Well #2 Drilling

The Well #2 project, located at 9951 SE 40th Avenue will be starting soon. This project consists of drilling a new replacement well and constructing a new well house for the new pumps.

History of the well

Well #2 was installed in 1936 and was overhauled in early 2016. Well #2 is part of the Well 2/3/5 well field and is expected to deliver a minimum of 380 GPM (about 10% of current total city capacity) based on past production. The well pumps directly into treatment plant 2/3/5 with its operation regulated by the water level in the Concrete Storage Reservoir. A video inspection revealed a split in the casing several feet long and is opening inward like a can with a tear. The casing is cracked with 6” gaps at a depth of 220’ in the 300’ deep well. It has been determined that based on the video log, the condition of the casing, the deterioration in general, and the overall loss of strength of the casing that an in-place repair would not be successful. Currently, the well remains in use, but at a reduced pumping capacity.

Contractor and project

Holt Services, Inc will begin work on drilling a new replacement well on site beginning the week of April 22, 2019, and the estimated project end date is January 2020.  The initial work consists of drilling one exploratory borehole. The information from the exploratory borehole will be used by the team to characterize the aquifer, evaluate and ensure its suitability for constructing a new deeper production well at the planned location to avoid potential higher costs during the drilling of the larger diameter boring for the production well, determine if there is any need to modify the design elements for the new well, and to complete the final design of and pre-order the well screen before drilling the production zone to avoid potential fixed front-loaded costs for stand-by drilling contractor during the screen’s design, fabrication and delivery. After completion of the exploratory borehole, the contractor will drill and construct, test, and disinfect a new production well to replace well # 2. Testing will include flow tests, plumbness and alignment testing, and video logging.  Additional work will include the decommissioning of the old well # 2 and the construction of new well house. 

The new well will not go online until January 2020 and you should not see any change in your water supply once the new well is being used.

If you have any questions please contact the Public Works Director, Peter Passarelliat passarellip@milwaukieoregon.gov or 503-786-7614.