ASHLAND — Ashland City Council approved the spending of around $200,000 to repair a collapsed water well.
Repairing the well will occur within two weeks, and crews aim to bring it back to production within a month.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller assured residents the city will continue to have enough day-to-day water. The city has not issued any water bans in response to the issue, he said.
At one point in Ashland’s history, there were 14 wells producing water for its citizens. Now there are 10, including the well that is slated for repair. (Officials assured the other nine water wells are in working order.)
Some of the city’s big water producing wells pump out more than a million gallons each day, Miller said.
Miller cited city data that points to an average of 2.5 million gallons that is treated and used every day. But the city is approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to treat and use up to five million gallons.
“So you see we’ve got a good little buffer there,” Miller said. “And it’s good we have that buffer for situations (just like this).”
The collapsed well, known as “Water Treatment Plant Well #14″ was discovered by a firm the city hired to inspect its wells. Miller said the well’s casing, which reaches approximately 150 feet, separated from a steel screen.
No one has been able to determine what caused the damage.
Nevertheless, the well “is no longer able to produce for us and is considered collapsed.”
Miller said the city chose the less expensive option of repairing the well. Digging another well would cost between $400,000 and $600,000. This repair has been estimated to cost $198,600.
Lancaster-based National Water Services will complete the work. The city did not go out to bid for the work. The city’s ordinance said that’s because the work is “a continuation of services based upon a full and complete examination” of the well.
The work will include removing the old casing and screen, drilling the hole to clear it of obstructions and place new equipment into the hole, Miller said.