Greenville Water Authority mulls wells

By Monica Pryts
Herald Staff Writer

GREENVILLE October 09, 2008 09:03 pm

— Greenville Water Authority may consider drilling wells to use ground water as part of the treatment plant’s supply.
More research and cost estimates need to be completed before board members decide whether they even want to drill test wells to see if ground water is a viable source.
The board met for about an hour Wednesday with William Gough and Tim Eriksen of Moody and Associates Inc., Meadville, the environmental consulting group performing a study for the authority.
The Shenango River has always been the water supply for Greenville and Hempfield Township, authority superintendent William Brady said.
Board members may be interested in completely or partially converting to ground water because it’s cleaner than the river and could save on chemical treatment costs in the long run, chairman Richard H. Miller said.
Board members don’t have enough details to make an informed decision yet, but they do know it could cost about $40,000 to drill one test well, and installing and maintaining a well is estimated at $100,000, Gough said.
The authority would likely need eight wells to serve its customers if the plant treated only ground water, and the board would have to factor in more money to connect the wells to the plant, he said.
Moody is still researching which areas would be good spots to drill wells and how far apart the wells would need to be to avoid disrupting existing wells. The company also has to ensure it meets requirements set by the state Department of Environmental Protection for well drilling.
“There are a lot of variables,” Gough said.
The authority already owns about 100 acres in the Greenville area, which Miller said could be a possible place to drill test wells.
Also, the authority could look into buying or leasing abandoned or operating wells owned by residents or businesses, but refurbishing an old well could be costly because of DEP standards, Gough said.
After a well is tested, Moody and Associates can make sound projections as to how much water it will produce over a certain period of time, he said.
While the study is still in the early stages, meeting with the board is a step in the right direction, Gough said. Board members plan to schedule another meeting with Moody before the year ends.