|
Bremen
plans to replace well
South Bend Tribune
- 1/16
Bremen
will replace one of its three municipal wells for the first time.
The
town will be taking construction bids for the well through Feb.
24. Town Manager Duwaine Elliott said the old well can no longer
pump enough water. Cleanings have failed to restore its pumping
capacity.
"We
brought back some of its capacity but it dropped again,"
he said. "The more cost-effective way is to put a new well
in."
Paul
Keyser, water department superintendent for Bremen, agreed.
"It's
not worth putting in a lot of money to rehab it," he said.
"We're better off putting any money into a new well."
Town
residents are already footing the bill by paying more for their
water. Elliott said water costs increased around 4 to 5 percent
last fall.
Bremen
has used the extra money to invest in tax-free municipal bonds,
Elliott said. Bond revenues will pay for the well's construction.
Larry
R. Long and Associates, Inc. of Warsaw designed the plan for the
new well, which will be roughly 160 feet deep and will pump water
through a 1-foot diameter pipe.
Keyser
said the old well can't pump enough water because it can't be
cleaned properly.
The
pipe for the old well reaches than 130 feet underground. The bottom
of the pipe is surrounded by vertical screens which extend another
20 feet into the earth and let water into the pipe while filtering
pebbles.
The
screens in the old well are clogged, but cleaning equipment can't
clean them because the screens are bent slightly, preventing the
equipment from reaching all the way, Keyser said.
"Those
old screens get plugged up," he said.
Elliott
said Bremen could choose a bid as early as the March Town Council
meeting. Construction could start within 30 days of awarding a
contract.
Elliott
said Bremen's other two wells are doing just fine.
"We
don't anticipate having to replace any of them," he said.
NOTICE: In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without
permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of
criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair
use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials
may not be distributed further, except for "fair use,"
without permission of the copyright owner.
|