Fountain Valley well repairs to cost an additional $752,000

Fountain Valley will spend an additional $752,000 on planned and emergency groundwater well repairs this year.

The city will spend $176,000 to bring a well back online that went down unexpectedly this summer with pump problems, plus $576,000 to revive two wells that have been dormant for months with similar issues.

The city currently has three of its six wells in operation for all its water needs, plus a connection to the Metropolitan Water District in nearby Garden Grove.

The well at Nieblas Park, a small neighborhood park off Heil Avenue between Bushard and Magnolia streets, is undergoing emergency repairs that should be completed by early November, city Public Works Director Mark Lewis said in an update for Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The well had a pump failure in July.

Lewis previously projected that repairs would cost about $20,000 and be completed by mid-September. Staff revised the predictions after the city’s contractor, General Pump Co., dismantled the well and fully assessed its wear and damage.

Work at the two other disabled wells — one near Coastline Community College and one in Mile Square Regional Park — is expected to begin this fall.

The well near Coastline went out of service in March 2016 because of pump failure and will cost about $309,000 to rehabilitate. The one in Mile Square has been out since May this year with pump and motor issues and will cost about $267,000 to fix.

The two projects were put out for bid as a package; the job also went to General Pump Co.

A fourth well, at Warner Avenue and Newhope Street, went offline in June, also after developing pumping issues. That one was returned to service in July. Its repairs cost about $15,000.

All repairs will be funded by ratepayer dollars.

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