Good morning.

Hap took the morning measurement and reported the Village pumped 18,300 gallons in a 21-hour period or 871 gallons per hour from Well #2. This is down from 6,800 gallons per hour on the 18th and down from 4,000 gallons per hour on the 19th. As a reminder, on 15 August the Village pumped 150,000 gallons in a 24-hour period from Well #2.

George from New York Leak Detection confirmed the water flow is no longer moving through the Well #1 valve now that Hap was able to close it successfully this morning as it had been only partially closed late yesterday morning. This leaves us with two failing valves near Well #1 that need to be replaced immediately to get Well #1 back online. The well company meets with Hap today to assess what needs to be done. We also plan to install a new meter in Well #1 to show gallons pumped rather than operating hours.

The failing valves near Well #1 explain why we pumped excessive water from Well #2—now down to 21,000 gallons per day—but July usage from Well #1 was 35,000 gallons per day. The difference between 35,000 gallons per day in July and 21,000 gallons per day as of this morning from Well #2 may be explained by one moderate leak we discovered plus automatic irrigation from Village water in July. (Well #2 pumped water in July also, but I did not add the gallons pumped by Well # 2 in July because most of it was leaking through the Well #1 valve as we determined from yesterday’s testing.)

We should thank all of those residents with their own irrigation wells who volunteered to shut them off while we managed a difficult process. Hap suggested that those of you with your own irrigation wells not hooked up to the Village system may start automatic irrigation limited to no more than two hours at night every other day. The additional rainfall in August should reduce the need to irrigate.

We will still monitor daily usage and I will report any problems as they arise while we work to get Well #1 online. Water quality will improve with lower daily usage and of course will begin to return to normal as we start Well #1 after repairs. I’ll forward a timetable as I receive one from Hap and the well company.

George will deliver a full report by early next week detailing what he tested and how he tested for leaks—fortunately not finding any material problems along the system.

Best,

John T. Colby Jr.
VDH, Mayor