Water Sourcing Committee Looks To Get Crystal Springs Well Back Online

By Gordon HopkinsFairbury’s Water Sourcing Committee met Wednesday, August 30, 2023, to discuss problems with the Crystal Springs well, which has been offline since 2021 due to biofilm.The City of Fairbury created the Water Sourcing Committee to work on locating a lower-nitrate drinking water source for the city. One possible solution is to get the Crystal Springs well back online. The city has four wells. Three of those are in the East Wellfield. Those three wells have consistently tested in the higher range for nitrates.The fourth well at Crystal Springs has shown a lower nitrate content. If that could be brought back online, then that water could be blended with water from the other wells, thus lowering the overall nitrate content.Before that can happen, the biofilm problem must be addressed.Biofilm is a collection of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and also to a surface.At a meeting of the Fairbury City Council last year, project manager Mary Renn explained the water in that area is safe to drink, but can’t be pumped due to biofilm in the pumps. Renn estimated it would cost about $260,000 a year if they were to replace the filters once a month, but the city would most likely need to replace the filters two to three times per month. Before being shut down, the city was replacing the pump’s filters every two weeks or less to keep them in use. Renn also said at the time a new pipeline would likely need to be installed to replace the aging infrastructure.The city hired Miller and Associates Consulting Engineers, P.C., to provide engineering services. They conducted sampling and testing of the water from the Crystal Springs. The testing was delayed due to extremely dry conditions earlier this year but is now completed.According to committee member Brian Schmidt, who also serves on the city council, “So, we had two rounds of water sampling done.”Schmidt said, “Michael Schneiders (a hydrologist hired by Miller and Associates) is basically recommending that we disinfect our galley system out there. He wants to do a mechanical disinfect, either a power wash or a scrubbing brush or something like that, along with a chemical disinfection. That chemical disinfection wants to soak in there for 24 hours. He thinks that’s about all we really need to do to take care of our problems. Immediately following that, we’re going to turn the water on.”Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown asked, “Our biofilm problem? That’s that’s a cure?”Not everyone was convinced that would solve the problem.“I disagree with that,” said committee member and city councilperson Doug Brown. “I disagree with Michael’s statement that migration and evolution of bacteria in the galley was a result of lack of regular operation. Wells were nearly fully utilized with the peak of the biofilm.”Mayor Brown said, “I thought we tested further downstream and we saw we saw biofilm?”Schmidt said, “It’s always going to be there. No matter what, we’ll never get rid of it. It’s in everything. But we can keep it at a level where it’s controllable and does not affect our system.”The mayor asked, “So, why didn’t they figure this out before? Why are they just figuring this out now?”Schmidt responded, “We never did this level of testing until this year.”Once the initial disinfection is completed, there is the matter of keeping the biofilm at bay. Schmidt said, “Once we disinfect, then they talked about possibly some sort of a chemical injection out there to keep it away, or possibly a UV (Ultraviolet light) treatment, which basically the hanging UV lights in our galley system.”When asked what the cost for the recommended disinfection, Schmidt said, “I don’t think this part is going to be a huge expense. I don’t know what the number is.”The results of the testing and an estimated cost for disinfecting the galley system was to be presented at the next meeting of the Fairbury City Council on September 5, 2023.“Well, I think we got some other issues,” said Doug Brown, who remained dubious. “I think it’s poor quality water.”Schmidt said, “Well, it’s not perfect but it’s fixable.”Doug Brown said, “Yeah, you bet. You can filter and treat anything, but at what cost?”Schmidt said, “That’s what we’re going to try and find out.”In the meantime, the nitrate problem persists. Other possible solutions under consideration are finding another location for a wellfield or constructing a nitrate treatment plant.

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