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Bicknell staff report tanks half-full and suspect leak as pumps run longer than expected
Summary
Public works and board members reported that the town’s water tanks are only about half full despite extended pumping, noted the spring/pump is producing about 44 gallons per minute and concerns about an unlocated leak or reduced source flow, and asked staff to investigate.
Bicknell public works staff and board members raised alarm about the town's municipal water storage during the Jan. 30 work meeting, reporting that both supply tanks held roughly half their normal level despite the pump running for multiple days.
A staff member showed board members a photo of the overflow area after pumping for three days and said the tanks were only about eight feet full of an expected 16–18 feet when full. The pump-run math and storage levels did not match, prompting board members to suspect either a large leak somewhere in the system or a decline in source flow from the spring. A staff member reported an estimated spring flow near 44 gallons per minute and said the system typically needs closer to 50 gallons per minute to sustain normal storage and pressure.
Board members discussed possible explanations: a large leak on the distribution system, an unmetered loss on the town side of a customer meter (for example, a pool or other large use that does not show up on the town's meter read), changes in aquifer yield, or frozen ground masking a leak that would otherwise surface. Staff reported they had read meters and inspected problem areas but had not yet located a clear surface leak. The town also noted historical pool leaks (a school pool was previously cited) that used tens of thousands of gallons without obvious surface evidence. One board member said a past leak there was on the town side of the meter and would not appear in customer readings.
Staff said a part for the new meter/SCADA system had been ordered but delayed (reported as ordered seven months earlier), and that missing telemetry complicates diagnosing pump and source performance. The board discussed operational steps, including adjusting tank valving or filling one tank at a time to test source capacity and continuing meter reads to detect abnormal usage patterns. No formal repair action or vote was recorded at the meeting; staff was directed to continue checks and to report back with meter and flow data.
Ending: The board did not identify a definitive cause at the meeting. Staff will continue meter reads and field inspections and will report findings to the board when more data are available.
