For Water Subcommittee Meeting November 19, 2026
TO: Water Subcommittee Members
APPROVAL: Yazdan Emrani P.E., Director of Public Works and Utilities
Title
Staff Request Water Subcommittee Receive an Update on the Well City 3A/4A Project.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommend that the Water Subcommittee receive an update on the Well City 3A/4A Project.
BACKGROUND
City Well 3A was drilled in 2010 with the goal of developing and additional source of supply from the Lytle Creek Basin. This well was dug to a depth of 875 feet and the static water level remains around 360 feet. After being drilled, the initial production reports showed elevated levels of arsenic. These elevated levels ultimately resulted in City Well 3A not being equipped and put into production. Subsequent pump test in 2015 indicated that if specific areas were packered (i.e. isolated), then arsenic level might drop. However, at that time, adequate water supplies and a lack of outside funding resulted in the project not moving forward.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
As water supplies have changed over the past ten years, combined with some received grant funding, City Well 3A was reconsidered to be put into production. The City received $2 million from the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and authorized RWS/Veolia to conduct updated water quality testing and treatment costs estimates. The recent test continued to exhibit high arsenic levels. Another complicating factor is site constraints. Because such elevated levels of arsenic were not anticipated at the time of drilling the well, it was located on a site that will not easily accommodate well head treatment equipment adjacent to the well. The arsenic treatment system would be located on a separate nearby parcel of land currently owned by the City at the Booster 2 Pump Station. An evaluation and cost estimate was prepared by RWS/Veolia and a treatment consultant. Their estimated project cost was $6 million to $11 million, resulting in an additional $4 mil...
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