City well in need of repairs

The Bonne Terre City Council recently heard an update about the need for repairs on the well located at Mansion Hill.

Bonne Terre City Administrator Shawn Kay said Well 1 on Mansion Hill was having some trouble with the chlorine injection pump picking up some tidbits and after changing it out twice they decided to have a professional take a look at the well.

“They pulled the well and did a video camera of that,” Kay explained. “The casing has been in since the 1960s and it has some rust issues. There were also some other issues they found in the well pipe itself, the lift pipe that the pump is attached to and the pump had a short in it.”

Kay said presented a proposal from Flynn Drilling Company to the council. He has agreed to have them pull and inspect the well by doing the video.

“They will also chemically treat the well and brush the casing, which will get rid of the stuff they dropped into the well, so we won’t have to spend four weeks pumping water out of the well,” Kay said. “The rest of it is going to be replaced, 315 feet of pipe, putting a new motor in, seal coating the couplings and other assorted things that go along with working on a well.”

Kay said this is the oldest well in the Bonne Terre and it is obviously in need of some maintenance. He said because this is outside his scope of what he can spend, he is asking the council for permission to finish the repairs.

Alderman Erik Schonhardt asked Kay if they have received any other bids. Kay responded that they have not. Kay said that this was not one of those things they could bid out, that these are the only people who can do it.

“We couldn’t get Midwest (Drilling, Inc.) to do it … but if you would like for me to call Midwest to get a second quote I will, but keep in mind that if we are going to do that we are going to have to get this project in the works,” Kay said. “This well needs repaired. We couldn’t continue to run it the way it was, it was eating pumps.

The board asked how much it would cost and Kay said approximately $27,000. Alderman Bruce Pratte said they couldn’t wait another month.

“I can see if I can get a second proposal and maybe we can do it after this council meeting,” Kay said. “I do have well 4 variable frequency drive turned up to produce more water.”

Schonhardt asked if they have done business with the city in the past and Kay responded they had multiple times.

“They are the ones who actually came in to work on well 4 last winter,” Kay said. “It’s one of those things, they are hard to just go out and get a bid on unless you know what it is you are trying to get a bid on. So until I get it pulled and have it assessed, I don’t know what to even ask. Until we knew we needed all these pieces of pipe, couplings and stuff like that, I couldn’t get a bid. Now we know and I can ask for that.”

Schonhardt said he was thinking they will be spending $27,000 and they have only received a price from one company who looked at it.

Schondhardt asked if they were the only two companies in the area and Kay wasn’t sure how far they would have to reach out to find somebody else who does work such as this.

Pratte asked if Flynn was in Troy and where the other one would come from. Kay said Flynn is in Troy and he believes Midwest is located around Washington. He added he will certainly find another bid, but they can’t wait too long.

Bonne Terre Attorney Seth Pegram asked if this was just a repair of the original structure and not new construction.

“It’s not new construction,” Kay said. “It’s just repair work.”

Alderwoman Andrea Richardson said this was the well they haven’t done anything to in a long time.

Kay stressed the casing has been in there since 1962 and he doesn’t know if there has ever been anything done to it since. He added the standpipe itself at some point had been replaced and he knows the pump had also been replaced, but it hasn’t been done any time recently.

The bid from Flynn Drilling Company included the cost for materials, $21,250, and labor, which is $5,500, totaling to $26,750.

Bonne Terre City Council recently discussed improvements that are needed for the Mansion Hill well.