Hudson city well repaired, watering restrictions lifted

Talk about it

Restrictions on outdoor watering in the city of Hudson have been lifted following the repair of a well that was out of service.

Hudson Water Utility Director Tim Caruso made the announcement Monday morning, July 23, saying Well No. 3, located at 560 Gray St., is back on line.

The 543-foot deep well was shut down in late June after a shaft column collapsed deep in the ground. The parts needed to repair the shaft had to be manufactured, and took several weeks to arrive.

In an earlier email to the media and city officials, Caruso said the repairs to Well No. 3 were completed on Thursday, July 19. The utility had to wait for the Wisconsin State Library of Hygiene to test water samples from the well and give the OK for returning it to production.

Well No. 3 is the water utility’s least productive well. Nevertheless, it helps keep water towers filled to the desired 75 percent of capacity during the summertime, when water use is the highest.

A problem with a second city well – No. 8, located at Hanley and O’Neil Roads – is what caused Caruso to impose the watering restrictions on July 2.

There was a cave-in around the recharge area for the well that resulted in sand entering water mains in the neighborhoods served by the well. Some residences in the Red Cedar Canyon subdivision and businesses near Carmichael Road south of I-94 reported having cloudy tap water.

The well was temporarily shut down and then slowly back on line. No problems with the well have been reported since the July 2 incident.

Under the Level 1 watering restrictions, the use of lawn sprinklers and irrigation systems was banned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Night-time watering was allowed every other day. Properties with even-numbered addresses were permitted to water on even dates, and odd-numbered properties on odd-numbered dates.

While the restrictions have been lifted, Caruso is still asking property owners not to irrigate during the daytime. Fifty percent of the water evaporates before penetrating the ground on hot, sunny days, he says.

Caruso says the best times to water are in the evening (after 7 p.m.), night and the early morning (before 9 a.m.).

Tags: communities, hudson, weather, social