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Nelson County approves CHA phase 1 well evaluation for Larkin property
Summary
The Nelson County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved CHA’s phase 1 well evaluation for the Larkin property, authorizing resistivity testing and an added $6,000 local pricing coordination task to guide possible test-well drilling and future service-authority coordination.
The Nelson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve CHA’s phase 1 well evaluation for the Larkin property, authorizing resistivity testing to locate likely well sites and approving an additional $6,000 for local pricing coordination.
Candy, a county staff presenter, told the board CHA’s phase 1 work will use resistivity testing or imaging to map subsurface geology and identify locations where well development is most likely to succeed. CHA will rank potential sites, prepare proposed well-site drawings and provide estimated costs to drill test wells, perform drawdown tests and complete basic water-quality testing. The county may solicit local well drillers based on CHA’s proposed drawings; CHA offered to add local pricing coordination to its scope for an additional $6,000.
County staff described the purpose of the work as establishing the scientific basis needed to apply for grants or state funding and to determine whether any new source on the Larkin property could produce enough volume to support planned development and, possibly, systemwide capacity. A county advisor identified that, if new water sources are developed, coordination with the local service authority would be required and the authority would typically assume operation and regulatory compliance once infrastructure is built.
Supervisors discussed whether to rely on local drillers or the resistivity testing. One supervisor said local drillers can often provide quick, low-cost initial checks; others stressed that the resistivity work and formal testing would be necessary to secure grant or DEQ funding and for reliable system planning. After discussion, a supervisor moved to approve the CHA proposal for the phase 1 well evaluation with the local pricing coordination add-on; a second was recorded and the board voted by roll call with all members voting yes.
Vote at a glance: Doctor Leggett — Yes; Mister Parr — Yes; Mister Rutherford — Yes; Mister Reek — Yes; Mister Freeth — Yes.
The county will next obtain cost proposals from drillers (or have CHA coordinate that work if the added scope is used), hire a driller to establish test wells, and conduct drawdown and water-quality tests; the drawdown tests will determine how much water the wells can produce and whether the source can support development or be added to the regional distribution system.
