City Water Well Update
July 12, 2024
The City is currently operating the water system with Well #9 (north of football field) and some minimal usage from Well #8 (west of Winterfeld Pond). These wells are providing enough water for essential purposes of the community, but we are unable to fill the 500,000 gallon water tower so lawn watering and other nonessential water usage is being banned by the City.
The City has staff dedicated to getting Well #3 (19th Street) Well #4 (east of football fields) and Well # 6 (west of 20th Street) to pass the required bacteria and E.coli tests. Thien Well Company has been assisting the City since the flood occurred to get all the wells operation and to pass these tests. Thien Well Company has been rehabiliting these wells by pulling the wells, jetting the screens and treating them with chlorine and acidic acids. The have also been forcing water back out the well pipe to shock treat the water near the well pipe. Yesterday, they televised the well pipes and determined that several well liners have failed and they are letting in surface water which is contaminating our water samples. To date, the City has spent $100,000 on getting the wells operational and rehabilitated.
The City must pass the DNR mandated bacteria and ecoli tests twice before any of these wells an be brought back on line. The water samples must go under a 24-hour incubation period before we learn if a well has passed the test. The City has been and will continue to send water samples to Cherokee twice a day until the wells pass the test and is brought back on line. We request your continue patience as we work through these flood related issues. Once we are able to get another well back on line, we will be able to fill the water towers and rollback the current water restrictions.
Water Usage Reminder:
ALLOWED USES: brushing teeth, face & hand washing, less than 3-minute showers, hand washed dishes, one load of laundry per household per day.
NOT ALLOWED: LAWN IRRIGATION, CAR WASHING, DEEP CLEANING. LONG SHOWERS AND BATHS.