By Frank Bassett, Village of Hyannis
The main water well for the Village of Hyannis will be going down tomorrow, March 23, for repairs. The well will be back up sometime Friday, March 25.
What’s being repaired?
The pump shaft for the well has bearings in it that are starting to get worn. The more wear they accumulate, the more out of tolerance the pump shaft is. This puts extra strain on the pump motor and shortens the life of our well.
What will happen?
Sargent Drilling will arrive tomorrow. They will remove the pump motor, gear box, pump shaft and bowl. They will take the shaft & bowl back to Broken Bow for final fitment. On Thursday, they will return to reassemble, disinfect and flush the well. At that time, I will be taking a coliform sample to Scottsbluff for testing. The test results will be available Friday, and the well can be put back in service.
What if the test results are positive?
Then I must chlorinate our water system. Chlorination will be at a rate of 2-4 parts per million (ppm) throughout the whole water system. This process will go on for 3-4 days, then flush the system to remove the chlorine, and retest.
Why not just chlorinate?
Normally with well repairs like this, the State requires two negative coliform samples, taken 24 hours apart, before a well is put back in service. However, since we will be relying solely on the well by the school for our water & it operates at 1/3 the capacity of our main well, we received permission to follow these steps instead. That’s why I can’t just chlorinate right away. Also, chlorine might be a problem to people who are very sensitive to it.
What do I do?
Limit your water use whenever possible. Do dishes & laundry today. Take showers instead of baths. Maybe set some water aside to flush toilets with. If you have faucets that leak, turn the water off to them unless using them. If you plan on using water for cooking over the next few days, draw the water now & store it.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact me at 308-458-8171.