The Clancy Water & Sewer Board meeting on Dec. 27 was a subdued affair. Not only did the between-holidays scheduling result in lower attendance than usual, but holiday-related delays may also have deferred progress in locating a future community water source for Clancy.
The board is still responding to a setback at its November session, when Collette Anderson of Great West Engineering, which is consulting to the board, reported that a second test of water from a potential well site on property owned by Virginia Kalchbrenner revealed contaminants above maximum acceptable levels.
A first round had similarly found elevated levels of radionuclides — a natural occurrence when uranium decays — in the Kalchbrenner well. The Clancy area sits on the Boulder Batholith, a geological unit that is associated with mineral mining, including uranium.
The new results set off discussion that pointed toward two alternatives. One option involves attempting to drill deeper into the well on the Kalchbrenner property, which may lead to a cleaner supply. The board has not yet pursued this possibility.
The second, proposed by County Commission Chair Cory Kirsch, would investigate the feasibility of siting a test well on land owned by the Clancy Elementary School at the end of Old Alhambra Road. Water from that well, Great West’s Anderson suggested, could be mixed with water from the Kalchbrenner property to dilute contaminants.
The board agreed to surface this possibility at Clancy Elementary’s board meeting on Jan. 10. Issues related to water and sewer are already on the school board’s agenda.
The latest test results, and the new options, capped an active but ultimately frustrating year for the Clancy board. A first location for a potential test well failed to produce sufficient quantity. A second location, near Lump Gulch Road, was scouted, but hydrologists and the land owners could not agree on a well location. The board finally identified the Kalchbrenner property, but test results continue to be problematic.
Clancy has been struggling for over a decade to confront and solve the problem of its water supply, which surfaced in 2012 when it was discovered that water in some private wells was contaminated with high levels of nitrates and uranium from failing septic systems.
Meanwhile, President Lori Gilliland announced that elections would be needed to fill board positions. Two of the five seats are currently unfilled, and two current members, including Gilliland, herself, face re-election in May. Bill Hammer, who has filled a seat on an interim basis, also is up for election. The term of Bob Johnson, the only other sitting member, expires in 2025.
