County discusses hooking new well to irrigation, pursues reimbursements and short-term fixes at fairgrounds

Okanogan County commissioners and staff spent a prolonged portion of their meeting discussing how to use a newly drilled well at the county fairgrounds and how to supply both potable and irrigation water to fairground facilities.

The discussion focused on immediate operational steps and longer-term infrastructure choices: whether to make the new well the primary irrigation source now, clean and re-case older wells for domestic backup, and consolidate valves, backflow prevention and filtration in a small building near the vault.

The county’s planning and operations staff and contractors reported that test pumping showed strong yields in at least one hole — figures cited included about 300 gallons per minute for one test and roughly 150 gpm for another — and that a 15-horsepower pump is planned for the new well. Commissioners and staff debated whether to place the new well on the irrigation side first and avoid cross‑tying it immediately to domestic service to simplify permitting and reimbursement. “So why don't we, for right now, why don't we hook the new well just into the irrigation? Don't even worry about cross tying it right now at all because then we don't have to ask somebody about the connection or anything,” a commissioner said during the discussion.

Staff described grant and reimbursement constraints. The well work was funded in part by a water-safety grant; staff said they could seek reimbursement from USDA congressional-directed spending and other programs if work had begun before final USDA paperwork. County staff also discussed options to clean out an older, deteriorated casing and drop a 6‑inch casing and pump to restore a dependable domestic backup quickly. One participant said the contractor could “drop that 10 foot scribe, and then they'll pick the casing up, set it, and be done with it.”

Other operational topics included bids for pitless installations, electrical conduit, and connecting domestic services into the existing vault and standpipe. Commissioners and staff discussed putting valves, backflow prevention and filters into a single small building near the valve/vault area to centralize controls and reduce future excavation. Maurice Goodall of Okanogan County Emergency Management and Mike Ward of the sheriff’s office joined staff on technical points about site plumbing, vaults and the scheduling of pump and console equipment; Ward also noted related public-safety reimbursements the county is pursuing for radio equipment.

Commissioners directed staff to gather detailed bids and schedules, to request prices for cleaning and re-casing the older wells, and to pursue documentation needed for grant reimbursement. Staff said they would seek contractor prices and confirm schedules as soon as possible so the county can meet grant timing constraints.

The fairgrounds discussion also produced a separate formal action earlier in the meeting: the board approved a 100% fee waiver for Vacation Bible School to use the fairgrounds June 6–11, 2025 (motion made and approved by voice vote; all present responded “Aye”). That item and the water work are handled from the same facility budget and staff said completing the well work would also let the county restore irrigation and campground services that were constrained by prior water reliability issues.

Next steps recorded by staff included getting firm written bids for the pitless, electrical and piping work; getting a price and schedule to re-case and develop an older well (6‑inch casing option discussed); confirming which pump will be installed in which well; and preparing grant/reimbursement paperwork once work has started so the county remains eligible for funding.

The commissioners did not adopt a final binding construction contract in the meeting; staff will return with costs, contractor schedules and documentation for the board to act on in a future meeting.