Leamington council hears urgent update on new well approval; town may face water-quality, backup risks this summer

Leamington officials were warned Wednesday that state reviews of the town's new well and water-storage plans are delaying work and could leave the town with only one functioning well this summer.

The council was told the new well house specifications and plans for a 200,000-gallon storage tank remain under review by the state, and that the town cannot bring the new well fully online until those reviews and approvals are complete. As a temporary measure, staff described plans to run a short-term electrical feed and plumbing connection so a pump can operate the older 6-inch line while permanent work continues.

Why it matters: Council members said the existing well is deteriorating and may cavitate under heavy summer demand. Without the new well and required state approvals in place, the town could be operating on a single, failing source of supply; speakers said the new well's untreated water also requires mixing with spring water to meet a total dissolved solids (TDS) requirement.

Staff and council described these key technical and schedule details discussed at the meeting:

- State reviews: Town staff said well house plans, pump specifications and the 200,000-gallon tank remain with state reviewers and approvals have not yet been issued; the town had planned to be out for bid on March 1 but had not been cleared for bid by the meeting. One council member summarized, "The plans ... are sitting at state waiting review."

- Pump and lead times: The council said the pump size has been specified as a 40-horsepower unit expected to deliver about 300 gallons per minute; speakers warned pump lead times could be multiple months once it is ordered.

- Mixing and recharge: Officials described a state-imposed mixing requirement of 3 parts well water to 1 part spring water (a 3:1 ratio) to meet TDS requirements. The council discussed aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) recharge paperwork that must be renewed around April 1 to permit controlled recharge into the approved well once state approvals are complete.

- Temporary measures: Staff proposed plumbing the new well into the existing 6-inch line and running a temporary power feed and electrical connection so a pump can be dropped in and used while the well house is finished. That would be a short-term fix, repeated speakers said, until full construction and state signoffs are complete.

Discussion and concerns: Council members and others repeatedly pressed for faster state action. One member urged broader attention, saying citizens should contact state leaders if approvals do not move more quickly. Speakers described efforts to have engineering comments incorporated and noted repeated contacts by staff with state reviewers. A speaker said, "We are already in a place with no backup to the existing well," and later added that the existing well is cavitating when run and may not make it through the summer.

Operational background provided during the meeting included that the town uses about 200 gallons per minute under typical high-demand conditions and that the minimum historic spring flow reported in the discussion was about 65 gallons per minute. Under the 3:1 mixing plan, staff said the spring flow should be adequate when combined with the new well, but speakers cautioned that spring flows can vary.

What council directed or decided: The meeting record shows extensive discussion and direction to staff to continue pressing state reviewers, to pursue temporary plumbing and electrical hookups so the new well can be used as soon as approvals allow, and to order equipment once approvals are in hand. No formal council vote was recorded at the meeting on the well project itself.

Next steps and risks: Staff said they will continue to pursue state approvals, that a bid period would follow approval (estimated as about a month once released), and that ordering the pump remains a critical lead item. Council members said they expected to ask state contacts for expedited review and discussed contacting state elected officials and staff as part of that effort.

Votes at a glance: The meeting did record the approval of minutes (motion to approve with corrections; outcome: approved) and a concluding motion to adjourn (outcome: approved).