Water chlorination — EPA-mandated chlorination bid exceeds estimate
Newcastle will move forward with an Environmental Protection Agency-mandated chlorination project after bids came in higher than the original engineering estimate. The council approved the motion to move forward with the required project on March 2.
According to Newcastle Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff, Strobel Energy Group submitted the lowest bid for the project at $849,946 after the required 5% adjustment for out-of-state contractors. Two bids were received.
The engineer’s estimate for the project was $772,014, including $73,000 in engineering costs, Stumpff told the News Letter Journal in an email. The submitted bids did not include engineering, bringing the total project cost to approximately $922,946 when engineering is included.
Stumpff said the project cannot be scaled back and rebid because it is required by the EPA. To secure funding for the work, another planned project was postponed.
As previously reported, the Newcastle Water/Sewer Committee discussed the chlorination project during a recent meeting, noting the bid came in $150,932 above the engineering estimate and recommending the city hold off on a pump station project.
The chlorination system is being installed after the city recorded repeated total coliform positive water samples over several years.
Last year, Stumpff said, staff took multiple steps to identify the source of the contamination, including changing sampling techniques and locations, adjusting equipment and having multiple employees collect samples at the same time to rule out sampler error.
In October 2024, nearly every water sample tested positive for total coliform bacteria. Testing traced the contamination to Tank No. 1, the tan water tank located north of Newcastle along U.S. Highway 85, while samples from the city’s wells consistently tested negative.
Repeated testing in November and December of 2024 produced the same results — positive samples after water passed through Tank No. 1 but not on the supply side entering the tank.
Cleaning and inspection of the tank revealed several issues that could allow stagnant water to collect inside the structure. Stumpff said water entering the tank is clean, but pockets of stagnant water may move through the system as “slugs” of poor-quality water.
Tank No. 1 was constructed in 1935. The city has identified full replacement of the tank as the long-term solution, with the project included in Newcastle’s capital improvements plan and currently scheduled for 2029, pending funding.
Meanwhile, the chlorination system will help improve water quality and ensure that the city continues providing safe drinking water.
The city began manually chlorinating Tank No. 1 several months ago but paused the practice in early February after a customer reported a chlorine allergy. Shortly after the pause, another total coliform positive sample was detected and repeat samples also tested positive.
Stumpff said residents who are sensitive to chlorine should consider using water filtration systems designed to remove chlorine.
Stumpff provided the information in an email to the News Letter Journal on March 16.