Worthington water pipeline still expected by mid-November, water delivery date uncertain

WORTHINGTON - Despite poor weather, the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System (LCRWS) water pipeline section from Adrian to Worthington is still expected to be finished by mid-November.

The completion date for the section of pipe - being done by Rockwell contractor S.J. Louis Construction - has been moved from Nov. 2 to Nov. 13 due to weather delays that mostly occurred in a very rainy June.  

“With the recent strides they have made in construction, as well as the 11-day extension, we have no reason to believe they won’t make their deadline unless the weather doesn’t cooperate,” Troy Larson, LCRWS executive director, said.

Construction on both the Worthington meter building and Nobles County reservoir is expected to be done by Oct. 19.

The section of pipe will be in place to get clean drinking water to Worthington by mid-November. That doesn’t mean, however, that the system will necessarily be able to deliver water by that point.

Though the pipeline section from Adrian to Worthington is being built relatively stress-free, the 10-mile section from Magnolia to Adrian remains the subject of multiple federal lawsuits.

In June, LCRWS took legal action against the section’s contractor, Carstensen Contracting of Pipestone, in U.S. District Court in South Dakota, saying the polyurethane-coated steel pipe pipe did not meet the specifications it required in its contract.

Nine of the 10 miles of pipeline were installed before LCRWS identified the issue. LCRWS has requested that the entire section of pipe be replaced along with monetary damages.

Carstensen responded that it didn’t get the pipe it ordered from manufacturer Ameron Water Transmission Group, and in turn sued Ameron as a third-party defendant.

Ameron said damages cannot be enforced, arguing that the person who prepared contract documents relating to the pipeline specifications was not a licensed engineer, making the contract void.

In U.S. District Court in Minnesota, Ameron is suing LCRWS and Carstensen for failing to pay $3 million for pipe. LCRWS has asked the court to dismiss the case, as it does not do business directly with Ameron.

The legal action throws a wrench in the project, but right now it is unclear what effect it will have.

“At this time I cannot say definitively what, if any, impact the resolution of legal action on [the Magnolia to Adrian section] will have on the delivery of water to Worthington,” Larson said.