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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1969_07_03SPEC WAIVER OF NOTICE • OF SPECIAL MEETING JULY 3 , 1969 We , the undersigned, being members of the Town Council of the Town of Leesburg , in Virginia, do severally waive all statutory and Charter requirements as to notice of time , place and purpose of a Special Meeting of the Town Council, and consent that the meeting shall be held in the Council Chambers of the Town Council at 4:00 P.M. , Thursday , July 3 , 1969, for the purpose of considering the critical water situa- tion existing in the Town at this time, and any such other business as may come before said Council. 'enneth B. Rolli s , Mayor G-.1//Dewey H' Robert A. Orr / Frederick R. Howard John Pump r ey 111 Walter P. Murray / John A. Wallace , Jr. J0 MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING -OF LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL, JULY 3 , 1969. A Special Meeting of the Leesburg -Town Council was held in the Council Chambers , 10 West Loudoun Street , Leesburg , Virginia , on July 3 , 1969 at 4 :00 P.M. Present were : Mayor Kenneth B. Rollins , Councilmen G. Dewey Hill, Frederick R. Howard, Walter F . Murray, John W. Pumphrey and John A. Wallace, Jr. ; also Town Manager James W. Ritter, Jr. The Waiver of Notice of this Special Meeting is attached hereto . i Mayor Rollins explained that this meeting has been called because of the muddy water condition which existed this morning when Paxton Well - ' started pumping all mud. With Paxton out of the system, we are in a critical situation for water. It has cleared up at this time, however. There has been discussion of the Town having another well for use until such time as we can put the Potomac River supply into the system. Town Manager Ritter reported that last night at 9:30 the wells were clear, but by 10:00 P.M. they were pumping plain mud, particularly in the Exeter and Lowenbach Subdivisions and that general area . This is the first time it has ever been like this . Paxton and Phillips-Nickels Wells were both cut off and, at 7 this morning, Paxton was still muddy . It was pumped to atmosphere for quite a while, but still it did not :.fl clear up. This is what Mr. Snyder of Sydnor Hydrodynamics told us last week we would have to do, but it could take two weeks to pumpthis mud off. Paxton was put back into the system about 11 this morning when it cleared up and, at the present time, it is still clear. We assume this muddy condition is due to the low water table, which exposes mud chan- nels in the well, and this can play havoc with the system. Phillips-Nickels Well is pumping about 150 gallons per minute by valving it down and we are now getting around 90,000 to 100,000 gallons per day from this Well. Scott Well has had it. A test was made on it yesterday and it was pumped to atmosphere through a 6-inch line. It had a big flow for about 10 minutes of pure mud, then -it stopped. The pump was still running and I the pipe still gurgling . The mud started rolling out again, but there was only about 50 per cent as much water. It went on and off about every two or three minutes and it was finally decided to cut it off and con- nect it back to the 3-inch line . The mud was pumped off at the hydrant on Catoctin Circle . The pump went off when it was cut back on - there was a short circuit in the wiring . It was finally started, again and then cleared up. It is still clear. This condition could get worse, but, for the moment , it is putting out about 24 per cent of our supply, or 115 ,000 to 120,000 gallons per day, so this is a valuable asset . The Royal Street wells are still furnishing about 27 per cent of our supply. Paxton has to fill in the gap when there is a demand for it to bring up the water level in the storage tank. When we get close to 300,000 gallons per day, we can expect this . There was a bigger demand on Paxton yesterday while Scott was off for about 5 hours . Mr . Ritter said -he has called Mr. Snyder of Sydnor Hydrodynamics and he is working up the equipment necessary to put the Myers Well into . operation. Mr. Snyder knows what he is talking about , he has been in this business for about 30 years , and Scott Well proved his theory . Mr. Ritter said he has also been in touch with VEPCO and they are making arrange ments for the power for the Myers Well. Mr. Myers has an agreement with the United States Geodetic Survey and Mr. Ritter has been in touch with them. They have agreed to let us use this Well . They will take out their equipment. It looks now like we can possibly put this Well in service by the end of next week. We can get the pump here on Wednesday and a load 1 : of pipe. VEPCO will start setting the poles on Monday. Bill Wilson will stake out the street so that we know where the water line and power lines+ go. Mr. Myers owns the land and the Well and he has agreed to let us