City selects company to perform lead service line inventory

A lead service line inventory will be moving forward after the Graham City Council awarded a contract to Core & Main, LP to complete the project.

In September, the city was presented a cost and scope of work for the lead service inventory by its contracted engineering firm Jacob and Martin as it works to remedy a violation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The city council granted the city manager the authority to create a capital project of up to $600,000 to move the process forward.

Four bids were received to inventory 4,351 service lines in the city’s water system. The bids were $910,200 from Environmental Action, Inc., $575,000 from BCAC Underground, $391,492.03 from LIA Environmental Services, LLC and $232,252 from Core & Main, LP.

“Jacob Martin recommends selection of Core & Main as the best value bidder. They were also low bidder,” City Manager Eric Garretty said. “This is the not to exceed amount and the agenda item includes a 10% splicing contingency, and this project is currently budgeted in the Lake Fund.”

The Lake Fund contains all revenue generated from the sale and lease of properties located on Lake Graham and Lake Eddleman.

The fund balance in the Lake Fund is reserved for future projects related to Lake Graham and Lake Eddleman and for projects related to the city’s municipal water supply.

Councilmember Jack Little asked about the disparity between the bids and why Jacob and Martin would be requesting the lowest bid.

“In their recommendation letter... (Jacob and Martin state) they've worked with Core & Main on other of these lead service line projects and they've had really good experience (with them),” Garretty said.

TCEQ required the city to send notice to residents in June regarding noncompliance with a lead service line inventory requirement in place from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The city did not comply with the October 2024 deadline to submit an initial lead service line inventory.

The city contracted with Jacob and Martin in July to determine the probable cost and scope of a lead service line inventory.

An opinion of probable cost for the lead service line inventory and removal and replacement of the lead service lines, both with Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) funding or local funding were provided by Jacob and Martin. 

With local funding, the lead service line inventory was estimated to cost $374,958, with a cost of $100 per service line for the 4,351 lines identified. This included a 10% contingency along with non construction costs such as basic engineering and planning.

Using the TWDB funding, the project was estimated to cost $576,324, with a cost of $100 per service line for the 4,351 lines identified. Along with more for the mobilization, bond and insurance, there is an additional $68,801 in the nonconstruction costs using this method.

The biggest ticket item comes from the potential mitigation cost for the replacement of lines. 

Jacob and Martin estimated a total cost of $6,196,755 for replacement of lead service lines between construction and nonconstruction costs.

“The likelihood is that the city is going to have to go out for a loan to do the replacement part, which is going to further burden all of our ratepayers by causing a further increase of their water rates to debt service this loan,” Mayor Alex Heartfield said in September.

The construction costs include $50,000 for mobilization, bonds and insurance as well as $1,875 per line replacement for 2,180 lines identified. The cost also includes a cost of $500 per line for removal for the same number of lines.

“This is their high side number (to replace lines), if you make the planning assumption that you survey 4,351 lines and half of them, (or) 2,180, have to have something done to them,” Garretty said in September. “(Public Works Director) Randall (Dawson) and I think that number may be high. It's probably not going to be in the 2,000s. We could be wrong, but we would be surprised if it's in the thousands.” 

In 2021, the EPA revised the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions to include protective measures to reduce lead and copper exposure through drinking water. The rules were also to inform communities about the risk of lead in drinking water and develop plans to replace lead pipes.

A Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) must include the inventory of all service lines in the water distribution system, including utility and customer-owned lines. 

Lead status can be classified as Lead, Galvanized Requiring Replacement, Non-Lead or Lead Status Unknown.

“Customers with lead service lines, galvanized lines requiring replacement, or service lines with unknown material should be notified within 30 days of submitting the inventory,” Jacob and Martin stated in the technical memorandum. “All customers should be notified of lead action level exceedance (ALE) as soon as feasible, but no later than 24 hours after discovering the lead ALE.”