R2010-040 - 2010-03-22 RESOLUTION NO. R2010 -40
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND,
TEXAS, RATIFYING EMERGENCY REPAIRS TO THE KIRBY WATER
PLANT.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS:
Section 1. That certain repairs to the Kirby Water Plant, a copy of which are
attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and made a part hereof for all purposes, are hereby
authorized and approved.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this the 22 day of March, A.D., 2010.
aY)-() 4 4- e.:0C
TOM REID
MAYOR
ATTEST:
C SE P ETARY
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
C3 a, 61--
DARRIN M. COKER
CITY ATTORNEY
Exhibit "A"
Resolution No. R2010 -40
8/27/09 Routine sample taken of raw water, results of testing showed coliform positive.
Flushed well for 24 hours.
8/28/09 Sample taken again, still coliform positive. Continued flushing well.
8/31/09 Sample taken again, still coliform positive.
9/2/09 Sample taken again, results of testing showed e-coli positive (later discussion
with lab confirmed coliform, not e- coli). The well was taken off line as soon as we
received this notification. Jennifer in agreement with shutdown.
Called 0-Day Drilling (our normal contractor) to inject the well with bleach. This
is our standard first step to address raw water issues.
9/3/09 Well was injected with bleach.
$612.50
9/5/09 Took sample of raw water, results of testing showed coliform positive.
9/7/09 Took sample again, results showed coliform positive. Called O'Day again to
inject bleach.
9/8/09 Well was injected with bleach.
$612.50
9/10/09 Took sample of raw water. Still coliform positive. Shut well down entirely to
allow well to "settle
9/13/09 Restarted well to flush.
9/14/09 Took sample of raw water. Still coliform positive.
9/14/09 Moved sample tap away from exhaust fan.
9/19/09 Took sample of raw water. Finally got a good sample.
9/21/09 Put well back on line.
9/29/09 Routine sample taken of raw water, results of testing showed coliform positive.
Started flushing again. Requested O'Day to inject well again. Their representative
suggested alternate procedures to see if the well would respond. Discussed these
alternates internally, then decided to give them a try one at a time.
10/5/09 O'Day sampled well and sent sample to an alternate lab for full water analysis.
$1,125.00
10/7/09 Began preparations to send a camera down the well to check for damage to the
screen or gravel pack. (No damage observed, although water had high turbidity.)
Discussed other options, including mechanical abrasion. City had previous positive
experience with "scratching" at Cullen well after a similar raw water issue.
$9,800.00
10/7/09 Made Projects personnel and well engineer aware of issues. Requested
meeting of involved personnel.
10/9/09 Received water analysis results and report. Report indicated presence of
anaerobic bacteria. Discussed report internally and decided to proceed with report
recommendations, including mechanical abrasion and swabbing with specialty
cleaning solution.
10/13/09 Began washing and purging well to 1220 feet.
10/15/09 Cleaning well with abrasive methods. Mike O'Day came by the well site
several times and discussed the procedures.
$15,550.00
10/17/09 Swabbed well with specialized cleaning solution, and let sit over the weekend.
$27,900.00
10/19/09 Flushing out well.
10/20/09 Injected bleach to full depth of well. This is required to put the well back on
line.
$6,500.00
10/21/09 Met with Projects personnel, design engineer, independent well engineer, well
driller, and others to discuss problems. All in attendance agreed with the procedure
followed to this point.
10/21/09 Completed putting well back together for startup.
$8,825.00
10/24/09 Took sample of raw water. Came back good.
10/25/09 Took sample of raw water. Came back positive for coliform. Suspect poor
sample because of weather. Continued to flush well.
11/4/09 Took sample of raw water. Came back good.
11/5/09 Took sample of raw water. Came back good.
11/6/09 Took sample of raw water. Came back good.
11/9/09 Drained ground storage tank (1M gallons) and refilled to put back in service.
No problems since then.
Please note: the Shadow Creek area is primarily supplied with water from this well and
the FM521 pumping station. We currently have a "take -or -pay" contract with the City of
Houston for 40 million gallons per month at a cost of $1.884 per 1000 gallons. Taking
more than 40 million gallons a month results in a charge of $2.495 per 1000 gallons.
With this well down, we used excessive water from the FM521 site —both September and
October usage was over 60 million gallons, for an additional cost of over $100,000. All
the decisions were made with the goal of getting the Kirby well back on line as soon as
possible.
It was theorized and agreed by all parties in the meeting of 10/21 that the drought
conditions during the summer, as well as high pumping rates, may have caused the water
table to drop in this area. Initial well tests showed the presence of fine sands below the
pumping zone. It is likely, although impossible to determine exactly, that the water table
dropped enough that some of those fine sands were pulled into the water. The resulting
turbidity would have resulted in positive coliform tests. We intend to be more judicious
in our pumping rates in the future, especially if drought conditions are encountered again,
in order to avoid a similar situation.