Sandersville City Council voted to retain the services of Turnipseed Engineers to provide engineer service to design a new well to replace ‘well seven’ at their Monday, July 19 City Council meeting.
Last month, Sandersville Public Works Director Robert Eubanks reported that ‘well seven’ on Maple Street was taken offline after phosphate was detected. Eubanks stated that the City spoke with Georgia Rural Water and the Environmental Protection Division about this issue.
Public Works Director Eubanks stated that ‘Well 10’ is feeding the area once served by ‘Well Seven.’
In June, Council awarded a bid to Grosch drilling for repairs to the well by cleaning the screens. Public Works Director Eubanks stated the first objective was determine if cleaning the screens would eliminate the phosphate issue.
During the Monday, July 19 City Council meeting, Public Works Director Eubanks stated that they ran the video of ‘well seven,’ and determined there’s a large hole in the casing.
“That’s where all your phosphate is coming from,” said Eubanks, adding, “I talked with the well driller, and the well driller said that he could patch the hole, but with the condition of the casing, we’d just be throwing good money after bad.”
Public Works Director Eubanks went on to say that the recommendation isn’t to repair the well because one patch would potentially create another hole.
“For all purposes, the well is no good,” said Eubanks.
When discussing the location of a new well, Public Works Director Eubanks stated that the city would work with Turnipseed Engineers to identify various sites.
“Then we’ll test the groundwater at the sites, and see which will produce the most water,” said Eubanks.
David Tyre of Turnipseed Engineers explained that they will look at the water consumption for the area, and identify the best location to place a new well so that it’s closest to the plant with the highest consumption.
After discussing the issues with ‘well seven,’ Sandersville Council unanimously voted to retain Turnipseed Engineers for the design and assistance with identifying a location for a new well.