WELL WORK UNDER WAY AT PERRYVILLE

PERRYVILLE -- City officials hope to have a city water well operational again by next week.

Crews are now at work to repair Well No. 3 in the city's industrial park, said city administrator Craig Lindsley.

The well shut down last week when city workers noticed the well "vibrating" and saw that production had dropped from about 350 gallons per minute "down to about 70," Lindsley said.

When city workers pulled the well to find out what the problem was, "they found that the tail section of the pump was gone," he said. "They're in the process of fishing it out and repairing it now."

The Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday night to repair the current equipment at a cost of approximately $30,000.

The city has four water sources, Lindsley said: The three wells, and the water treatment plant on Saline Creek.

Shutting down Well No. 3 means the water plant will have to operate around the clock, he said.

"And it won't be able to sustain that for the long haul," he said.

Water supply is adequate, even with one well out of commission, Lindsley said.

"There's not a problem now. If we were unable to get this well fixed or had to order parts that would take a long time to get here, we would have a problem. But over the short haul, we're able to sustain it."

The city's water system serves more than 3,000 customers.

In November, city voters will be asked to approve a bond issue to upgrade and expand the existing water treatment plant, which was built in 1928.

The project, with an estimated cost of $8.3 million, also calls for drilling two additional wells.

Lindsley said the existing water treatment plant is out of date and too small to meet the growing community's needs.