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The Portland Water Bureau says the $138 million project to build a new Powell Butte reservoir is on budget and will be done on time, despite the discovery of approximately 3,200 cracks.

“This is a large concrete structure,” said Tim Hall, public information officer for the city. “Consequently, there were (more) cracks … than expected.”

Corona, Calif.-based SSC Construction is the general contractor for the project. Divers found the cracks when the reservoir was filled. Crews then began filling the cracks with an epoxy grout sealant.

The project’s design budget previously increased from $8.5 million to $12.3 million, following various land use, permitting and construction management issues, according to the bureau. The construction budget has increased from $80 million to $82.2 million because of additions, Hall said. Other costs include construction of a permanent caretaker’s house, a maintenance facility for Portland Parks & Recreation and an interpretive center, he said. Additional change orders could drive up the price higher, he said.

“We believe that the project is going to come in under budget,” he said. “Our expectation is that they will submit the project according to their bid.”

SSC Construction is about two months behind schedule, but the 50-million-gallon reservoir is expected to be ready for service by late summer, Hall said. That will allow the city to disconnect the Mount Tabor reservoir and transfer water into the Powell Butte one before a December 2015 deadline.

Installation of a large underground pipe and valve vault began at Southeast 162nd Avenue and Division Street last week. Work will wrap up by September, according to the bureau.

A 25-million-gallon reservoir at Kelly Butte, meanwhile, is ready to go online by next year, according to Hall. Hoffman Construction is building the $90 million Kelly Butte reservoir.

“We have to have the two reservoirs ready to go to replace the storage needs that we currently have at Mount Tabor,” he said. “Storage from (Portland’s) east side will come from Powell Butte and Kelly Butte.”