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Future of city wells in question
Dogtown I well may be a loss if pump equipment is unable to be pulled from ground

Ryan Williams/WGCN<br>
Paul Satre, with CDG Environmental, installs part of a system designed to filter manganese from the water supply on Monday at the city of Williams Water Treatment Facility.

Ryan Williams/WGCN<br> Paul Satre, with CDG Environmental, installs part of a system designed to filter manganese from the water supply on Monday at the city of Williams Water Treatment Facility.

WILLIAMS - The manganese problem in the city of Williams' water supply will likely start to subside before the end of summer but that's not the only problem facing the city's water system. Both Dogtown wells are currently down and the city could be on the hook for close to half a million dollars to get them operational again.

While Dogtown III will likely be up and running once new or city owned salvaged equipment is installed, Dogtown 1 could be another story. The well could be a loss if the city doesn't move quickly to pull the well's pump equipment out of the ground.

During the Williams City Council July 28 regular meeting, Interim City Manager Joe Duffy said Central Lift, the city's well equipment vendor, has been slow to respond to what city of Williams officials have deemed an urgent situation. The company has not provided a timeline for testing the city's pumps and motors.

"It's an emergency for us and we're not getting that vendor to step up to the plate like they should," Duffy said.

As a result, Duffy said the city is considering working with ESP, a subsidiary of General Electric, to resolve the well situation. ESP has committed to testing the well equipment a day or two after receiving it at their facilities.

"I think we're at the point that I think the best course of action I see to do right now, and we can talk about

it, is having Central Lift or ESP pick up those pumps, see what we have, see if we can make a pump stream that is viable and will work and if not purchase a pump for Dogtown III," Duffy said. "Pull Dogtown III and while we mobilize the rig, pull Dogtown 1 and see what we have left. "

According to Duffy, Central Lift estimates it will cost $173,000 to completely re-outfit Dogtown III with new equipment and $147,000 to do the same at Dog Town I. ESP estimates $131,000 and $161,000 respectively.

Patch Karr, with Barbie Drilling, recommended the city send a knowledgeable representative to Oklahoma to oversee the equipment testing process.

Addressing council members and city officials from the audience, Pat Carpenter, a former Williams City Councilman, said when Dogtown III was originally drilled, the "trash pump," meant to be removed after the well water clears up following initial drilling, was left in the well because water quality was sufficient. The trash pump lasted approximately five years. The permanent well equipment was to be stored vertically and sent to the manufacturer periodically for maintenance.

"Was that ever done? I mean was the equipment stored correctly? Was it sent back to the manufacturer to be serviced? We're talking about $170,000 worth of equipment," Carpenter said. "And, you're also talking about $4 million worth of wells sitting out there that have basically been neglected. The Dogtown 1 well should have been pulled immediately when it went down because it was producing sand."

Duffy said the equipment was not stored correctly.

Williams Mayor John Moore said the city's water problems must be corrected sooner than later regardless of who is at fault.

"It's obvious to me that we've been remiss someplace or we wouldn't be sitting here without any wells and we would have some water being pumped out" Moore said. "If we did have a pump there that we didn't maintain properly, well, we can blame that on somebody that has gone down the road. But, the issue now is, and it's a bigger issue than we turn on our faucets here in Williams and drink a good glass of water, this is starting to effect the whole community."

Carpenter said both wells are a concern with time running out on Dogtown 1.

"You should pull the equipment out of Dogtown 1 if you can get it out," Carpenter said. "If that equipment is sand locked in that well, you don't have a well anymore."

Moore agreed.

"That's another thing. We may not be able to get Dogtown 1 out," Moore said. "We need to get on that and get on it now. We need to get where we need to be and do it at whatever cost because it is starting to eat at the pocketbooks of this community."

Installation of filter equipment at the city's water plant began Monday to rectify the brown water problem in Williams.

"That issue should be solved in the next two weeks," Duffy said.

Interim Water Superintendent Bill Pruett said sediment in the water will take a while to clear up. Water lines will be flushed starting after Labor Day.

"There will be some residual. We have to have enough water to do this," he said. "We'll do it in three nights."


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