Friday, March 29, 2024

Excess sand compromises water quality of Brewster city well

Bridge Street asphalt unacceptable

Posted
BREWSTER – The city’s expectations that a second water well dug on State Street would provide the backup it wants and the additional water it needs has turned to disappointment from excess sand that is sloughing into the otherwise clean water.

That is one of the issues the city council took under advisement at its regular monthly meeting held virtually last Wednesday, March 10. The other is the unacceptable quality of the asphalt layer applied to Bridge Street following the major water line replacement completed last fall.

Drilling deposits from the test well sunk at State Street showed the large gravel layer that is one of the indicators of good water. However, the completed depth found an excess of sand infiltrating into the water and causing a problem for the filtering process.

City clerk/treasurer Misty Ruiz said the available space to position the well site was limited due to the proximity of railroad tracks on one side and sewer line on the other. And a city well project is an expensive undertaking.

We put $300,000 into that well,” Ruiz said.

To meets its demands the city needs to pump 1,200 gallons of water daily.

Right now we are at 700 gallons,” Ruiz said of the 500-gallon shortfall.

City engineers are looking for another suitable site and investigating available options to find either a solution or suitable use for the State Street water.

Asphalt work unacceptable

Residents who took exception to the inconveniences caused by the work along Bridge Street last year while crews removed and replaced aging city water line can take some comfort in the fact that as of this writing the project has cost nothing because the city is withholding payment. That is because the quality of the asphalt layer laid down following excavation does not meet either the city or state standards.

Apollo, the principal water line contractor, retained subcontractor Central Washington Asphalt to complete the street work and the finished product does not meet the high expectations demanded by the state.

The state has already rejected it,” and Ruiz, “and is going to take core samples.”

The samples will analyze the depth and quality of the work and from the looks of the rough and poorly finished quality will find the results short of standards.

Ruiz said low spots that tend to collect standing water will typically be some of the first areas to fail from the freezing, thawing, and cracking actions from the moisture’s expansion and contraction.

It’s a 100-year project,” said Ruiz of the infrastructure work. “These new lines will be wonderful for people.”

But until the asphalt coating passes muster with both city and state inspectors, the job is not finished.

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