Ephraim declares water emergency after city well shaft breaks

Officials in Ephraim said Thursday that all outside watering is prohibited including hand watering of gardens and flowers after a well shaft broke. Photo Courtesy: Ephraim City/Facebook

EPHRAIM, Utah, Sept. 20, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials in Ephraim said Thursday that all outside watering is prohibited including hand watering of gardens and flowers after a city well shaft broke.

“The shaft in the city well snapped last night, the well is no longer functioning,” Ephraim City said in a Facebook post. “The entire city water supply, including drinking water, is now completely dependent on the springs, which are extremely low. This is an emergency situation necessitating aggressive enforcement with citations issued.”

A follow-up post said a preliminary assessment has found that shaft is broken that connects the motor to the pump down inside the well, which caused the pump to fail.

“There may be additional problems we haven’t found yet,” the follow-up post said. “Because we are still trying to assess the full extent of the problem, the best estimate we have so far is that locating and shipping and/or fabricating new parts could take one to two weeks. For this reason, outdoor watering is pretty much done for the rest of the season. If the parts can be located quickly we may re-evaluate allowing light hand watering only for trees and flowers/gardens after the situation stabilizes, but for right now plan on turning off your sprinkler system for the rest of the year.”

There is still adequate water flowing from the springs for all indoor use, including drinking, cooking, toilet, and showers, without indoor restrictions, the post said. The post said the springs are still flowing a little over a million gallons a day, which is close to double what is normally needed for just indoor water use for the city.

The post also said earlier this year, Ephraim City began working to bring a long-term fix to the system by drilling a new well. “Funding has been secured and that project is underway,” the post said. “There is a lot that goes into permitting and planning for a new public drinking water supply and it is expected to be completed and in operation early this coming year.”

For updates on the situation click here.

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