For the Rapids City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – A new wastewater lift station in Wisconsin Rapids will cost about $200,000 more than anticipated, due to a high amount of rock in the ground where the station is to be built.

City Public Works director Joe Terry says they were anticipating some rock in the ground at the site, but not as much as they have found. He says it’s substantially different than what the soil borings were suggesting, so the project needed redesigning; this includes moving the footprint of the project over a few feet and using different methods for excavation, all adding to the cost of the project.

The changes add $203,000 to the price tag of the facility, but Terry says there was a 5 percent contingency amount planned for those types of situations, which came to $320,000, so there’s still about $120,000 left after the redesign costs are subtracted.

The city is using a low-interest loan from the Wisconsin DNR, which will be paid back through the city’s current wastewater utility rate structure.

The price tag for the plant now stands at nearly $8 million, and Terry says it should serve the community for several decades. He anticipates a 20 to 25-year life span for the pumps and motors, a 50 to 60-year lifespan for the building itself, and an 80 to 100-year lifespan on the pipe under the river.

The new facility, which is actually being built at the site of the city’s original wastewater treatment plant, should be online by the end of the year.