BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The drilling of well nine, the third well, for the Battle Mountain arsenic mitigation project was completed Sept. 16 by Boart Longyear. The enitre project is expected to be completed and fully operational by June 2014.
A test pump was installed in the well by Carson Pump on Sept. 23. Several days of well development and preliminary pump testing were conducted prior to a 72-hour constant flow test.
Analysis of all the pump data by Jay Fischer, a hydrologist who is serving as a consultant on the arsenic mitigation project, suggests that the well is capable of a sustained flow rate of 1,400 gallons per minute.
"1,400 gallons a minute exceeded all of our expectations for the site and is sufficient to meet the peak summertime water demand," said Fischer, who is currently working on the pump selection for well nine, which is located 4,500 feet northwest of wells seven and eight.
The project is now in the design phase for the pumphouse, pipeline and power line. Shaw Engineering is coordinating the design work and completing the pump house layout, Fischer said. NV Energy is currently designing the power line.
Water quality samples collected at the end of the pump testing show an arsenic concentration in well nine of 4.8 parts per billion (ppb). Ten ppb is the national federal limit.
Now that the well capacity has been determined to be adequate, the county is negotiating with New Nevada Lands to purchase the private parcel of land that well nine is occupying, Fischer said.
An application that was submitted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for permission to install a portion of the pipeline across public land has been approved. The new pipeline will run adjacent to the existing pipeline for wells seven and eight.
Two test holes were drilled for well number nine and the first one did not prove favorable due to an insufficient quantity of water. The second test hole, which is where the current well is located, showed favorable results. It also showed good chemistry and a sufficient quantity, Fischer said.
The pump for well number seven was installed in June and the one for well eight was installed in July. Both are still running at full capacity to the approximately 1,900 users.
Number seven is pumping 650 gallons per minute and number eight is pumping 400 gallons per minute. Fischer said the difference in pumping capacity is because each well is different and the pumps are designed to match each well's capacity.
Both wells are required to meet the peak summer time water demands. Well nine will serve as a back-up well to insure that the county can meet the current and future water demands, Fischer said.
In mid-2012, Weir Floway assumed full responsibility for the malfunctioning of the pumps for wells seven and eight and said it would provide two new pumps to the county for free. Temporary pumps, rented from Carson Pump, were used until the new ones were installed.
The water system committee, which was formed to handle the arsenic mitigation project, is made up of Public Works Foreman Jake Edgar, Commissioner Brian Garner and Commission Chair Dean Bullock.
The arsenic mitigation system initially went online on July 7, 2011, and was running well at first, but soon after, the system had to be turned off for extensive flushing and testing.
After that, it was up and running well and was only shut off so a dedicated draw line could be installed. The dedicated draw line was completed Sept. 7, 2011, and the entire system went back online Sept 8, 2011 and was running smoothly until the pump for well eight malfunctioned in January 2012.
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