Genesee continues to operate on one well

GENESEE — Genesee residents might be asked to limit outdoor irrigation throughout the summer, but a new groundwater well could be up and running later this year and allow for greener lawns in the future.

Last week, the city asked its residents to limit outdoor watering and, if possible, eliminate lawn watering altogether to take pressure off the city’s water pump and the aquifer. Residents also were asked last summer to limit their outdoor irrigation for the same reason.

Dustin Brinkly, Genesee maintenance supervisor, said the city has operated on one well for the past year after Well 3, installed in 1963, was taken out of service because of fluctuating nitrate levels in the water.

That left Well 5, installed in 1980 and the smaller of the two wells, as the city’s lone active well.

Brinkly said the goal is for the water pump to be on for no more than 18 hours per day.

“If we stay at that level, it gives the aquifer enough time to recover and catch up,” Brinkly said.

The city said on its website the pump ran for 13.8 hours Monday morning to Tuesday morning.

“The public has responded well to the request to limit outside water use,” Brinkly said.

He said a contractor is drilling a new well in the city and it is expected to be on line in November if water is discovered at the well site.

Ryan Rehder, Mountain Waterworks’ Lewiston regional manager, said at a Genesee City Council water/sewer workshop Tuesday night that the well is expected to be drilled about 400 feet below the ground.

Brinkly said at the workshop he submitted Tuesday an emergency response plan to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality that outlines what steps the city would take if Well 5 failed and the city needed to turn Well 3 back on for residents. IDEQ needs to approve the plan.

He said Well 3 could be used with public notification and bottled water available to residents.

While Well 3 is offline, it is filling up water tanks, Brinkly said. Residents can draw water from the tanks to water their yards and plants and spray their fields.

Brinkly said he has been testing Well 3’s nitrate levels and the results have recently varied between 8.3 and 10.4 mg/L. The federal nitrate standard, or maximum contaminant level, is 10.4 mg/L.

He said he uses the city’s equipment to conduct the tests and that the equipment is not as accurate as the state of Idaho’s.

Brinkly said the new well being drilled would help “substantially” because it would allow the city to alternate the use of the new well and Well 5 and eliminate the need for water restrictions.

Last November, Genesee residents passed a 40-year, $3.5 million bond to help fund the installation of at least two groundwater wells and cover other water system upgrades. At the time, the project was estimated to cost $4.8 million, leaving the remaining $1.3 million to be covered by grants and/or city funds.

Brinkly said the $4.8 million estimate has not been updated but he anticipates it will be higher because of rapidly increasing construction costs.

Two new wells would bring the total number of wells in town to four. At that point, Brinkly said the city would probably designate Well 3 for irrigation and agricultural uses only. He said the priority is to get the new well online.

Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.