Drilling crew punching in new city well

A drilling crew has been punching through the dirt and rock on the site of the future Sun Ranch Business Park for the past couple of weeks looking for water.

The tall drilling rig is working on the site of a new City of Sisters water well, which is expected to double the city's water capacity. The new well is part of an overall water system plan designed to meet Sisters water needs as the community grows over the coming decades.

Developer Dutch Pacific donated a 100-by-100-foot piece of the Sun Ranch property for the well, under the condition that the city make the site blend in well with the surrounding development.

"I'm willing to do it; it's good for the community," said Shane Lundgren of Dutch Pacific. "But I didn't want it to be a big, ugly thing."

City Public Works Director Gary Frazee offered assurances.

"We're going to spend extra money to conform with the site design of the Sun Ranch Business Park," he said. "We haven't designed anything yet, but it will meet all their criteria."

The first priority was to make sure the site would produce a good well. Geotech Explorations out of Portland was doing the drilling on a contract that called for exploration to 400 feet. The drilling crew led by Russ Otto hit water well before that.

As of December 8, the hole was 205 feet deep with 71 feet of static water.

"If we hit a lot of water before 300 feet, we may not have to go 300 feet," said Dick Nored of HGE, Inc., the city's engineering firm. "So far so good. We've got a long way to go."

The well will be flow tested for 2,500 gallons per hour for 24 hours - although that could be modified if the early flow does not reduce the level of static water.

Putting that much water out, especially in the cold, poses some problems of its own. The city called in an excavation crew to dig a deep pit to catch the flow so that it doesn't flood the open meadow and impinge on the neighbors in Trapper Point.

The well drilling operation has had some spectacular moments.

The drilling crew uses foam to clean out the cuttings from the drill.

"It pressurizes the hole and helps us clean the hole out," Otto explained.

The foam erupts through a hose onto the ground beside the drilling rig. Early in the drilling, Frazee parked his truck at the site, and when the foam burst through the hose, it smothered the truck. Fortunately, Frazee had his windows up, and the mishap was repaired with a car wash.

In addition to the well, the city's water plan calls for a second city reservoir on the east end of town. So far, the city has had little luck finding a site because neighbors don't want it in their back yards.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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