Plains council approves contract for third well

The Plains Town Council held a special meeting Friday to discuss the contract for the town's new well, which will be located at the corner of Kruger Road and Upper Lynch Creek Road.

Cold Water Drilling and Pumps out of Arlee was awarded the contract for $79,030. The town approved the 180-page contract, which was looked over by Loren Fitzpatrick, the town attorney, and Shari Johnson, the town's contract engineer. Mayor Joel Banham said the contract doesn't state the exact starting date, but he believes it's July. The contract noted that the job would be completed in 75 consecutive calendar days. The project is being funded through the American Rescue Plan Act grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

"The reason we called this special council meeting is so we don't lose that contractor on to another job," said Banham. The meeting lasted less than eight minutes and the bid was unanimously approved by the five council members present - Chad Cantrell, Lana Dicken, John Sheridan, J.D. Crabb and John Roesler. Councilwoman Connie Foust was not present.

The project started with former Mayor Chris Allen, but the town did not have the funds for the project, said Banham. The mayor said the well will be deeper and on a different aquifer than the other two town wells. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality approved the new well site last September.

The new well will not be connected to the system until next year, said Banham. The current wells are located on the south side of Highway 200 inside the town limits, one near the town's shop and the other on 4th Street. "The other wells will not be shut down. This well is to bring redundancy, increase supply, and will draw from a deeper aquifer," said Banham.

The 10-page document at the council meeting showed the job description, which included a breakdown of costs, such as mobilization and demobilization for $1,500; taxes, bonds, insurance for $5,000; drill borehole, furnish and install 14-inch temporary steel conductor casing for $7,700; drill borehole, furnish and install 10-inch permanent steel production casing for $28,700; furnish and install 10-inch tight wound telescoping well screen for $11,780; well development for $18,000; provide and install bentonite cement chips for $3,850; perform well plumbness and alignment test for $500; well video inspection for $1,500; and well disinfection and capping for $500.

Water & Environmental Technologies of Kalispell, the hydrogeologist hired by the town to design the well, did the engineering for the new well and will provide construction oversight. Cold Water Drilling and Pumps was also hired to do the test drill. Johnson will help oversee the grant project and water system improvements, the mayor said.

The next long-term water project is likely to be the replacement of the water holding tank along Highway 28. Banham said it still passes the annual inspection, but is going to age out. "A new water tower is a long term, likely five-year plan, but that's why we're working on it now," he said.