Councillors hoping cost-saving ‘lessons’ from one sewer megaproject can lower price of another

Two councillors are calling for the city’s chief construction officer to report on two sewage megaprojects in the hope that “lessons learned” from one can help control the soaring costs of the other.

Couns. Brian Mayes and Sherri Rollins will raise the motion at Thursday’s council meeting.

If approved, it would direct the chief construction officer to report on how the city’s experience with an ongoing $1.15-billion master plan to reduce combined sewer overflows could help save money on a $3-billion upgrade of the North End sewage treatment plant.

The tab for the North End plant upgrade was initially set at $795 million.

For years, the city had estimated the combined sewer overflow master plan would cost up to $2.3 billion and take up to 2095 to complete if the city had to fund it alone.

And, at the water and waste committee’s September meeting, staff said one piece of the project, to separate pipes in the Jefferson combined sewer district, is now expected to cost $76 million, instead of a previous $168-million estimate.

“You don’t save $100 million every day…. Is there something we did differently with (the combined sewer overflow project) that we could do (again)?” said Mayes (St. Vital).

If the city continues investing an average of $30 million per year, plus account for inflation, the recent overall price change should make it possible to complete the project by 2045, Mayes said.

That timeline would meet a provincial deadline to get the work done.

Rollins said the chief construction officer’s advice would help ensure the city is transparent about how tax dollars are spent on massive infrastructure projects.

“The goal is better cost management and accountability for future city projects, particularly the large-scale environmental initiatives,” said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

The North End plant upgrade is expected to greatly reduce the amount of algae-promoting phosphorus that flows into rivers and eventually reaches Lake Winnipeg.

Combined sewer overflows occur in older Winnipeg sewers that collect both precipitation and wastewater in a single pipe. Heavy rain or snow events can overwhelm the pipes and cause sewage to flow into rivers.

Coun. Ross Eadie, chairman of the water and waste committee, said the chief construction officer is already heavily involved in keeping the North End project on track, as is council’s executive policy committee.

“EPC is doing their job. We look at this stuff all the time,” said Eadie (Mynarski.)

And while some projects within the master plan to reduce combined sewer overflows have found savings, others have risen in price, he said.

The director of the city’s water and waste department said the two major sewage projects are very different in scope, though staff are exploring whether any options to save money can be duplicated.

“We look for lessons learned on everything that we do. If there’s anything that we can apply to the next contract, we’re absolutely trying to do that,” said Tim Shanks.

For example, the city has already committed to obtain repeated external audits for the North End plant, he said.

Shanks noted each project within the master plan to reduce overflows still contains some contingency funding, as only the overall price estimate was adjusted. Originally, the city’s price projection reflected the fact that an early cost estimate could potentially double over the years in a worst-case scenario.

Shanks said lengthy funding delays, pandemic pressures, construction inflation and many other factors all contributed to the rising cost of the North End plant upgrade.

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