Auditor: Dunshaughlin wastewater scheme 'significantly over budget'

THE costs on the Dunshaughlin Waste Water Scheme - at €41 million - are "significantly in excess of budget", the local government auditor has commented in his report on Meath County Council's accounts for 2008. The auditor, Eamonn Daly, said that the additional amounts were mainly attributable to costs incurred to cover unforeseen adverse ground conditions during pipe laying operations. "These additional costs were incurred notwithstanding the council having retained an independent firm of ground site investigators to undertake pre-construction inspections." The scheme, including the additional costs, received 92 per cent funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, with the balance being met from development levies. At the time of writing his report, the auditor did not have to hand one of the four final accounts associated with the scheme. County manager Tom Dowling said in response that the figure of €41 million quoted by the auditor were overall contract costs, ie, inclusive of contract and non-contract costs. He said that the actual construction outturn cost was €34.65 million (including VAT) and this was the total for all four contracts included in the Dunshaughlin Sewerage Scheme. The manager said that the additional costs incurred were as a result of a number of items, not just unforeseen ground conditions, eg, primarily, there was "very extensive" archaeology uncovered which led to substantial cost increases, both in terms of paying archaeologists and knock-on delay to the contractor, and price variation (inflation) was "very high" during the period of construction from 2003 to 2006 inclusive. Mr Dowling said: "A substantial amount of the additional costs incurred were as a result of unforeseen ground conditions. As on all projects of this type Meath Co Council with the Department's approval undertook advance site investigation contracts. However, advance site investigation contracts can only provide a snap shot of prevailing ground conditions at a number of isolated and localised points along the pipeline routes and somwetimes, as occurred in this project, the actual ground conditions encountered during the construction phase, between the localised SI sample points, differs from what was expected from the SI samples, hence leading to claims for unforeseen ground conditions". He said that the engineer for the scheme, and the Department of the Environment, who monitored progress and costs on the project were both satisfied that substantial sections of unforeseen ground conditions had been encountered on the scheme which led to significant delays ("and indeed the needf for a specialised contractor") and cost increases.