Well cost may hinder baseball request
Well cost may hinder baseball request
By STU MERRY
An idea to draw water from the city’s aquifer to irrigate the baseball and football fields received a cool reception at Monday’s meeting of the Garrison City Council.
GAIA Executive Director Keith Witt attended the meeting. He brought the council up-to-date on what’s happening regarding a plan to use aquifer water to irrigate the two adjoining fields. Also in attendance was Garrison Park Board Chair Kerry Seidler. Both GAIA and the Park Board support using the aquifer.
But alderman Glen Nygard said one of the first actions would be to replace the well pump – and that could be cost prohibitive. He estimated the cost to be from $50,000 to $80,000.
“It’s not a cheap little deal,” Nygard said, recommending using treated water.
Nygard said the aquifer is the city’s backup well, and if anything were to happen to the present source, watering the fields would have to take a back seat to providing water to residents and rural customers.
City officials told Seidler and Witt that they should get the school involved to help with the expense of the project.
Council members also suggested the city’s engineering firm, Bartlett & West, be brought into the equation to give an estimate on what it would take to make the aquifer system operable. Knowing that cost could play into what water source is used.
City officials also advised asking Bartlett & West if the firm would be interested in some form of trade-out, or offering services at a reduced cost.
Alderman Chad Betz, who served as acting mayor in the absence of Mayor Shannon Jeffers, said the city would be willing to provide a letter of support that GAIA could submit when contacting the engineering firm.
Also at Monday’s meeting, city officials learned that the No. 1 pump at the main waste water lift station needs to be replaced. Maintenance Supervisor Alan Beyreis recommended replacement due to a loss of efficiency. Beyreis said the pump had been inspected internally, and it has been determined that excessive wear in the pump casing is the culprit. Replacement cost is $6,735. The pump will be purchased from Pump Systems of Dickinson.
Beyreis also said some waste water manholes require rehabilitation. The cost per manhole (10-foot deep) is estimated at about $2,500. A closer look at manholes will be done this spring.
In other business at the meeting, the council:
