The primary well for the Bridgewater community failed yesterday when a pump broke down. A secondary well is providing water service to those affected.
Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee said the parts have been ordered but will not arrive for several weeks. The city instituted an irrigation ban in the affected area and sent out the following emails to residents.
Yesterday, we lost complete function of the well that was failing earlier in the week. We are now providing safe drinking water from only one well for the isolated western water system. We can no longer supply water for irrigation until we are able to repair the well. Effective immediately, an irrigation ban has been implemented by Executive Order. It will be lifted once the water capacity of the system can be restored. It is imperative that everyone comply. Failure to comply can result in the entire water system losing pressure, which will result in a boil water notice that could last 6 - 8 weeks until pressure is restored. Anyone that irrigates will put the entire area at risk. To avoid accidental irrigation as much as possible, we are going to shut off all irrigation meters within the western water system. There will be no reconnection fee applied when we are able to turn the water back on. We will be surveying the area in the early mornings and will shut off service at the meter of any house using irrigation. If someone is found to be irrigating, the water service will be disconnected, and a reconnection fee will be applied. Please ensure that your irrigation system is turned off. As a reminder, the affected area is limited to the western grade line. A map of the grade line can be found here: https://ridgeland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ff5cee6bb5874ade95404ce28dae61ee. We were hopeful earlier this week that we could conserve water voluntarily using the suggested usage timeline provided to the affected area. However, the irrigation ban is now required to ensure a successful outcome.
The city provided an update with more information.
Despite the inconvenience, the irrigation ban was an absolute success this morning. The water tank levels did not fall below the minimum level this morning, and our secondary well is currently keeping up with the domestic water demand. The City of Ridgeland sincerely thanks you for your understanding of the importance of the situation to continue the irrigation ban. We have heard from many supportive people, and numerous great questions have been asked and answered. Here is some information that will help others who may have had the same questions.
I have plans to install landscaping next week; what should I do? We highly recommend that you delay new landscape installations until we can get the primary well back in service. I planted landscape material recently; what can I do?This is the toughest question to answer. The only answer we have at the moment is to attempt to find someone with a water tank who can assist in watering. Another option is to use a pump to pump lake water if you live on one of the lakes. If you have recently planted a few new shrubs or trees, we advise that you fill a pitcher or bucket to water each plant. Can I use a garden hose to water my yard? No. This is the same as irrigation. Can I use a pitcher or bucket to water my plants? Yes. It would be very difficult to overwhelm the system by filling a small container to water plants. Can I just agree to a boil water notice so I can use my irrigation? No. The simple fact is that there is only enough water to supply domestic water service. We are operating with one secondary well. This pump only provides 700 gallons per minute for the entire western water system. When the tank drained to extremely low levels on Thursday morning, we were literally minutes away from losing pressure. There are strict guidelines on water quality, and pressure is a key component. We are able to continue to deliver quality water by managing the pressure. When irrigation systems run, we will lose pressure, and many customers won’t have water at all. If that were to happen, the boil water notice would be for 800 water accounts representing about 2,000 people affected by the issue. It’s not an effect limited to one house; it would impact the entire water system. If irrigation systems run like they have been, many people would wake up 3 days per week with no drinking water, no water to flush the toilet, no water to take a bath, and the pressure would be so low on the irrigation system that it would not work either. Why were we allowed to follow a schedule, only to learn that we could not water at all the next day? The system was running perfectly at 1,200 gallons per minute (GPM) on Friday. Alarms began to sound on Monday morning when we were only getting 650 GPM from the well. We immediately called in our contractor to diagnose the issue. There were no signs of the well making unusual noises or vibrations even on Monday. The contractor was able to diagnose that the issue was with the pump located 650 feet below ground based on what the amperage readings of the motor revealed. On Tuesday, we woke up to 550 GPM, but we all hoped at that point that the well would continue to pump a reduced amount. At that point, we had to implement the schedule restriction because there would not have been enough water to supply the big irrigation demand. We sent out the schedule at that point. On Wednesday, the conditions only worsened with the pump at 450 GPM, and by the end of the day, it completely quit. Thursday morning, we knew, would be the lightest irrigation day in the cycle. Even though it was light, the water tank drained to extremely low levels. We were minutes away from losing pressure, so we knew we had to implement a full ban on irrigation. What has to be done to fix the primary well? The pump has to be replaced. When you pull a pump, the column pipe and shaft have to be pulled completely out to get the pump out. The motor has to be removed from the top of the well. This pump is 650 feet below ground, which is quite an operation. We have ordered the replacement pump, motor, and additional electrical parts. When the parts are reinstalled, this well will operate like a brand new one. Why could we not have avoided this? Why now? The City of Ridgeland water operator checks the tanks and wells throughout the city every day. We have high-tech sensors and controls on all our tanks and wells and get alarms when things are not operating correctly. This well showed no sign of failure and has not aged out of its expected life. During the summer months, wells are running peak flows, so it is often that wells fail at the most inopportune time. What can be done to the system to prevent this from happening again? Once the primary well is back in service, it should operate like new and provide all the water needed for the entire water system as it did for the last 14 years until this week. For a better future, the City of Ridgeland has been working on a plan for several years to improve the reliability of the Western system. We are in the process of spending $41,000,000 to improve the water system. It will take about 3 years to complete. The plan includes three new wells and 4 new water tanks. As a result of the plan, the western water system will gain another 1,500 GPM well and a 500,000-gallon water tank. This system will have more than double the need of the peak demand when complete. How long is it going to take to fix the well? 6-8 weeks is a fast-track schedule for this industry. We have been moved to the front of the line at the manufacturing facility and with the contractor. They all know that our situation is very serious. There is a chance that the well could be done even quicker. We talk with the contractor every day to express the importance. The pump parts are not the type of parts that sit on a shelf. The pump unit is specially designed around many factors that are unique to our specific situation. Is there anything else that can be done to improve water capacity temporarily? We are working with a contractor to identify temporary booster pump(s) that can use water from the lower grade to pump into the western water system. It’s a long shot, but we are trying to see if we can get something done quickly. We are most concerned about providing quality drinking water. If we lose Samuels Lane well because it is being overworked, we will be in a different position. We are discussing a temporary domestic water supply from their nearby system with Bear Creek. The Bear Creek system cannot sustain an unlimited water supply, but we can meet minimum pressure for drinking water if we lose the other well and can connect.
