reach completion of the work.

The proposed schedule discussed and agreed to by the city staff and the contractor was presented at the Board of Public Works (BPW) as a Work Change Directive (WCD). The proposed changes and the BPW discussion is attached for your reference.

To date the city has assessed over $250,000 in liquidated damages to the Contractor which are currently being used to cover the city’s additional cost to manage the project beyond its original completion dates.

This project is of utmost priority for the city and utility in order to provide improved quality of water to the residents further reducing any potential health risks.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.