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Mabton engineer: three wells but only one operating; system 'on a razor's edge'
Summary
City consultant Jay of S and J Environmental told the Mabton council that of the three municipal wells only Well 5 is currently operating; electrical failures at Well 4 and water-quality problems at Well 3 leave the town reliant on a single well and a temporary chlorination set-up.
Jay, a representative of S and J Environmental, told the council the Mabton water system has three wells but only one is currently operating: Well 5. "You have 3 wells in in the system. And and out of those 3 wells, you currently have 1 that is operational, and that is well number 5," he said, warning that losing Well 5 would “put you guys in in a pickle.”
Jay described recent failures at Well 4, which burned its motor and exhibited further wiring problems during a test start. He said Well 3 is out of service for water-quality reasons. Jay told council members he is feeding chlorine into the distribution system from a temporary tap at Well 5 while the city pulls distribution samples to determine residual chlorine levels and to pursue lifting the city's precautionary boil order.
Jay said the system is being run manually and stressed the need for a preventive-maintenance program. "You're just truly running your water system right now. It's running on a razor's edge," he said, recommending the council approve vendor work and maintenance measures that will build redundancy into the system. The presentation included proposed steps to re-enable additional chlorination points and to pursue diagnostics and repairs on malfunctioning wells.
The council did not take a formal vote on repairs during the study session, but members asked for cost and timeline estimates and for staff to return with contract authorization language so the mayor can act quickly if needed.
