The Kingston Water Well #3 has been down for as long as anyone can remember. Earthquake damage from decades ago is the best guess as to what is wrong with the well. Mayor Sarah Jones said therecordsdon'tspecifywhen or how it was damaged.
“They can’t pin point either because records [don’t say],” Jones said.
As the population in town continues to grow, so does the demandforwatersupply.The residents and the town itself are also battling issues with water pressure and leaks within the infrastructure.
Adding an additional water tower has been suggested to the town by consultants from Meers Engineering. With a combined price tag of about $2 million to repair water well #3 and add the additional water tower, the city has opted to have the well repaired first. Jones said the city will be taking the more affordable route.
“Getting the well on line will be the more affordable and quicker option at the moment so we are going to focus on that,” Jones said.
Trying to put in a tower and repair what is already in Kingston would require grants to help with funding of that size.
“Having that well that is down, we are going to focus on that and it will help out more before we have to look at building another water tower,” Jones said. “When everything is working and all the wells are online and everything is functioning properly, we will have less leaks because it puts less stress on the other two wells.”