Left to right, Nora Burks, Lynn Cordell and Leland Burks of Angel Construction lower a 10-foot section of pipe into Benton, Tenn.'s well. Construction crews had to connect 18 sections of pipe to reach the city's water pump, which is located 180 feet underground.
Photo by Paul LeachBENTON, Tenn. - A Benton water crew installed a new pump for the city's deep well water a little earlier than planned this week.
The old pump, installed 23 years ago, quit working Saturday afternoon, Benton Waterworks supervisor Tommy Swann said. He gave no reason for the breakdown other than the equipment's age.
"Twenty-three years is about as good as you can expect," Swann said.
The city was prepared to install a new pump and already had the equipment, engineering and construction lined up, diminishing the severity of the crisis, Mayor Jerry Stephens said.
"We had planned to start Monday anyhow," he said.
In the meantime, the city supplied water to its 1,000 residential and business customers with the help of the Etowah and Ocoee utilities, Swann said.
City officials said the biggest inconveniences their customers experienced were a lack of water pressure and a difference in the water's taste.
Benton's water is about 98.6 percent pure well water, according to Stephens, who said some residents had contacted him over the weekend about the taste of the temporary tap water. He said he told them to boil the water if it didn't taste right.
The mayor said he also addressed concerns over a mercury spill by Olin Chemical into the Hiwassee River. Stephens said he told callers that the spill had occurred downstream from the backup water stations and had no effect on the taste or quality of water pumped to Benton.
The pump station upgrades, which included a new pump, 180 feet of well lines and a motor, previously were budgeted by the city at a cost of $100,000, Stephens said.
Planning for the new pump system stretched back at least 12 weeks, said Gary Cosby of CTI Engineers Inc., who managed the project for Benton.
Benton water customers will receive between 85 and 140 pounds of water pressure with the new pump station, just as they did before, Stephens said.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.