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Williams in 'water crisis' for summer

Officials for the city of Williams say they have an immediate need for producing water wells in order to accommodate the demands of Williams residents. The city is currently operating under limited capacity, according to City Manager Dennis Wells, due to a recent pump failure in the city's Dogtown I Well. This leaves Williams residents with one active well, Dogtown III, and city reservoirs, Wells said, which are quickly diminishing.

Dogtown I went out of service close to two weeks ago, according to Wells. Dogtown III produces, on average, about 285 gallons per minute.

"We are finding ourselves, currently, in what I would term a water crisis. Williams has had water crises in the past," said Wells. "This last winter created virtually no rainfall or snow of any amount and we are looking forward, as we always do, and we came to realize that, within a year, this town could be totally out of water. To compound things, our Dogtown I Well recently went down. The electric motor has burned out and we plan, at some point this summer, to replace the motor and get Dogtown I back up, so we currently only have one producing water well that is available for usage and our reservoirs are precariously low. June is the month of the year that tends to reduce the levels of our reservoirs rather dramatically. It is what I would term a crisis, because we know if the drought continues, and it is expected to continue, then within one year this community is out of water."

Williams currently operates five reservoirs throughout the area. Currently the reservoirs are at 30 percent of their capacity, Wells said, adding that the upcoming dry winds will "rob" much of that moisture from the reservoirs as well. He said Williams has a need for at least two more producing wells.

"By July we could be down to 20 percent of our reservoir levels," said Wells. "We have an immediate need for two more producing water wells. We did have a well, referred to as Rodeo Well, and Rodeo Well has basically been taken out of usage. That was our third well, our backup. Rodeo Well, which is right in the townsite here by the rodeo grounds, came to a point where it simply had too many heavy metals, arsenic, (and) other bad things, in the water."

Rise in demand

In the summer months, according to city of Williams official estimates, water demand can reach as high as one million gallons per day. During the winter, city officials estimate a demand of 4,000 to 5,000 gallons per day. Due to an outline from city officials, which estimates a maximum build-out of new homes in the area to accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 residents, that peak summer demand could get as high as two million gallons per day.

"Williams has spent very heavily on their deep water drilling programs. This community, of over 3,000 people, has spent over $10 million on deep-water wells. That comes to about $3,300 to $3,400 for every man, woman and child in the community," Wells said. "City Council has set securing another water well as their top priority and they've directed staff to do what we can to get another water well in the drilling phase.

"We had extensive geological surveys done and they've indicated that the water is at depth, 3,800 feet below the surface and it's there in an abundance, but it's also very difficult to reach, very expensive to reach and, once you reach it, it's very expensive to lift it that distance and produce it. It is there, that's the good news. The bad news is we need to act very quickly to secure our water future and that's what we're planning to do. Our plan is to, hopefully, begin drilling by the end of this year. If we begin drilling in the fall of 2007, it's very possible we could have a new producing water well online by the spring of 2008. If the drought continues, the spring of 2008 is when the water crisis will become an emergency. We'll basically run out of water at that point. This new water well could lift us out of that dire situation," said Wells.

The city is currently under level two water restrictions, where even numbered homes are restricted to vehicular washing and irrigation on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Odd numbered homes are restricted to the same usage on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Irrigation may only take place between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., while vehicles can only be washed utilizing a bucket and hose with a positive-type shut-off nozzle. Paved areas are no longer allowed to be washed under the level two restrictions. Wells said those restrictions might soon change as well.

"City council will have a proposal in front of them to increase those levels during this summer season. The good news is that we're okay for the summer of 2007. The bad news is, if we sit on our hands, we'll have a real problem in front of us less than a year from now in that we will run out of water."

Ordinance 869

Williams City Council passed Ordinance 869 during their regularly scheduled meeting May 10 in an effort to aid the city's water situation, Wells said. The ordinance allows city representatives to purchase 4.2 acres of real property within that property's appraised value range. If a negotiated purchase amount cannot be agreed, the city reserves the right to acquire the land through the power of eminent domain. The Pouquette family of Williams, he said, owns the property in question.

Pouquette land

"City council has passed an ordinance seeking drilling sites on private property," said Wells. "It basically allows two options for the city. One is to negotiate, in good faith, the purchase of those wells sites from the Pouquette family and if those negotiations are not successful, and they have not been to date, then the city has the option of pursuing eminent domain to obtain the well sites that we need."

Wells said the city's water future would be assured with the addition of new wells.

"When these new water wells are drilled, Williams will have its water future done. We will have enough water at that point. That's how important these new wells are to us. The city of Williams has spent a great deal of money to study the geology of the Williams area and, in particular, the area around Dogtown Lake. There's a very large fault there referred to as the Mesa Butte Fault or the Bill Williams Fault," Wells said. "That fault zone goes through some private property. The Pouquette family owns a 20-acre piece that the fault dissects and then the Forest Service has land surrounding that area that also has good drilling sites. We currently have one well on Forest Service land and we have one producing well on private land, the Pouquette land. It is the city's desire to drill one and possibly two new wells on the private land, because the private land has a different set of laws pertaining to it than the federal land. It's more expeditious to drill on the private land than it is on the federal land. You could be tied up in court for a number of years attempting to drill on federal land today."

As of press time, members of the Pouquette family were unavailable for comment.


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