Pueblo West’s $1.29 Million UV Upgrade Put Bypass Pumping in the Contractor’s Scope
Board records show Filanc Construction won the job in June. The contract required temporary pumping and temporary disinfection to keep the plant treating around the clock.
On June 22, 2026, the Pueblo West Metropolitan District board awarded the wastewater plant’s UV disinfection upgrade to Filanc Construction for $1,286,300, according to Resolution 2026-049. The resolution describes the work as replacing the UV system and two air handling units, plus “required temporary bypass pumping.”
On October 13, the district says, a “contractor-operated bypass pumping system” failed briefly and about 54,000 gallons of non-disinfected wastewater reached Pest House Gulch and Wild Horse Creek. The records below show what the contract required. They do not establish what went wrong.
Why the district said it needed a new system
The board approved Resolution 2025-021 on April 14, 2025. It states that the existing UV system “has not operated correctly in over twenty years,” that bulbs and ballasts were “failing at an alarming rate,” and that the system cabinet “actually caught fire.” The board approved using $150,000 of $1,300,000 budgeted for plant design to design a replacement.
JVA, Inc. designed the project under an agreement dated September 2, 2025. Resolution 2026-032, adopted April 13, 2026, added $4,800 for a second air unit, bringing JVA’s contract to $165,200.
The bid
The district’s bid posting for IFB-2026-WW-2502 shows a May 15 publication date, a May 26 pre-bid meeting and a June 11 deadline. Its scope includes “the provision of all necessary bypass pumping” and “temporary bypass pumping to maintain continuous treatment operations.” Contract time was 180 calendar days.
Five companies bid. The tabulation in the board packet lists each bid by line item:
| Bidder | Total bid | Temporary bypass pumping | Temporary disinfection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filanc | $1,286,300 | $103,000 | $144,000 |
| Velocity Constructors | $1,466,433 | $431,692 | $23,185 |
| GSE Construction | $1,535,100 | $100,000 | $40,000 |
| RN Civil Construction | $1,639,000 | $80,000 | $103,000 |
| Archer Western | $1,752,000 | $194,300 | $160,200 |
A low price on one line item does not, by itself, show anything about the quality of that work.
The award and the contract
The resolution passed 3–0, with Directors Axworthy, Pasternak and Roberts voting yes and Directors Vickers and Potter absent. It set a 10% contingency of $128,630, for a total authorization of $1,414,930. The staff report, from Deputy Director of Utilities Operations Kevin Love, says the 2026 budget held $1,500,000 for the project.
The staff report says the job includes “complex temporary bypass pumping and temporary disinfection equipment to keep the treatment plant online 24/7 during construction.” The technical specifications require a temporary UV system that will “continuously treat 100%” of the effluent going to the outfall and meet the permit’s E. coli limits. They also call for temporary pumping and standby power for critical systems where needed.
The bid documents give more than one sizing figure. The specification said the temporary UV system should handle 9.4 million gallons a day. A district answer in Addendum 2 calls 9.4 “a typo” and puts peak hour flow at 4.7. The same addendum confirms that, per Addendum 1, the temporary bypass pump and UV system should be sized for 2.0 million gallons a day. These figures show what was specified. They do not establish whether capacity played any part on October 13.
Schedule
The agreement is dated June 24, 2026. Work was to begin within 10 days after Filanc received the fully executed contract and finish within 180 calendar days, with $2,500 per working day in liquidated damages. The notice-to-proceed form in the packet is blank, so the actual start date, and the deadline that follows from it, are not in the records we reviewed.
Discrepancies in the record
- The resolution says the bid was issued May 26. The posting shows May 15, and May 26 was the pre-bid meeting.
- The tabulation header says “IFB-2026-WA-2502” and a June 12 opening. The opening sheet and the posting say WW and June 11.
- The district’s Bid Results page reads “Coming Soon!” Its online agenda center lists meetings only through April 2020, so we did not find the June 22 agenda or minutes.
Records still needed
The notice to proceed and current schedule. The contractor’s approved bypass pumping and temporary disinfection submittals. Daily reports, alarm and SCADA logs for October 13. Any change orders. The “additional redundancy measures and safeguards” the district says it is adding. The June 22 minutes.