Drip, drip, drip. New part of aquarium losing water.

VIRGINIA BEACH

Water is dripping from the new $25 million expansion of the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center.

Beach officials haven't pinpointed the location of the leak, but they think it's in the Asian fish and turtle area of the Restless Planet exhibit.

It's also unclear what's causing the leak, how it can be fixed and what repairs will cost.

So, the city and W.M. Jordan Co., the construction company that built the exhibit, have put forensic engineers Simpson Gumpertz & Heger on the case. The city and construction firm are splitting the expected $44,000 cost of the consultant, based in Waltham, Mass.

"It's not a huge issue for us," said Lynn B. Clements, the executive director of the aquarium. "We just want to make sure the contractor takes care of it."

Water is seeping out of the aquarium's concrete shell at a rate of a drop every 30 seconds, said John Lawson, president of W.M. Jordan, based in Newport News. "It's the most minor of minor things," he said. "These are complicated buildings. There's no such thing as a perfect building."

Still, Restless Planet, which features 110,000 gallons of new aquariums, opened last fall and there shouldn't be problems, said one Virginia Beach City Council member.

"When you pay for a brand-new, state-of-the-art addition, it's not something that anybody would accept, including taxpayers," Councilman Glenn Davis said.

Leaks, which aquarium workers noticed in September before the new exhibits were opened to the public, were part of a punch list of items that city officials wanted the contractor to address before the building was considered complete.

There also was a leak in the Mediterranean Sea exhibit that was plugged earlier, Clements said.

During the repair of that leak, however, about 200 small fish died. Beach officials said the epoxy that was used might have been a factor. The cost to replace the fish was $400, and the incident alerted Beach officials to the potential hazards and increased interest in hiring an expert to evaluate the situation, Clements said.

The cost to seal the new leak will be covered by a performance bond that the city has from W.M. Jordan, said Chris Boynton, a city attorney.

"The city is reserving all its legal options," Boynton said. "While we have a cooperative contractor at present, we don't know how it will go."

Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com