Ewing trustees approve treatment for well

Ewing village trustees learned Monday evening that the 66 well is encrusted and may require chemical treatment.

Larry Steele, an engineer representing Miller & Associates, of Kearney, said a video of well 66, located in the old fire hall, shows it is encrusted.

“It looks like this well has had some problems in the past,” Steele said.

The well was chemically treated in 2006 and 2012.

“Typically what we’re trying to do is open up the screen,” Steele said.

A similar process was used on the 58 well, according to Steele, and a liner was installed.

“The 66 well is only 12 inches in diameter.”

Steele said a concern of chemically treating a well is it potentially could open a hole that is encrusted, allowing sand to enter the well.

“Then we would have to line the well, which would give it a substantially longer life.”

Treatment will run $11,370, which includes chemical treatment, well cleanup and new video footage of the structure.

The pricetag does not include electric service.

Steele said he anticipates capacity will return once it has been treated.

“Eventually, the screen could plug such that you wouldn’t get any water out and it would drop and you’d get air in the pump.”

Flow tests from 2017 showed the well had a capacity of 4.3 gallons per minute. By 2018, capacity dropped to 4 gallons per minute.

“This year, when the well was cleaned this year, it was at 3.5 gallons per minute. We can see it’s getting more and more encrusted,” Steele said.

Trustee Dustin Wright asked if funding is available to dig a new well.

“You’re telling me the well could collapse at any point. We’ve already treated it twice and now we’re going to reat it again. Are we going to do this every six years?”

Steele asked maintennce supervisor Alan Potter if electrical service is tied to it.

“The line was taken down to get the trucks in there to pull the well,” Potter said. “If the well would have to be pulled again, the power company would have to come and pull the electrical again.”

Trustee Dustin Jorgensen asked Potter the cost for the utility company to be onsite.

Potter was unsure of the cost.

Wright said he has concerns that once the well is treated, it may not work.

Steele agreed, it could be a possibility.

“We’re rolling the dice,” Wright said.

Jorgensen asked Steele what costs for a new well could run.

Steele said it depends, but could run around $300,000.

“There is SRF money coming about,” he told trustees.

Steele recommended applying the chemical treatment.

“Eleven thousand is a lot cheaper than we’re talking about. It will get us down a few years and give us time to look for a good location (for a new well),” he said.

The 58 well has a similar problem, but the 73 well did not.

“Maybe we could find a good locaiton to replace those two wells in the near future,” he said.

Chairman James Ramold said the only choice is to treat the well.

Wright made a motion to chemically treat the well and Jorgensen seconded it. The motion carried unanimously.

Trustee Bill Graber was absent from the meeting.