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Mayor Knight: hole in well casing prompts emergency repairs; contractor expected May 27–29
Summary
Mayor Knight reported a hole in the casing of Well No. 1 at about 239 feet, leaving Wells 1 and 2 out of service and forcing reliance on Well 3. A contractor who specializes in casing repair is expected to mobilize May 27–29; Town leaders seek supplemental funding and told residents to conserve water.
Mayor Knight, mayor and town representative, told the Daggett County Commission the town has a hole in the casing of Well No. 1 at about 239 feet and that Well No. 1 is down. Wells 1 and 2 are currently out of service, and the town is relying on Well No. 3 for water while crews work on repairs.
“Not good. Mhmm. But there is a resolution. At 239 feet, we have a hole in the casing,” Mayor Knight said, describing the problem and the plan to repair it.
The town has contracted a specialist from Arizona (identified as Longmire in the meeting) who is scheduled to arrive around May 27–29 to repair Well No. 1 and attempt to restore Well No. 2 to service. Mayor Knight said the contractor expects to put Well No. 1 “back together” and believes Well No. 2 can be refurbished to produce about 72,000 gallons of water per day once repaired.
Mayor Knight said Tri County will run an emergency water quality test on an expedited basis after the town provides a sample. She also said crews have removed sand from the well tank with a bailer and cleared sediment repeatedly while the site is stabilized.
On funding, the mayor said the town has nearly exhausted the original grant and loan taken for the wells and is preparing a supplemental request to the Community Impact Board (CIB). Commissioners and staff discussed that supplemental funding would likely carry the same grant/loan mix as the original award and noted a commonly used split of roughly 70/30 (grant/loan) for such supplements. The mayor said she will seek final bids for Well No. 3 and finish cost estimates for the supplemental request.
Commissioners asked whether the county could provide support to the town’s CIB request; the mayor welcomed the assistance. The mayor said rough contractor estimates for work to get Wells 1 and 2 back online were in the ballpark of $180,000; work on Well No. 3 to finish cleaning and repairs was expected to be significantly less (the town estimated under $100,000 for Well No. 3, though a final bid was pending). She also said the town will need to replace a pump (described as needing another 75-horsepower pump) as part of longer-term repairs.
The town has instituted mandatory conservation measures, including prohibiting outside watering and shutting off automatic sprinklers when they are causing uncontrolled use. Mayor Knight said staff had shut off water for a few properties with automatic sprinklers that were running. She asked residents to conserve while repairs proceed.
Commissioners and staff discussed access to the well site, noting one washed-out segment of road on the route up to Saul’s Canyon. County staff said they will research road ownership and potential easement or forest-service administrative-road access that could affect heavy-equipment mobilization.
Mayor Knight said she had contacted the Division of Drinking Water about exigent funding and would continue outreach to state and federal representatives. She thanked county staff for offers to assist with sampling and logistics.
The commission did not take a formal vote on funding at the meeting; commissioners said they would consider supporting the town’s supplemental CIB request when details and final cost estimates are available.
