Adrian Township debates drilling test well
ADRIAN TWP. — Township leaders will gather more information at a special meeting Tuesday before deciding how to proceed with the installation of a test well on township-owned property on Corporate Drive.
The Adrian Township Board of Trustees voted in late 2006 to have a test well installed at the site to determine water production capacity there. Well installation has begun, but soft ground at the site is a concern for Progressive Engineers, the firm coordinating the installation work. Township supervisor Jim Koehn reported to the township board last week that Progressive is not comfortable completing the 12-inch diameter well until the ground solidifies, possibly in the summer.
Progressive has recommended that only a 5-inch well is installed if work must be completed before the summer, according to Koehn. The smaller well would allow tests to be conducted and the data could be extrapolated to determine the production capacity of a 12-inch well, Koehn said.
Koehn, however, is reluctant to change the well specifications. The 5-inch well would cost about $40,000 total. The 12-inch well is estimated at about $67,000.
If the site proves to be an adequate source of water, the township could develop a municipal water system there. A 12-inch well would be capable of functioning as a production well and at least two smaller-diameter wells would be needed for observation purposes. The 5-inch well that Progressive told Koehn could be installed now could serve as one of those two observation wells.
Koehn, however, argued during the township board’s regular meeting last week that waiting to finish installation of the 12-inch well is the best solution. The township has a solid price on the well now, and bidding it out in the future could mean a higher price, he said. Additionally, the township may still need to have a 12-inch well installed sometime in the future to complete the necessary well tests, he told the board.
“Why would we spend another $60,000 or $70,000 to put a production well in (later on)?” he asked the board.
Other board members suggested at the meeting that the smaller-diameter wells would be needed anyway, so to install one of them now doesn’t pose a problem.
“You’re going to have to put them in at some point if you are going to use the well,” Tom Romain said.
Before making its decision, the board will question a representative from Progressive Engineers about the options for the test well at a special meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Adrian Township Hall, 2907 Tipton Highway.
Andy Rogers covers Adrian Township news for The Daily Telegram. He can be reached at 265-5111, ext. 260, or by e-mail at andy@lenconnect.com.
Source: www.lenconnect.com