BACK ON TRACK

Sports

Discussion

September 1, 2010

Design firm bears brunt of $3.3 million repair bill on East Texas fish hatchery

By Matt Williams Outdoors Writer The Huntsville Item Wed Sep 01, 2010, 10:29 PM CDT

NACOGDOCHES — Just call it a mountain of a mistake.

After months of evaluation, legal wrangling and dirty work, more than two miles of faulty underground drainage pipe has been exhumed and replaced at the new John D. Parker East Texas Fish Hatchery.

The cost? A healthy $3.3 million.

The state-of-the-art facility is currently under construction below the Sam Rayburn Reservoir dam near Jasper. The projected completion date is early spring 2011.

The drainage system in question is linked to a dozens of production ponds that will be used for rearing about 5 million Florida bass, blue catfish and bluegill annually. Water will flow through the pipe to the hatchery outfall, Beef Creek, then into the Angelina River about a mile downstream.

Funded entirely by Texas anglers via sales of freshwater fishing stamps, the $27 million hatchery project broke ground in July 2008 with a scheduled completion date of March 2010.

The project moved along nicely until April 2009, when inspectors discovered that at least two sections of 60-inch and 48-inch diameter drainage pipe had collapsed 10-17 feet underground.

Further investigation revealed additional problems within the massive drainage system, which warranted a complete overhaul in order to shore up the integrity of the system, and to prevent other problems from developing later on.

TPWD hired an engineering outfit from Beaumont to determine the cause of failure, and to help decide who should ultimately be held liable for the repairs. The facility was designed by HDR/Fish Pro out of Omaha, Neb., while Allco, Inc. of Beaumont was awarded the construction contract.

According Todd Engeling, TPWD’s chief of inland hatcheries, the investigation pointed to the design firm as the party at fault. Engeling said a settlement was awarded once a replacement design was agreed upon. The settlement involved the removal of about 11,000 feet of 60 inch, 48 inch and 30 inch diameter corrugated HDPE pipe, and replacing it with pipe of much higher quality.

Engeling said the 60-inch and 48-inch pipe was replaced with Class 5 reinforced concrete pipe. Meanwhile, the 30-inch pipe was replaced with a more rigid PVC.

The hatchery manager pointed out that HDR/FishPro absorbed approximately $3.2 million of the total cost of reworking the drainage system, while TPWD kicked in an additional $140,000 to complete the repairs performed by Allco, Inc.

“HDR was willing to put up about $3.2 million, which left about $140,000 the table” Engeling said. “Rather than extend the legal deliberation, we (TPWD) elected take on that responsibility and move this thing forward.”

Engeling said the $140,000 paid out of the general project fund was money well spent.

“We came out of this deal with a drainage system that is much more rigid and robust than what we originally had, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “It is unfortunate that all this happened, but on different level we are very fortunate that we were dealing with a large firm like HDR. They really stepped up to the plate and took care of business.”

Text Only

Sports

Bigger, faster and stronger, Hornets can’t wait to kick off 2012 football campaign
This spring, the Hornets have overhauled their offensive plans and head coach Shane Martin, his assistant coaches, and most importantly, the players are pumped about the changes they’ve made.

May 26, 2012 3 Photos
Schallenberg: Kats now hoping résumé speaks for itself
Despite one of the best seasons in school and Southland Conference history, all the Bearkats can do now is watch scoreboards, wait and hope for the best.

May 26, 2012
The thrill of victory ... the agony of defeat
The Bearkats knew exactly what they needed to get done and they were up to the task.
In order to reach championship day of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, the Kats would have to stave off elimination twice just to get to today’s final round.
The Bearkats nearly pulled it off.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
Kats beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-3
May 25, 2012
Alive and kicking: Bearkats still in hunt at SLC baseball tourney
With the possibility of going home early from the Southland Conference Tournament and a chance of their season coming to an abrupt end, the Bearkats needed some quality starting pitching and production from their bats in the worst way.
Like he has done all year long, Sam Houston senior Justin Jackson delivered a lights-out performance on the mound and the offense made the kind of impact the Bearkats have been looking for Thursday morning.
Both elements came together at the exact right time as the Kats stayed alive in the tourney with a 7-1 victory over McNeese State in an elimination game at Bobcat Ballpark.

May 24, 2012
Bad day for Bearkats
The Bearkats’ road to the NCAA tournament just got a little bit tougher.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi broke out for four runs before top-seeded Sam Houston even stepped to the plate Wednesday afternoon, but the Kats couldn’t find a way to counter that first punch.
Sam Houston connected for eight hits, but could not get enough of those in a row to make a dent in the deficit and are now one loss away from being eliminated from the Southland Conference tournament following a 9-2 loss at the hands of the eighth-seeded Islanders on Wednesday afternoon at the Bobcat Baseball Ballpark.

May 23, 2012
Schallenberg: Time is now for Bearkats in Southland tourney
The Bearkats look to take care of business this week in the Southland Conference baseball tournament.

May 20, 2012 1 Photo
Alpha Omega Academy trio shine at state track meet
Freshman brings home four medals, including two golds

May 19, 2012
Tough night for Kats against Rice
The Bearkats had a golden opportunity to make a lasting impression for a potential at-large bid in the NCAA tournament with fifth-ranked Rice coming to town. Sam Houston’s bats couldn’t get going early enough or be able to link enough hits together against the Owls pitching staff and succumbed to a 5-0 loss in the final game of the season at Don Sanders Stadium on Tuesday night.

May 16, 2012 2 Photos
BEARKAT BASEBALL — Plenty up for grabs against fifth-ranked Rice
For several reasons, today’s game against fifth-ranked Rice is going to be a biggie for the Bearkats.

May 14, 2012 1 Photo
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

BACK ON TRACK

Design firm bears brunt of $3.3 million repair bill on East Texas fish hatchery

Site Map

Contact Us