Longville Park well pump fix a delicate job

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The National Water Commission (NWC) notes and wishes to respond to an open letter from Patricia Duncan-Sutherland regarding water supply to NWC customers in Longville Park Phase 3 published in The Gleaner on Thursday, October 10, 2019.

First, let me state that the NWC is in the business of providing water services to its paying customers and has absolutely no interest in denying, interrupting or depriving any paid-up customer of its service.

We would not disrupt the water supply to customers in Longville Park Phase 3 or any other community if it were not for real problems.

In this particular case, the commission is advising of an unavoidable disruption caused by damage to the pumping unit at the Hanbury well that serves Longville Park and surrounding communities. It is to be noted that repairs to submersible pumps at deep wells like this one require the delicate extraction of the pump hundreds of feet below the ground, as well as the cables and shaft connected to it, without damaging the well casing. This also requires the use of specialised heavy equipment and personnel.

Pumps at various depths

In fact, because some well pumps are installed at depths ranging from about 50 feet to in excess of 600 feet below ground and because of the delicacy of the operation, extraction of these equipment can take up to three days. Only after the extraction can a proper assessment be made of the damage and repairs planned and effected.

It is also to be noted that while having spare pumps for all our facilities is desirable and is something that we are working towards, achieving that level of redundancy at hundreds of pumping locations is a very expensive proposition that cannot be covered with a delinquency in Longville Park that exceeds $50 million. Furthermore, even if a spare pump is available for immediate replacement, without considering repairs, some interruption in service is unavoidable when a pump is damaged.

Additionally, delaying the extraction of the damaged pump to allow for longer public notification would only extend the period of inadequate service and possibly cause further damage to the equipment.

That is the context in which the NWC has advised its customers served by the Hanbury well that, given the breakdown of the equipment, normal water supply to the community will likely be disrupted until October 13, 2019.

At the same time, the NWC has made arrangements to supply piped water at 6 p.m. daily to all areas that can be supplied from the community tank and to truck directly to those others such as Pine Road, Beechwood Road, and other elevated areas that cannot be supplied via the pipes.

MARK BARNETT

President, NWC