ASHLAND — The city’s Water Treatment Facility is officially in line for a new water softener, following city council’s decision to accept a bid that was 69% higher than original estimates.
Ashland City Council unanimously approved a contract Tuesday totaling $1.1 million to replace a water softener at the water plant.
Simonson Construction, the lone bidder, received the project.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said one of two water softeners at the water plant has been broken for about a year. When the city went out for bid in November 2023, the project’s estimate was set at $800,000.
Only one contractor — Simonson Construction — submitted a bid. The construction firm’s estimate reached $1,157,450.
“Substantially higher than the engineer’s estimate,” Miller described it.
Ordinarily, this would trigger an automatic need to go back to the drawing board and re-advertise for bids.
But because the project is considered an “emergency repair” to the city’s water quality, the city’s law director gave officials the green light to accept Simonson’s high bid, Miller said.
What is water hardness?
Water softeners address water “hardness,” a term that refers to the amount of minerals found in drinking water.
The harder the water, the tougher the water is on infrastructure. The federal Department of Energy states that minerals like calcium and magnesium, known as “hard” minerals from rocks and soil, can put stress on pipes and other appliances.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t require public water plants to soften water, but it does expect public water systems to develop their own water-quality goals.
The city has two water softeners, so with one in need of repair, the water plant has been relying on just one. If that were to fail, Miller said, officials are confident they could fix the problem before anyone notices a difference in drinking water’s quality.
“We’ve grown accustomed to the water produced through these water softener units, so we wouldn’t want to go without,” Miller said.
Inflation
Finance director Larry Paxton said the project is a perfect example of the impact of inflation on construction prices. Less than a year ago the project was estimated to cost around $800,000, he said.
He said the city has the money to cover the project with a mixture of water capital improvement funds and the water fund itself.
“It’s just an ongoing process, but it’s something we have to deal with, but it does hurt a little bit,” he said.
