Western Water lifts force main replacement budget to $20m
Western Municipal Water District, California · Meeting date: October 21, 2026 · Published: October 22, 2026
Western Municipal Water District unanimously approved a $1.35 million budget increase and related contract amendments for the 1269 Force Main Replacement Project. The project is about 40% complete, with night work and near-full-time biological monitoring driving the increase.
Key points
- The board approved a $1,351,567 increase, raising the total project budget from about $18.65 million to $20 million.
- A contractor change order for WECA was authorised at up to $850,000, subject to ongoing negotiations over the final amount.
- The City of Perris required two travel lanes to remain open, forcing portions of construction into night shifts and increasing labour, traffic-control and paving costs.
- Western Water approved $112,056 more for Dudek's environmental monitoring and $69,000 for MKN project-management support.
- The replacement scheme has about $13.1 million in federal funding and remains scheduled for completion in March 2027.
Full report
Western Municipal Water District has increased the budget for its 1269 Force Main Replacement Project by $1.35 million, taking the programme's total value to $20 million as added traffic-management and environmental-compliance requirements emerge during construction.
The board approved the increase unanimously on 21 October, alongside a change order for contractor WECA of up to $850,000 and amendments to contracts with environmental consultant Dudek and project-management consultant MKN.
The scheme is replacing the existing force main downstream of the 1269 lift station, which staff said has a history of failures and rising maintenance costs. Construction is approximately 40% complete and remains on schedule for completion in March 2027.
The principal cost pressure is a City of Perris requirement, not known when the work was tendered, to keep two traffic lanes open. Western Water said this has required parts of the work to be performed at night, adding labour, traffic-control and paving costs. The WECA change order was authorised on a not-to-exceed basis while the district continues to negotiate the final value with the contractor.
Biological monitoring has also proved more intensive than budgeted. Staff said birds began attempting to establish nests in the construction area almost daily once work began, requiring more frequent monitoring and, in some locations, effectively full-time coverage. The board approved an additional $112,056 for Dudek to continue that work through construction.
MKN will receive a further $69,000 for project management through construction and closeout. The added scope includes federal-grant coordination, work with the base, and expanded permitting with the Federal Aviation Administration and Riverside County Flood Control.
The revised budget also provides additional staff resources and replenishes contingency for the remainder of construction. Staff noted that the project includes approximately $13.1 million in federal funding from OLDC, making environmental compliance and associated documentation important to maintaining grant requirements.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: Board of Directors Meetings - Regular Board Meeting, Western Municipal Water District