25 comments:
No system is perfect, but let's see how long it takes for them to be up and running again. Will the end result be faster than Jackson??
That sounded wildly professional. Poor Jackson
Mayor Cheap Fake would have kept the problem a secret until there was a catastrophic failure of the system then would have contacted Rukia Kai to offer flimsy plastic buckets for those affected to crap in.
Now the Republicans are thirsty
There is more to this story. The city has continued to allow Bridgewater to expand with large lots with irrigation and pools. They knew more pumps were needed.
Some of the questions make me seriously wonder about the IQ of some residents. The only question not asked (but several wanted to ask) is: If I urinate, out back, while grilling, as usual, will the city be responsible if it kills my grass since my irrigation system always disperses my urine and that of my male guests.
I live in Bridgewater. I appreciate the communication and everyone's hard work. Mechanical things like pumps fail. We fix or replace and move on.
They need to add one more made up question to the list of Frequently Asked Questions:
Is it okay if I just refuse to pay my water bill like folk just south of here?
Since when did this become the Bridgewater neighborhood discuss page?
Good job on the Bridgewater folks not watering lawn to conserve. Good job on getting info out to the people involved. I hope the parts get here soon and its back up and running.
Don’t try to hire a mobile pressure washer. They’re all watering plants in my neighborhood.
We weren’t given a choice. They came on our property and turned our irrigation meters off. Now they are patrolling making sure we don’t even use a water hose to keep grass and plants alive for 6-8 weeks in a 100 degree weather.
Ridgeway Lane Well Services LLC
The water pumps broke and it smells like garbage from the landfill nearby. Bless their hearts. Somebody call Henifin over here before our grass turns yellow
Should there have been a redundancy or backup pump on this system? Seems inevitable that a primary pump will fail or need to be taken offline for maintenance.
Yes, Capitan Obvious at 2:21 - they 'have known' that new wells and tanks were needed due to this growth; seems that they acknowledge that with their response about the plans currently underway to spend some $40 million (if I remember the number correctly from reading the post) to put in multiple new wells and tanks.
But, Capitan O'Capitan, these things don't happen overnight. Plans must be developed, engineering, ROW acquisition, funding, environmental approvals -all have to be done. Ain't like you going in your backyard and digging a well next to your septic tank.
It is fairly normal to have backup power supply onsite (such as a generator). You might also (possibly) have a backup well motor in the warehouse (limiting you to just a few days offline while you swap motors). But you can't really have a backup pump deep in the same shaft. That's just not how it works. Your redundancy for pump problems is having multiple wells, which Ridgeland does. If this problem occurred in January, you probably wouldn't even know it. The problem is because it is prime irrigation season, and folks are using tons of water.
I figured the Jackson lovers/Madison County haters on this blog would be triggered by now.
Why replace the pump and motor if it’s a pump problem? Motors should be cleaned every seven to ten years and overhauled (rewound) every twenty years. A deep shaft well has many potential problems that will not be revealed until the entire shaft and it’s supports are removed.
This could be a spider support bearing or two failed, as well as the pump.
As Jackson learned, the risk is great in reassembly; as simply misconnecting the motor to the pump (not setting the “lift” that positions the pump rotor between it’s upper and lower wear rings) results in low output pressure from high bypass around the damaged wear rings (water seals).
Ted and his team know how to do this. They should not be so proud as to assume they know any better than Jackson.
Water table is dropping 1-2 feet/yr - pumps have to be dropped periodically to maintain the same flow. You drop the pump it increases the head; voila, you need more horsepower, so you replace the motor and other electrical components due to increased load.
Bridgewater: In hot spells, don't cut Augustine or Centipede. Tall grass can shade root zone. When you do cut, cut 4-1/2" high and mulch cuttings to create thatch which insulates roots against weeds, cold, heat and drought.
4:24 - You seem mighty offended. You got a stake in this disaster?
Why is Ridgeland trying to hide this? In 6-8 weeks, there will be catastrophic damage to any yards and plants in these neighborhoods. Thanks Kingfish - don't let them bury this headline. There is so much more to this. Dig a little deeper. This mayor ya'll. If someone approaches me to run for mayor, I will help them outraise in campaign $$'s 3x. It's time for a change. This administration prefers secrecy over transparency.
It's amusing reading all these rich people complain about the state of their expensive, over-manicured yards. Reminds me of the elitists who opposed the location of Costco. Wish my yard was all I had to bitch about.
They also pay over $15,000 a year in property taxes!
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