Sutter Creek – The Amador Water Agency board of directors heard a report on the Sutter Creek Broad Street pipe replacement project Thursday, with the bad news possibly getting worse. The project is expected to have a cost overrun of about $119,000, and that could deepen, depending on the quality of soils removed from a trench on the project. Engineer Erik Christeson reported that arsenic testing had not been completed on the roughly 300 yards of soil removed from the project, but not replaced in the ground, due to possible high arsenic content. He said some of it tested to Category 2, or 200 parts per billion of arsenic, which would have to be disposed of at a landfill in Keifer. If the soils test to higher concentration of arsenic at a Category 3 level, Christeson said the soil would have to be disposed of at facilities in either Button Willow or Nevada. Barry Birge said staff removed soil from the trench that is 7 feet deep and 30 inches wide, all of which is in a pile, awaiting testing. Christeson said the cost overrun of the Broad Street project included the need to use a “slurry,” or weak concrete infill on the pipeline segment. Christeson said another overrun was Sutter Creek’s conditions for an encroachment permit on the project. That included a $25,000 lump sum payment, in lieu of the city’s request to pay for paving half of Broad Street and also a slurry infill of the pipeline. AWA did the slurry anyway. AWA’s new General Manager Gene Mancebo said the slurry, a breakable but structural light concrete mix, was used for safety reasons, because of the fear that the pipeline might settle. The project was budgeted at $305,000 and to date had cost $296,000, with an anticipated final cost of $425,000, or $119,000 over budget. Christeson said that could go up considerably if the dirt removed from the Sutter Creek trench had Category 3 levels of arsenic. He said the tainted dirt included mine tailings that were historically used by the county as road base, but it also included arsenic in the native ground. Board Chairman Terence Moore said “it sounds pretty stupid” to “take native soil out of the ground” and not be able to put it back. Christeson said the California Department of Toxic Substance Control regulates the soils, but he was unaware “if anyone else is subjected to this.” He did not know whether other entities, such as PG&E and utilities were held to the same standards as AWA in its project in Sutter Creek. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.