Thurston County awards contract for Boston Harbor water main project

Thurston County commissioners approved the Boston Harbor Water Main Replacement and Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Project contract, which will replace almost 6,000 linear feet of older, small-diameter water main in the Boston Harbor community. 

Thurston County owns and operates a water and sewer system that serves Boston Harbor.

Its infrastructure dates back to the 1980s; some of its components are even older.  

At a meeting on Dec. 3, the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved the $2,199,480.95 “low, responsive bid” of contractor Tapani, Inc. of Battle Ground, Washington, for the project. 

Joe Plahuta, Public Works Senior Water Resources Engineer, briefed the board on the background of the bid. 

“Bids ranged from about $2.2 million on the low end … bidding contractor to upwards of $3.1 million. Engineers’ estimate for this project was $2.7 million,” Plahuta said. 

Seven bids were received for the project, which came in as a response to online advertisements.  

The project replaces water main and laterals, service connections, fire hydrants, water system distribution valves and appurtenances, and surface restoration of the county-owned system. 

To improve serviceability and reduce infiltration and inflow into the sewer system, the project will also repair existing Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) tank appurtenances (lids, risers, floats and splice boxes), replace existing STEP tanks and restore the site.  

“This project will look to replace portions of undersized piping in that community. Looking at replacing older PVC pipe with newer PVC pipe, and then also making various improvements to our sewer collection system to minimize infiltration and inflow into the collection system, which will help us to meet water quality standards moving forward,” Plahuta said. 

Following the Notice to Proceed, work on the system will be suspended until April 2025. The contractor will start work on a mutually agreed upon day in April next year, as approved in writing following the award. The project will be completed within 140 days. 

Reducing infiltration and inflow will help the Boston Harbor wastewater treatment facility comply with its discharge permit.  

The project is included in the 2024-25 Public Works budget and the 2024-29 Capital Improvement Program, and aligns with the county's Strategic Plan Initiative 8 to "support robust and well-maintained infrastructure systems for a thriving community" and Initiative 9 to “support environmental health and climate stabilization.” 

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds solely paid for the project.