Emergency Repairs Approved for Well

The Public Works Department is proceeding with emergency repairs to a city-owned water well near the administrative offices at Coastline Community College.

Well No. 10, just off Newhope Street, provides as much as 5 million gallons of water daily, mostly to industrial areas. It also feeds residential and commercial faucets citywide through an underground grid system, however, and is vital to supply water for firefighting, officials said.

A device that regulates the 900-foot well’s engine, called a variable frequency drive, broke down in mid-January. The device is about 6 years old and was expected to last 20 years, said Wayne Osborne, director of public works. The warranty, however, was for only one year.

The City Council this week allocated $125,000 in emergency funds to replace the part. Citing firefighting concerns, a municipal report said the action was essential to “protect life and property of the citizens of Fountain Valley.”

Ordering and installation of the unit should be completed by mid-June.

Because the situation is a so-called urgency matter, the city can bypass the bidding process, which would have delayed the repair until November.

Montgomery Watson, Consulting Engineers of Pasadena is in charge of the repair project. Replacement parts will not be purchased from the original manufacturer, Osborne said.

Capable of pumping 2,000 gallons a minute, the well was completed in 1990. It is 600 feet west of Newhope and 600 feet south of Warner Avenue. The devices that regulate its operations are aboveground on the Coastline campus.

Other wells in the area will supply the area with water until the repairs are made.