Staff Reports
The Columbus Utilities Service Board has approved drilling two new wells in the south wellfield near State Road 11 to add more water capacity for customers.
Each of the two new wells, which are expected to be completed late next summer, will likely produce about a million gallons of water per day, said Scott Dompke, Columbus City Utilities executive director.
The $1 million project received final approval Thursday during the board’s regular meeting. The vote was 4-0, with one board member absent, Dompke said.
Columbus’ public drinking water comes from groundwater accessed via 22 wells and two filtration plants. But since the fall of 2017, the city’s No. 14 and No. 15 wells have been out of service. Both were taken off-line after testing revealed low amounts of an organic chemical, 1,4 dioxane, considered “a likely human carcinogen” by federal environmental regulators.
Reports have not determined the origin of the contamination in the wells, which are both located east of State Road 11 and south of Garden City.
In January, Columbus City Utilities awarded a $68,300 contract to Peerless Midwest Inc. to map the extent of chemical contamination in the aquifer, as well as monitor wells in the south field near the two out-of-service wells.
