THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 27, 1996 TAG: 9605270027
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 83 lines
For now, this city's water tastes as fine as Chesapeake water can.
But after last summer's record battle with sodium-soured water, rationing and health concerns, city officials are preparing for the possibility of another water crisis.
A new $72 million water treatment plant that should eliminate salt from the drinking water doesn't come on line until October 1998.
So at a work session last week, the City Council gave a tentative OK to an interim alternative - digging shallow wells near emergency shelters in areas that depend on the city's Northwest River water plant.
The nine wells and their treatment and delivery systems are estimated to cost about $102,000.
Councilman John W. Butt said the cost was ``ridiculous'' and he asked that the wells be manned for residents' safety.
Other council members, however, said the idea was conceptually sound.
``Three years lie ahead of us,'' said Councilman John M. de Triquet, ``and we don't know what they hold.''
About half the city's residents get water from Norfolk or Portsmouth systems that use reservoirs with no salt problems.
But the rest depend on the Northwest River, which becomes salty when rainfall is low and winds out of the south and eastforce brackish water upstream from the Currituck Sound.
On Sunday, Chesapeake's plant water had 46 parts of chloride per million parts of water. Federal taste standards are exceeded when the level tops 250 ppm.
Last year, the level once topped 1,600 parts per million, and the standard was exceeded for 132 days.
Although such water is unpalatable, it is dangerous only to those with severely restricted sodium diets.
The brackish-tasting water affected 27,600 residents in Great Bridge, Greenbrier, River Crest, Fernwood Farms, and Deep Creek - the areas served by the city's water treatment plant.
The shallow wells are a short-term solution with a possible long-term value. By digging the wells near emergency shelters, the city will allow itself a fresh supply of water in case a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, disrupts operation of the city's water plant.
For now, nine wells are proposed. They will be between 100 feet and 200 feet deep, with chlorinating equipment and small storage tanks at each site. All would be in enclosed buildings.
Residents could bring containers and draw water from exterior spigots.
The cost of each well is estimated at $11,400. But Amar Dwarkanath, director of public utilities, said his estimate was for the most expensive price.
After getting a tentative go-ahead from the council last week, he said he expects to be able to get lower estimates.
One source used last summer to help dilute the salt will not be as useful this summer. During last summer's problems, about 318 million gallons of water were pumped from Chesapeake's huge aquifer storage and recovery well. That nearly depleted a supply of sweet water that had built up over several years.
That well has just 90 million gallons now, Dwarkanath said, compared to 350 million at this time last year.
There haven't been enough low-salt days since January during which water could be stockpiled, Dwarkanath said.
He told the council that the supply probably would last only about 30 days.
The new shallow wells were one of four options offered by Dwarkanath. The others included:
Providing water spigots outside fire stations, which will likely still be done. The cost to continue to provide this water is nominal, according to city officials.
Providing bottled water to the service area at an estimated cost of $40,000 a day. The logistics of this, however, are difficult.
Providing residents with filters to remove salt and other unwanted components from tap water. These devices, however, are not approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the cost would be prohibitive - $55.3 million for 27,600 units, according to Dwarkanath. ILLUSTRATION: Color graphic by Robert D. Voros\The Virginian-Pilot<
Proposed Chesapeake Well Sites
Primary Well Sites
Secondary Well Sites
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE WATER WELLS SODIUM by CNB