Owners make decisions about how to allocate risk involving soil and water conditions. They typically have three choices on how to approach that issue, those being:

1.

Gather no information as an Owner and let the Contractor proceed based on their own evaluation and put all of the risk on the contractor.

2.

Gather the necessary information as an owner and provide it all to the contractor, but disclaim any responsibility for its accuracy. (disclaimer system)

3.

Gather the necessary information as an owner, make it available to the contractor, and promise the contractor by contract to equitably adjust the price if the conditions turn out to be different then the conditions represented (differing site conditions, DSC system)

discuss all of the advantages and disadvantages for both the owner and the contractor for each of the above options.