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Town told drill head broke off in Barnum Pond during intake work; retrieval planned
Summary
Jim Ward told the board a directional-drilling attempt failed when crews hit boulders and a drill head broke off and remains in Barnum Pond; he said the pipe will be installed by conventional excavation and the drill head retrieved later.
Ward described a failed directional-drilling attempt intended to install the intake at Barnum Pond, saying the contractor repeatedly hit boulders and a drill head broke off and remains in the water. "They kept hitting boulders and their drill head actually broke off when they were trying to ream back and pull the pipe back in," Ward said, noting the broken drill head is worth roughly $25,000.
He told the board the crew will proceed by building a temporary access road, retrieving the drill head and installing the pipe by open methods (traditional burying) rather than directional drilling for that reach. Ward said the contractor originally tried a directional method to minimize disturbance in Varnum Pond (Barnum Pond) but will revert to the alternative approach to complete the intake.
