Search begins for third well

While engineers begin an environmental study and test well drilling on two wells south of McCook, the search for a third well also will begin.

City engineers plan to begin looking for a third site within a seven-mile radius of the current well field south of McCook.

Under the plan presented by Greg Wolford of W Design, the city would use the two wells currently being investigated to replace two abandoned wells. The third well would be used to retire the city's highest nitrate well, which contains an average of 24 ppm in nitrates.

During its regular meeting Monday, the council also approved a proposal from Maxim Technologies of North Platte to conduct an environmental study on the two wells on the Hancock property.

According to a report made by Wolford to the council, the property once contained an auto junkyard that covered about 40 acres.

Wolford said the two proposed wells are up-gradient from the proposed wells and should not be affected by any pollution from the former junkyard.

The bid date to begin test well drilling on the two Hancock wells was set for June 1.

Wolford told the council he wanted to get the project under way so engineers could monitor the wells through an irrigation season. The test wells will also determine water quality and determine the character of the aquifer.

One concern the city is facing is the depth of the Hancock wells.

According to Wolford, if the water in the wells is too close to the surface of the ground, they are considered "under the influence of ground water."

Wolford said if that designation were made on the two Hancock wells, the treatment necessary to bring it into compliance "would have a very significant negative impact on the cost of McCook's water solution."

"I'm of the opinion that our plan should deal us out of that," he said. " Our goal is to not have that designation."

When questioned by the council on which of the two studies should be completed first, Wolford told the council, "This is the chicken and an egg concept. Everything has to be done concurrently. All of these work together and if we find a problem, then we'll be coming right back here to the council."

Councilman Jerry Reitz, continued his campaign to persuade the council to reconsider its decision to abandon the northern well field.

He told council members his figures showed that even with the reduction in treatment costs on the southern well field and by paying $3 million for land acquisition and building a new treatment facility, a northern well field would cost $2 million less than a southern well field.

Councilman Phil Lyons argued the figures with Reitz saying his figures did not include land costs or legal fees. "Which we all know there's nothing wrong with," he quipped.

And, Lyons said, "there are other issues, but I don't think we want to discuss those issues in an open meeting."

A collective chuckle arose from the council room at the close of discussion, when Councilman Jim Kenny posed the rhetorical question "What would (the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality) say to us, if we went back north?"