Engineer recommends steel casing for well

The City of Ritzville will likely spend $75,000 to install a steel liner casing in its new 1,557-foot deep well, located at Ritzville Municipal Golf Course.

The city’s engineering firm Varela & Associates, Inc., recommended the casing during Tuesday’s council meeting as a method of preventing any cave-ins or pump damage as a result of pumping loose rock fragments.

The static water level is at 730 feet. The first 883 feet of the well have a 20-inch steel casing already in place. The engineering firm’s proposal calls for installation of the liner from 883 feet to 1,557 feet.

Project Engineer Ben Varela said this was anticipated in the original well design and was covered in the construction bid documents.

The council voted unanimously to support the installation of the liner.

Varela said it will take up to three weeks to design and prepare for the installation. Installation will take a day, followed by a mandatory pump test that will span a couple of days. During that time the well will pump continuously for 24 hours to determine its maximum pumping capacity.

“The driller is pretty certain the well will do 2,000 gallons per minute,” Varela said.

Construction of the well house and installation of the permanent pump will occur in 2014 before the new well can go online.