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Shady Cove may drill well for City Hall By MELISSA MARTIN SHADY COVE - The City Council may have a well drilled this summer so City Hall employees will have a reliable, independent water source. The City Council in this town that depends on well water is discussing whether to spend about $10,000 to drill a well and build a storage tank at City Hall. Currently, city employees share a water supply with the library, the grange and the elementary school. "There are a lot of times when there isn't even enough water for drinking," said council member Lois Holland. "Last year, we didn't keep our lawn green and lost our landscaping." Her husband, Don Holland, the local water dowser, has already "witched" the area surrounding City Hall, searching for an underground source and a suitable drilling spot, she said. The wells surrounding City Hall range in depth and production, from Jackson County Library's 122-foot well that yields 4.5 gallons a minute to the Shady Cove Grange's 267-foot well that yields 1 gallon per minute. Well log reports compiled by the Oregon Water Resources Department show the city of Shady Cove owning a 61-foot well that produces 7.5 gallons of water per minute. But the city's well water doesn't go far when it's shared with neighbors, according to Mayor Tom Anderson. Because there isn't enough for irrigation, the city depends on water the school district pumps from the river, he said. "They've agreed to allow us to tie into their water, but it's very hot by the time it's turned on. We lose grass and flowers," he said. Elise Smurzynski said there have been several times since she took over as city administrator last year that she's arrived at work to find dry taps. "It goes down periodically and leaves us high and dry," she said. Shady Cove is one of the few Oregon cities that does not have a municipal water supply. Residents rely on about 500 private or shared wells. In the case of City Hall - built in 1976 - the well has a history of producing sand, which is hard on filters and pumps, said former Mayor Jim Collier, who is vice president of the Upper Rogue Historical Society. "Apparently, the two acres that City Hall is located on was an old river bar and the strata beneath is sandy," Collier said. The City Council should consult well driller Joaquin Medina of Medina Drilling Co., and Jim Granger of Granger Pump Service before it makes a decision, Collier believes. If the council approves it, City Hall's new well would be a temporary fix until a more permanent solution is found in this town that has twice voted against water bond measures, according to resident Arthur Smith, who serves on the city's budget committee. Smith is working on a proposal he hopes to eventually present to voters. But even if it's approved, it would be several years away from providing a public water source, he said. "What we're talking about can't be built or in operation for at least three years, maybe four," Smith said. "Certainly the council should drill for water now." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.