Deep well project

A new water well is currently under construction at Holiday Park in West Des Moines. The new deep well will help West Des Moines maximize its water treatment capacity and better serve customers. Drilling of the new 2,500-feet deep well is expected to begin in early December of 2016 with drilling operations expected to take approximately 90 days.

The drilling process can be noisy and messy, but it is only temporary. When the project is complete, the site will be cleaned up, restored and landscaped in keeping with the park. This image highlights the simple well house that will be constructed over the well once the project is complete.  

Once drilling starts, it continues for 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the well is completed. The Holiday Park site was selected for its proximity to raw water lines that already feed A.C. Ward Treatment Plant on Railroad Ave and its distance from other deep wells. Wells are located approximately one-half mile apart to avoid interference with each other and a concentrated drawdown of the aquifer at a specific location.

As you can imagine, the equipment necessary to drill a well 2,500 feet deep is quite large and can generate a significant amount of noise. The closer a property is to the well construction site, the more noticeable the construction noise will be. Farther away from the site, the noise will decrease.

While it would be preferable that the well drilling did not involve an around the clock operation, that option is not possible. If the well driller stops construction activities for more than a very short period of time there is a risk the well hole being drilled will collapse and cause a complete failure of the well. The only way to prevent the drill hole from collapsing is to drill the well on a continuous, nonstop basis.

The new well will be in service and operational by July 1, 2017, just in time for peak summer usage. This project marks the first time that the Water Works has drilled a new deep well in more than 15 years.

The WDMWW Board of Trustees approved drilling the new well in order to fully utilize the treatment capacity available at A.C. Ward Plant. The plant generally treats six million gallons of water per day. The new well will supply up to three million gallons per day in additional capacity.

Our plant capacity now is 10 million gallons a day. This increase in supply water will serve our immediate and future demands as well as provide additional system redundancy.

If you have any questions concerning the project you may contact West Des Moines Customer Service at 222-3460 or [email protected].