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Water well drilling begins in Granby
January 11, 2007
By Todd G. Higdon / Daily News Staff Writer
GRANBY - Starting at 8 a.m. Monday, crews with Neosho Drilling (subcontracted by Blue Tee of Cincinnati, Ohio) were on the property of Ronnie and Ursula Gary, 10256 Otter Rd. to start drilling a new water well.
The Garys are among 30 to 40 residents in the Granby area to receive a new water well.
“We have been on this property for the past 17 years,” Ursula Gary said. “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested our water and told us that we had levels of cadmium, but they were not high levels.”
Gary noted that her and her family have not had any major medical problems associated with drinking the well water.
For the past few years, the EPA has supplied bottled water to many households outside of the Granby city limits. This is because the residents' well water exceeded the safe limits of both lead and cadmium.
Cadmium is a soft, bluish-white metallic element occurring primarily in zinc, copper, and lead ores.
For the last seven years, the Garys have received six 5-gallon bottles of water per month free of charge from the EPA.
“We use the bottled water for drinking and cooking,” said Gary. “The water well that we now have, we use for watering our cows, bathing and watering our garden and yard.”
The new well is being dug just 50 feet away from the current well, which is 85 feet deep. Once the new well is completed, the old well will be capped.
“If we would have kept the old well up and running, we would have had to have the new well closer to the house and the lines would have had to be dug under the house.”
The digging of the well is being done free of charge to the property owner.
“We have four of the new water wells completed, but are waiting for the final tests samples to come back (before the wells will be available for usage),” said Charles McCulloch, project manager with LFR Inc., a consultant firm with Blue Tee. “In the next six months, all of the water wells should be up and running.”
The depth of the new water wells is between 400 to 700 feet, with an average of 500 feet. Along with Neosho Drilling, Hewitt Messenger of Springfield is tackling half of the drilling. The drilling began back in December 2006.
Scotty and Julie Johnson, who live on Raven Road, had their water well completed, but are waiting for test results to start drinking and cooking with well water.
“We have been waiting for seven years for a new well,” Julie said. “We had thought about connecting to city water, but we will take the new water well.”
The Johnson's current well is 261 feet and the new one is 605 feet deep. On their property, the lead and the cadmium tested a “little higher” than the normal rate.
Like other residents, EPA delivers water to the Johnson household, but Johnson noted that there were no medical problems.
“We get 10 of the 5-gallons of bottled water every other week, “ Johnson said. “We have four members in our family and we use the bottled water for cooking and drinking. I do a lot of cooking.”
The Johnsons have opted to still use their old well for watering their garden.
“I am excited about the new water well being installed,” Johnson said. “I have had people in my yard for the past two weeks working on this project. The first drill that they did caved in and they had to re-dig the second well.”
Mike and Melanie Whittlesey, who also reside on Raven Road, said they are eagerly awaiting for their water well to be dug.
“We are due sometime before the end of the month,” Melanie said. “We have used our current well for a number of years and have not seen any medical problems.”
Mike has been on the property for the past 34 years and Melanie has been on the property for the past 12 years. They have four family members.
“When our (water) tests came back, they said that the water was safe for adults to drink, but the cadmium (levels) is not recommended children,” said Whittlesey.
The Whittlesey's get five 5-gallon bottles of water supplied by the EPA.
“We have been receiving the bottled water for the past nine years,” Whittlesey said. “We are excited about the new water well being installed.”
The old well is 45 feet deep and Whittlesey said that the well has never gone dry. Their new well will be between 600 to 700 feet deep.
“They have to drill past the 400 to 500 feet mark because of the cadmium and lead level,” said Whittlesey.
Whittleseys will keep their old well up and running for watering their yard and garden.
“We have wanted this new water well for a long time,” Whittlesey said.
Jerry Hobson, an Iris Road resident, is awaiting word if he will be getting a new water well.
“They took samples and said that the cadmium levels were five parts per million, which is higher than the normal at two parts per million,” Hobson said. “Our water was initially tested two years ago and have had some of the tests done recently.”
Hobson opted not to receive the EPA bottled water.
“We have been drinking the water for the past 20 years and have not noticed any medical problems,” added Hobson.
His current well is 180 feet deep and they use the well for everyday usage.
“We do purchase bottled water for the grandkids and my wife, Toni, to drink,” said Hobson. “I just drink the well water that I have drunk for a number of years.”
Once Hobson receives his new well, he has opted to have the current well capped.
“The first thing that I will do when our well is up and running is to drink a big glass of water,” Gray said.
