As defined in the Water Master Plan and capital plans, the City is looking for additional shallow well locations. Last year the City signed a three-year contract with Layne-Western Inc. to help us find a well location and are anticipated to start work on Wednesday, November 12.
Based on the current budget and unit cost, the City will do four test holes in Phase 1 to help us identify viable shallow well locations. City Staff worked with Trotter Engineering and Layne-Western to evaluate possible locations using past test well data, private well data and two Burns & McDonnell studies - Water System Hydraulic Study (1996) and Well Water Supply and Treatment Evaluation (1999).
For this fiscal year, the City has selected four locations:
Please see the attached illustrations to service as a guide; the actual location of the drill hole will be based on JULIE locates, site access and property owner preferences. Over the last year our team has been coordinating with the Park District on use of their properties and they are supportive of the test well locations on their property.
Phase 1 “Test Hole” - this is a small 4-6” pilot hole to verify and sample the geological layers. We are expecting a depth around 150- 200 feet deep. Depending on what they find while drilling, the City may place an observation well. If the location has poor soils conditions, we forgo the observation well and have the contractor refill the hole per state standards prior to leaving the site. The soil samples and water levels will be sent out for evaluation after which time, Layne will provide the city with an evaluation and recommendations. This is expected to take several months after the field work is completed. If good conditions are found during the Phase 1 work, the City would consider and budget for a Phase 2 Study; the work taking place now is Phase 1 scope of service and each location is expected to take approximately one day to complete.
Phase 2 “Test Well”- is a larger 8”-10” test well to help identify capacity and water quality. Prior to planning and budgeting, we will continue to have conversations with any properties not owned by the City to obtain permission to drill a test well. Only the best location from the Phase 1 Study will be selected for the Phase 2 Test Well. A test well is not the final production well; it allows the City to see if geological conditions can provide a well with sustainable production. It also allows the City to test the water quality to make sure it is suitable for long-term drinking water purposes. This test well is a different type of drilling process and requires additional work. The test well will take approximately a week to complete, plus the additional coordination of pumping the site. The test well can be used to help drill a final production well and if everything is satisfactory during Phase 2, the City would consider the selected location as future production well. Typically this final well would be in the same general location, typically within 1,000 feet of the test well.