NEWS ABOUT SAN JUAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT NO. 3
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New fire station runs into
… well … a sinking feeling
posted 06/00
A well drilling rig at the new Fire District No. 3 station site found plenty of water, so much water it started sinking Friday (June 16).
Brown Well Drilling had drilled about 100 feet down at the site near Mullis Street and Argyle before quitting Thursday night. The next morning the rig was tilting into a sizable depression with water "artesianing" out of it, said District Chief Bill McLaughlin. If it had not been resting on a well casing, the rig might have been sucked into the sinkhole.
District officials hoped a drilled hole would provide potable water for their new station, but "now there’s a sinkhole, McLaughlin said.
The higher than expected water table means the water is not usable. "There’s water there but we can’t use it," McLaughlin said.
A connection to the Town of Friday Harbor’s water system is not permitted at this time, so the district must come up with another source for potable water on the property owned by the Port of Friday Harbor. "We’re trying to find another spot on the site," McLaughlin said.
San Juan County’s proposed solar aquatics septage treatment facility, another project planned for the property, may also be affected by the high water table. If the ground is too saturated, installing a drainfield for the facility might be impossible, since it won’t percolate.
fire station plans...
solar aquatics septage facility...
