Bridgewater irrigation ban continues
RIDGELAND — An irrigation ban continues for a large portion of the west side of town, including Bridgewater, after a water well pump failure late last month.
The pump, located off Livingston Road near the intersection of Walter Payton Lane, failed unexpectedly in the last few days of July and repairs could take two months.
Mayor Gene F. McGee signed an executive order on Thursday, Aug. 1, ordering that all irrigation systems in the area serviced by the well be turned off to preserve access to fresh drinking water.
“This was unexpected,” McGee said. “The well had been doing fine and was supposed to have a number of more years of life.”
The order states the use of such systems could cause a complete loss of water pressure that would result in “weeks of boil water notices.”
“The residents have been very cooperative at meeting our needs,” McGee said. “Our Public Works Department has done a good job of getting information out to our water customers and making sure every still has good quality drinking water.
Public Works Director Alan Hart said the area is difficult to define but said the failure affects about 800 residents.
“There is no safe way to describe it without creating confusion,” Hart said.
The city has sent emails to water customers and has made a map of the area available. Hart said they have also created a list of roughly 66 affected streets.
Aldermen unanimously ratified the mayor’s executive order at their regularly meeting on Aug.6.
Aldermen also approved emergency purchases for the pump and motor at the water well in the amount of $225,050 and $33,795 for a replacement variable frequency drive.
The city has given residents a time frame of between six to eight weeks to get the well fixed. A memo from city engineer Chris Bryson says some of the material could take as long as four weeks to come in and the installation process could be as long as four weeks as well.
McGee said he hoped they could have the water well repaired before then.
“We are hoping to have the equipment in the next couple of weeks,” McGee said.