Churchill County gambles on decision over test well

FALLON - The Churchill County Commission will consider Wednesday what some might call a gamble in drilling for the county's planned water and sewer system.

The option to drill or not to drill centers on a potential test well for the county water system on the site of the undeveloped Sand Creek subdivision property southwest of the city. The county may choose to drill the test well at an additional cost or proceed directly with a production well.

"There's a little bit of risk going straight to a production well," County Manager Brad Goetsch said.

The commission will debate the modification of a contract between the county and Brown and Caldwell, a Carson City-based environmental engineering firm hired by the county.

The amount of the revised purchase order including a Sand Creek test well is $121,700, according to Brown and Caldwell estimates. Subtraction of a test well lowers the price to $58,800.

Test wells sample water and soil quality, often in increments down to 500 feet. Coarser layers usually produce better quality water. Screens are placed over fine layers underground to prevent a production pump from bringing up sand.

Drilling a test well would also add time to the system timetable while soil and water samples are analyzed. By drilling a production well without a test well, the risk of drawing water from poor soil increases.

Commissioner Norm Frey said investing in a test well may prevent future correctional expenses.

"Engineering a well is more of a science," Frey said. "By drilling a test well, you can go down and catalog your sands. You don't want to inadvertently put the well screens in an unproductive area. You only find those things out when you drill down there and look."

The prospect of finding water with arsenic levels less than EPA standards is doubtful, Planning Director Eleanor Lockwood said.

"We don't believe we'll find water with less than 10 parts per billion of arsenic," she said.

The county may apply for an extension on the arsenic deadline, Lockwood said. The current deadline to provide water with less than 10 ppb of arsenic is 2006.

Two test wells drilled north of The Golf Course at Fallon last fall yielded results of 17 and 27 ppb of arsenic.

n Contact reporter Josh Johnson at jjohnson@lahontanvalleynews.com

Federal standards

Churchill County is trying to meet new federal drinking water standards calling for water with less than 10 parts per billion of arsenic.

The county may apply for an extension on the arsenic deadline. The current deadline to provide water with less than 10 ppb of arsenic is 2006.

Two test wells drilled north of The Golf Course at Fallon last fall yielded results of 17 and 27 ppb of arsenic.

IF YOU GO

The Churchill County Commission will meet at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday in the commission chambers of the county administrative building, 155 N. Taylor St.