Davenport
by: Capers Gay
March 25, 2025
A redundant aquifer well is being proposed to prevent possible disservice of a local water treatment plant. Located along North Boulevard West with the nearby No. 4 well, well No. 7 would be drilled into the ground to collect groundwater and pump it back to the plant.
The company CPH Consulting would provide its services for the design and construction administration of this well. After permits and schedules have been figured out, the design phase would begin. Both phases are estimated to take 180 days after their Notice-to-Proceed, finishing the design by August.
Given that the capacity of this well is desired to be 1,500 gpm (gallons per minute of water flow), No. 7 is expected to be a steel construction with a diameter of 36 ft. The diameter would incrementally decrease as the hole travels to its depth of 650 ft below land surface. This is an increase in scope compared to No. 4 which has a maximum diameter of 24 ft, and a depth of 558 ft below land surface. For its services, CPH wants $94,262 from the Water Budget in Capital Improvements.
On March 17th, city officials heard the proposal at the City Commission Meeting. Davenport Utilities Director Michael Stripling explained the need for the well, “Right now well No. 4 is the only well that serves water plant No. 2. If something were to happen to well No. 4, that water treatment plant would be out of service. So this is a redundant well; it has been contemplated in our water use permit, it has been contemplated in the budget.” Stripling noted that this motion would only approve the design stage of the project. Stripling aims to complete the redundancy quickly before development begins on well No. 8, the alternative water supply well.
The proposal was unanimously approved with no comment from the public. Given the fast-tracking of this project, bidding services for construction contractors can be expected to begin soon. From there, construction is estimated to take 3-4 months once the winning contractor mobilizes on the site.
