With two of three board members absent, the Clancy Water & Sewer District held an abbreviated meeting Sept. 25. But the board did receive some good news from engineers working on the community water system.
Dan Baum from Great West Engineering reported that water quality tests performed on samples taken from a test well on the property where the Legal Tender building sits were well within acceptable limits for contaminants. Baum provided the complete report from a lab analysis performed in Helena.
Meanwhile, a water quality test is being performed on samples from the test well on the Marks property by another lab, located in Casper, WY. The results from those tests were expected this week, Baum said.
Baum reported that water samples from the Legal Tender test well showed very low levels of both nitrates and nitrites – elements that have appeared in high levels in tests of wells in the Clancy area over the past 10 years. The elevated contaminant levels have been the catalyst of the project to develop a community water and sewer system.
Baum also said that uranium levels were also extremely low, and fell within suitable water quality standards.
The board had voted and approved motions during the August meeting that, should the water quality meet acceptable standards, the next steps would be to test the aquifer, and begin testing pumping capability on the test wells. The pumps must be able to produce 250 gallons per minute to meet requirements. Baum said Great West would begin work on those steps immediately.
Board member Bob Johnson asked if monitoring of nearby local wells would be performed during the next round of tests. Baum confirmed that Great West would be monitoring specific wells, and that it already had been working with water systems operators in the Red Cliff Estates subdivision to monitor residential water disturbances during the community well tests.
