From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 05.01.08 edition.
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Treating Well 1A for uranium
By J.P. Crumrine, Assistant Editor
On Friday April 25, Idyllwild Water District (IWD) dedicated its new uranium filtration plant, a facility that treats water drawn from Fern Valley Well 1A.
In the past, water quality tests have recorded unusually high gross alpha (radiation) levels in the water. Consequently, in 2002 and then in the March 2007, IWD customers had concerns about the state’s permission to blend the well’s water with water containing low or trace amounts of radiation.
“The community spoke and Idyllwild Water listened,” Allan Morphett, IWD president, said to the crowd at the dedication. “Even though we had approval from the Department of Health Services [DHS] to use [the well water] in a blending method, we didn’t. IWD looked outside the box and explored new technology that could eliminate the natural uranium from the water drawn from Well 1A.”
More than 30 people attended the dedication, including Jeff Stone, Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor, and Anuj K. Saha, Ascend Engineering Inc. president, whose company designed and acquired the plant’s equipment.
“I congratulate you on improving the well,” Stone remarked. “You put in the infrastructure to allay the concerns of anyone concerned about its quality. For the layman, this is more water and safe water.”
IWD engaged Ascend to begin designing the plant in April 2007 and construction work began in the fall. The rains and snow delayed construction and the state approval took extra time, according to Terry Lyons, IWD general manager.
“Finally, [the concerned citizens] agreed that going the extra mile [installing the ion exchange plant] was a much better option than abandoning the well,” Lyons shared. “Even the DHS was glad we went beyond their original requirements.”
Lyons also stressed that the $50,000 cost of the facility was less than half of the cost of drilling a new test well. Fern Valley Well no. 1A’s production capacity is 55 gallons per minutes, which is about twice the average of the district’s recent new wells.
“The investment is well worth it. Water from this well will be very close to the cost of Foster Lake well water or about two cents per gallon,” Lyons said.
The well water is clean enough to pump directly into the distribution system rather than routed first to Foster Lake, as was being done in 2006.
Following the ceremonies, guests had cake, coffee or water (direct from the well) as refreshments. No one reported any ill feelings.
J.P. Crumrine can be reached at jp@towncrier.com.
Source: http://towncrier.com/stories/story.2.200800501.html
