West Basin board scrutinizes consultant 'scope creep' on solids handling upgrade

West Basin board scrutinizes consultant 'scope creep' on solids handling upgradeDirectors at the West Basin Municipal Water District have demanded that a construction management amendment be split to block a $52,920 payout for 'additional team effort,' highlighting heightened board scrutiny over project delivery costs.

The board reviewed over $319,000 in consultant amendments for the ongoing Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility (ECLWRF) Solids Handling Improvements Project.

An $87,920 amendment request for construction manager AKM Consulting Engineers faced stiff opposition from the committee chair, who argued basic project management tasks were already covered in the firm's base contract.

Design engineer Arcadis advanced a $231,200 amendment after the construction schedule was extended from 12 to 18 months, requiring additional submittal and RFI reviews.

Delays and poor communication from tank vendor Arnaz Construction have forced the district to deploy additional offsite inspection services to ensure equipment quality.

Consultant contract amendments faced severe pushback from the West Basin Municipal Water District’s Engineering and Operations Committee on April 15, 2026, as directors challenged additional fees requested for the ongoing Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility (ECLWRF) Solids Handling Improvements Project. The $17.9 million project, scheduled for completion in January 2027, involves refurbishing the facility's critical plate-and-frame filter presses, which dewater 80 to 120 tons of sludge per day. While staff reported the overall construction remains under budget with the contractor's $1.1 million contingency untouched, consultant costs associated with the extended 18-month construction timeline have required budget adjustments. The committee advanced a $231,200 amendment for design engineer Arcadis, bringing its total contract to $1,329,484. The increase covers additional meeting attendance and the review of an estimated 120 Requests for Information (RFIs) and 143 submittals over the 548-day construction period. While the amendment moved forward, Chair Desi Alvarez questioned why the 18-month construction duration was not factored into the original design services award. Scrutiny intensified over an $87,920 amendment request for construction manager AKM Consulting Engineers. The request included $20,000 for materials testing and $15,000 for offsite shop and coating inspection of welded steel tanks. Project staff noted that the tank vendor, Arnaz Construction, has been "very challenging to work with" and has provided poor communication regarding inspection status, necessitating the deployment of an AKM inspector to the vendor's Fresno fabrication site to ensure coating quality. However, the remaining $52,920 of the AKM amendment—billed as "additional CM team effort" to process critical submittals and RFIs during the pre-construction phase—drew a sharp rebuke from Chair Alvarez. He argued that constructability reviews and RFI processing are standard resident engineering services already embedded in the firm's $688,168 base contract. "I will not support the $53,000 because that is in their contract already," Alvarez stated during the meeting. "Sometimes your consultant takes a little bit more work, sometimes it takes a little bit less work. That's it. I don't think they're entitled to that." Alvarez directed staff to bring the amendment back to the board in two parts, allowing directors to approve the $35,000 needed for materials testing and tank inspection while voting down the $52,920 for additional construction management effort. Despite the consultant friction and vendor delays, project staff confirmed the solids handling upgrade remains on track to avoid overall project schedule delays.