Saint John widens effort to recover losses from failed west side water system

Saint John city council has expanded the city's legal action over the failure of the new west side drinking-water system and has authorized $365,000 to pay for it.

The original consulting contract between Saint John Water and BGC Engineering calls for dispute resolution and arbitration to resolve a breakdown between the parties.

That process began in July with the city giving BGC notice it was severing its contract with the company, which was hired in 2013 to develop a groundwater system for the west side. 

On Monday night, councillors added consultant Matthew Alexander of Fundy Engineering and hydrogeologist Ken Howard of the University of Toronto to the dispute resolution process.

The city wants compensation for losses now being incurred in transferring about two-thirds of west side water customers to the larger east side water system.

The municipality alleges it got bad advice from BGC as well as from Alexander and Howard, who performed peer reviews of BGC's findings.  

BGC had been charged with determining whether enough water could be drawn from the well field to serve west side customers.

When the water system was later turned on, levels in the well field fell to a metre below sea level, leading to the risk of saltwater intrusion.

The city had already enlisted Torys LLP of Toronto, one of the country's top corporate law firms, to act on its behalf in the dispute with BGC and now with the two consultants.

"Essentially, as we continue to work through this with our legal team and insurers and others … those peer reviewers are now going to be brought into the discussion," said Mayor Don Darling.

Reached by CBC on Tuesday, Alexander, declined comment, saying it is a legal matter.

Howard, who operates a consulting business outside of his University of Toronto position, said he knew nothing of a dispute over the review and said he was not in a position to comment.

In the meantime the city is moving ahead with a project to transfer water customers in six west side neighbourhoods onto the east side system. 

The move — which involves about two-thirds of west side water customers — required construction of a new drinking water pumping station.

The transfer is expected to be completed in February. 

Darling said city staff are still "working through" total costs to the municipality.

None of the city's claims have been proven in court.