BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Lake Butler officials said they are continuing to field complaints about the sulfur odor in city water while a contractor refurbishes the municipality’s water tank.
Lead Water Operator Jason Furman explained that the odor is caused by excess chlorine the city must put into the water while the tank repairs are underway.
“We’re using,” he told city commissioners during their October 21 meeting, “compared to previous, almost three times the amount of chlorine.”
Furman added that since the COVID-19 Pandemic, chlorine prices have skyrocketed, adding a significant financial cost to the city in addition to the citizen complaints.
Furman said he adjusted the chlorine levels down last month in response to citizen complaints.
The lead water operator said Lake Butler water customers will likely have to tolerate the odor through December, when repairs are expected to be complete.
Tim Norman and John Petrohvich from CPH Consulting told commissioners they have been pushing the contractor, who has blamed delays on subcontractors.
“We did not anticipate being in bypass mode this long,” one of the consultants said. “He’s promised me he’s going to see what he can do to make that happen, but he’s relying on other subcontractors to get in there and do their work.”
The two consultants also asked commissioners to approve a $61,740 change order.
The CPH representatives blamed the change order on insufficient information during the bid process.
“When they submitted their bid initially, they could not see the inside of the tank as the tank was in service,” one of the consultants said. “It was full of water.”
The consultants said the contractor discovered damage to the inner wall that supports the tank’s roof. The change order would bring the inner wall to a standard that will support the roof.
Commissioners approved the change order, which still leaves the project $15,000 under budget.
