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Potsdam about to start water tower maintenance with more work required than first thought

Posted 7/19/17

By CRAIG FREILICH POTSDAM -- The village hopes to begin maintenance work this week on the water tower on Clarkson Hill. In a preliminary inspection, the contractors on the job, Global Construction …

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Potsdam about to start water tower maintenance with more work required than first thought

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- The village hopes to begin maintenance work this week on the water tower on Clarkson Hill.

In a preliminary inspection, the contractors on the job, Global Construction and Atlantic Testing Laboratories, found more extensive wear than had been anticipated since the last round of maintenance, according to Village Administrator Greg Thompson.

During the maintenance, the tower’s operation will be interrupted for about 12 hours.

He said they have conducted tests to be certain the newer water tower at Lowe’s Home Improvement out along Rt. 56 North would suffice during the shutdown. And he said major water users, including the colleges, have been advised of the plan.

“It should be fine, but we told them that if they notice anything, they should notify us,” Thompson said.

Development Authority of the North Country Project Engineer Manasseh Burke said the original estimate was for 640 square feet of work on the tower – cleaning, reinforcing seams, and painting. Once the inspection report from the contractors came in, it turned out that “actually it was almost triple that,” Burke said,

Thompson said they had two options, first to go ahead with the maintenance they had planned on before the extra work came to light and make a plan for a second round of work later, or to do it all now.

It became clear that the work should be done now since the cost of waiting would be much higher. The cost for “mobilization” by the contractor – setting up in preparation for the work – was $10,000 and to wait would cost another $10,000 for a second round, not including the cost of more extensive work.

“The wear was worse than we thought,” Thompson said. “It would be cheaper to do it now than wait and pay more in two or three years,” he said.

“The good news is we saw it coming, and budgeted for it.”

The original cost estimate is covered by budgeted funds. The extra cost could be covered by money that is expected be left over after the Cross-Town Canal project is done. That will cost substantially less what had been budgeted, Thompson.