City Votes For East Well Rehab

By Gordon HopkinsThe Fairbury City Council voted to approve the rehab of East Well 2, which provides drinking water to the city. The wells that provide water to the City of Fairbury have seen a drop in water levels in recent years, due primarily to a lack of moisture. All of Jefferson County is currently in a severe or extreme drought, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Drought Monitor.The city’s drinking water is currently supplied by three wells in the East Wellfield. According to Jeff Sweetser, Fairbury Water Superintendent, Well 1 and Well 3 have each lost eight feet of water in the last three years and Well 2 has lost 11 feet of water. One possibility of addressing the lower water levels is lowering the bowls of the wells.While all three wells have experienced a drop in water, Well 2 has had the greatest drop is in need of additional repair, including a valve replacement.The city received multiple bids for reworking the well that includes a video/sonar survey of the well, bowl and assembly, as well as muriatic and sodium hypochloride treatments.At a meeting of the Public Works Committee Tuesday evening, Dec. 5, Sweetser recommended the bid from Sargent Drilling for $53,954. There was a cheaper bid from Downing Drilling, Inc., for $50,450.80, but Sweetser said he felt more comfortable with Sargent due to their familiarity with Fairbury’s water systems.Brian Schmdt, who is on the public works committee, as well as the city council, said, “I agree with Jeff. This is something we need to have done right the first time.”“I just feel more confident with Sargent, because that’s who I’ve dealt with the entire time I’ve been here,” said Schmidt. “When we’re talking these numbers, I know $3,400 is a lot of money.” Kelly Davis, also on both the public works committee and city council, agreed, “What you get is somebody knows our system, somebody you’ve worked with.”Later that evening, the Fairbury City Council met and voted unanimously to approve the bid from Sargent Drilling. There is an additional wellfield that can provide water to the city, the Crystal Springs Wellfield, but that has been offline since 2021 due to biofilm contamination.Biofilm is a collection of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and also to a surface.In September of this year, the city council voted to spend up to $70,000 on cleaning and disinfecting of the Crystal Springs wellfield and gallery. It is hoped that this will address the biofilm problem.

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