Poulsbo says Lincoln Well 2 rehab restored about 18% of capacity; staff outline 20-year water plan

City staff and consultants told the Poulsbo City Council on June 10 that a targeted rehabilitation of Lincoln Well 2 restored roughly 18% of the well’s capacity and averted near-term supply alarms.

Andrew Osterring, the hydrogeologist working with the city, said the well had experienced iron and manganese fouling that reduced production from its original capacity (about 730 gallons per minute). After brushing, acid treatment and impulse generation the work “restored about 18% of the capacity of that well or the performance of that well,” Osterring said. Staff also reported the well had recently triggered low-level alarms near the ~550 gpm range, prompting urgent work last year.

The presentation placed Lincoln 2 in the context of a 20-year water system plan that assumes maintaining roughly 650 gpm per key source and currently lists about 2,295 gpm of source capacity against approximately 3,100 gpm of water-right authority. Consultants said those gaps make active maintenance and rights-management a priority so the city can meet projected demand as it grows.

City staff outlined next steps including continuing targeted rehab for other wells (Lincoln 1 and Pew were named), installing planned variable-frequency drives and generators to increase redundancy, and pursuing water-right strategies with state regulators. Staff said exploratory drilling for additional or deeper sources is already being discussed as part of long-range planning but emphasized that siting, rights and cost-risk tradeoffs require time.

Council members pressed for clearer forecasts for remaining lifespans and rehabilitation triggers; consultants said a practical rule of thumb is to plan rehabilitations about every 10 years or when performance declines by roughly 10–20%, and that the Lincoln 2 data will improve the city’s ability to forecast timing for other wells.