go ! ahead and use it , with no terms specified at all. He realizes that this is an emergency and, unless we do something quickly, we can be in a criti- . cal situation. Councilman Murray stated that he believed Mr. Myers should be paid by the gallon if he is willing to do this . Mr. Myers said he is willing to accept the going rate . Mr. Ritter told him that we pay Paxton Home three cents per thousand gallons . fit) MINUTES OF JULY 3 , 1969 SPECIAL MEETING . Mayor Rollins asked Mr. Myers if he would be willing to sell the Well. Mr. Myers said he is willing to work this out with the Town in any way they want it . If the Town is interested in buying the Well , he would have to have it appraised. Councilman Murray raised the question of whether the Town would need 4 or 5 wells , based on the long-range plans of going to the Potomac River for water. He said he would be more receptive to paying Mr. Myers by the metered gallon the same as we do Paxton Home . Mayor Rollins said he would think both parties would like to see how it holds up under constant pumping . Mr. Myers exhibited a plat of Dry Mill Subdivision, showing where this Well is located and where it is proposed that the By-Pass will come in. However, he said he understands the Highway Department will hold another Public Hearing on the 1st of August on this By-Pass route and they do not know what will happen. Mr. Ritter pointed out on the plat where the pipe would be installed and where the power line would be placed underground. He asked if this could be done by letter. He said he had talked with the Health Department and they are not familiar with this Well, but no trouble is anticipated. We have to get a permit to use this Well as a public supply , and the Health Department will have a man here on Monday or Tuesday to go over this with him. He said the grouting of this well depends on the type of material they hit . Councilman Murray asked if he has any idea of the total cost. Mr. Ritter said that, based on what we spent at Nickels Well, he would say roughly about $20 ,000. We have one expense that we did not have at Nickels Well - we will have to pay for the installation of the power line . There will be a cinder block building to house the hyperchlori- nator, the pump itself does not have to be housed. The looks of the in- stallation was discussed and Mr . Ritter said it will be on the other side of the By-Pass , however, the block could always be bricked. He said we will have to buy a new pump - he thinks we will need this well for two years until we can get to the Potomac . The chemical analysis on it is good and the Health Department says it is good. The percentage of ni- trates is only 6.4, and the hardness at 75 , which is considered soft water. Bacteriological tests will have to be taken but we can ' t do this until we are ready to get it into operation. On motion of Councilman Murray, seconded by Councilman Howard, the following resolution was placed on the floor: BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council for the Town of Leesburg , that an agreement be negotiated with Mr. Myers for the use of his well and for installing the necessary equipment , and the Town agrees to pay him for water on the same basis that it pays Paxton Home , and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the necessary equipment be installed to place the well in immediate operation. Councilman Hill asked the water level in the storage tank; Mr. Ritter .said it is 6 feet down from the top, which is lower than it has been for a long time . He said he had it put on the radio this morning to conserve water and he shut down all car washes . Councilman Wallace asked the depth of Mr. Myers ' Well . He said it is 350 feet and gave various readings on pumping tests conducted at the time it was drilled. He said each time they dug they hit more water, and they estimated that they could get 1,000,000 gallons of water per day. Mr. Ritter explained that these short test periods do not mean too . much, that you can only tell what a well will do after several weeks or months of operation. He said Sydnor dug this well and they know all about itand its requirements to put it into operation. Councilman Wallace rec ommended that we try to get a pump to meet the capacity of the well. Mr. Ritter said Mr. Snyder said it will probably come down to about 200 gallons per minute at a safe level when we get it going . It is his idea to use it around the clock. 61 MINUTES OF JULY 3 , 1969 SPECIAL MEETING. . Mr. Ritter said Mr. Scott called this morning and he told him the news on his well . He didn ' t have much to say . Mayor Rollins said he could never go along with the idea of the Town buying water, but this can be discussed later. . The resolution proposed above was then unanimously adopted. There being no further business , the meeting• adjourned/ nJat 4: 35 P.M.• _ /S ��/ • Mayor Clerk o thoC u`ncil • n1 :74