By BRIDGET WEIGEL
Reporter
The Clancy School Board of Trustees, which has been previously undecided, voted against allowing a test well on its property during its Aug. 13 meeting. This signals the end of a long discussion between the Trustees and the Clancy Water and Sewer District.
The District was seeking to drill a test well on school property as part of a solution to the ongoing water quality issues for some Clancy residents. Elevated nitrate levels were found in 47% of Clancy drinking wells while 37% of Clancy’s drinking water contains uranium, according to the 2018 Treasure Statement Endowment Program Grant Application. The school had previously been deemed as the most optimal location to create a centralized water system that would be used to serve households and businesses in the district.
Currently, district residents and businesses are on individual wells and septic systems.
Present at the meeting in support of the well project were Lori Gilliland, secretary of the Clancy Water and Sewer District, and Megan Bullock, the Jefferson County Sanitarian.
“We’ve been doing this for five years and this is the next step. Just to get an easement so we can get a test well and then go from there …This is just purely preliminary testing,” Gilliland explained to the Board. The test well would provide definitive answers as to whether or not the quantity and quality of water could sustain the community as a whole.
When asked if the project was viable by the Trustees, Gilliland responded, “That would be part of the process. When we find out if [the water] is good and how much it would cost there would be a whole process … We just have to find out if we even have the amount of water and quality of water to proceed at this point.”
The Trustees then discussed the issue of water rights. According to Kevin Harris, chair of the Clancy School Board of Trustees, the school’s water rights are valuable, as few are on the market, and the District does not hold any water rights. Bullock agreed and confirmed that the school could be compensated for the fair market value of the water rights as part of the bond for the finalized central well.
“You are holding a very valuable bargaining chip,” Bullock said referring to the possible location for a production well. “You want out of the district. We, maybe down the line, want to build a production well there. So you have something of value you could trade for that … it might be your option to get what you want, out of the district.” Leaving the water district would still require a prolonged legal process.
Ultimately, the Board voted unanimously to forgo the building of a test well.
The Clancy Water and Sewer District Board will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25 in-person and via Zoom to discuss its next steps.
