LAKEPORT >> The Mount Hannah Water System (County Service Area No. 22) will be getting a new well soon.
On Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously approved interim financing to drill a new well.
According to Lake County Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger, the well currently being used by the Mount Hannah Water System is about to fail.
“The well level has dropped 73 percent since January 2013 and the recharge rate has declined,” Dellinger stated.
As of May 30, the water level in the storage tank was dropping faster than the well could replenish it, according to Dellinger.
The district has received quotes of $50,000 for drilling and testing a new well, which was the amount approved.
The current well was drilled and put into service in 1994, according to the district website.
The district was approved for a grant from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) that will cover the cost of drilling the well, Dellinger said. However, a funding agreement won”t be received from the CDPH for approximately three week, so funds needed to be secured before the well failed completely.
If the well failed completely before a new well was drilled, water would have to be hauled to Mount Hannah, according to Dellinger.
“The cost of hauling water would exceed $80,000,” Dellinger stated.
But water trucks cannot reach the tank in the Mount Hannah Water System, which means potable water tanks would have to be rented and set up, according to Dellinger.
“The CDPH has stated that we can use their grant money to haul water or drill a new well but they cannot pay for both,” Dellinger stated.
The Mount Hannah Water System was created after its predecessor, the Mount Hannah Water Company dissolved in July 1990. It serves nearly 87 residents through 36 connections and over 7,000 feet of distribution pipeline, according to the district website.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
