The Waimea dam project has blown out a further $29 million as contractors deal with fallout from Covid-19 and “geological curve balls”.
The total cost of the dam now sits at $158.4m more than double the estimate of $75.9 million that went out for public consultation in 2017.
Waimea Water CEO Mike Scott presented his six month update last week saying that “geological curve balls have been thrown at us that needed to be addressed and have led to part of the cost increase”.
Waimea Water is a council-controlled organisation responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the dam, and say they will secure the region’s water supply for the next 100 years.
Mike says that besides the challenges there has been excellent progress in the last six months. The dam is 50 per cent complete. The embankment is now coming up out of the ground, the rock wall is 7 metres high and is proceeding well. And more importantly he says there have been no injuries.
“And we’ve pretty much completed the mechanical and electrical design that wasn’t designed at the time of funding,” says Mike.
The Covid costs of $11.2m, include a provisional allowance for future Covid costs that Mike says they are beginning to see emerge, particularly around the supply chain and bringing equipment in from overseas.
Mayor Tim King says the council expected an increase particularly in light of Covid impacts and knew there were challenges, although not the scale of them.
“A budget provision had been included in a draft of the Council’s long term plan of $8m,” says Tim.
The Council in their long-term plan meeting last week have agreed to raise funds for the shortfall of $21m which, if agreed, could have an impact on ratepayers of a 0.1 per cent increase.
“The project on the ground is progressing really, really well and the challenges we are facing at the higher level shouldn’t detract from the pride the hundreds of members of our community that work out on the dam every day should feel,” says Tim.