Charlestown officials want to dig deep to solve water problem

By MELISSA MOODY
Melissa.Moody@newsandtribune.com

January 08, 2008 10:54 am

— The Charlestown City Council decided Monday to pursue plans to drill new wells to supply clean water to the city, foregoing the outgoing council’s plan to build a water-treatment facility that would rid the drinking water supply of iron and manganese.
City Engineer Bill Saegesser suggested the city invest in drilling two new wells and running a new water line to Charlestown. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources already was investigating the cost and implementation of the project at the state-owned and controlled aquifer at Longview Beach.
“If we can get that water to Charlestown, there will be no need to treat for iron and manganese,” Saegesser said. “This option needs to be seriously considered.”
Already a state-sponsored project, Saegesser said it still will provide a benefit to Indiana, while helping Charlestown.
“I’m not going to be bashful — they should pay for it,” he said of the state. “They need to get their checkbook out and at least agree to participate.”
The state has every intention of doing so, said Mayor Bob Hall.
Environmental Laboratories Inc., in Madison, found nondetectable limits of iron and manganese in samples taken from a vertical well at Longview Beach after the state sent a sample to the lab.
The estimated cost for the new project is $600,000. The council will investigate diverting state and federal grants provided for the proposed construction of the treatment facility to the new project.
Charlestown’s prior answer to the contaminated drinking water — the water-treatment facility — would have “taken every dime we have as a city to build it,” said the newly elected Hall. “If we can piggy-back on the state, it might lower the cost.”
The drilling of new wells may not completely solve the problem of contaminated drinking water for Charlestown residents. Highview/Lakeview resident Ron Allen noted the presence of iron and manganese in the nearly 60-year-old pipes that carry drinking water into city residents’ homes.
New water doesn’t solve the problem, Saegesser said. The city first will use aggressive flushing of the pipelines to clear iron and manganese build-up. But if that proves ineffective, “we’ll have to find another solution and it will probably be more costly,” he said. “Once we get the water supply question answered, we’ll go from there.”
In other business
The council stopped enforcement of the sewer-connection surcharge to Highview/Lakeview residents. A motion proposed by Councilman Mike Goodman and seconded by Councilman Scott McKechnin tabled the matter for discussion within the council for the next 120 days.