Century works on well

Last week, the well at Century Correctional Institute (CCI) off Tedder Road began failing and the town of Century's other wells could not provide adequate water to the facility.

In response, the town of Century and CCI authorities contacted Central Water Works, to connect to a waterline that runs along Tedder Road.

"They have some issues with the well," said John Godwin, operations manager at Central Water Works. "We've provided them water through two 2 ½-inch fire hoses, which is metered. We have supplied them water, but they do have a leak inside the prison they are still working on."

Century City Manager Vernon Prather said that Century workers and prison authorities noticed the well was starting to have issues in November. He said the pump, well and system was built in a way that hinders the ability to work on it or maintain it.

"We always had that plan in the back of their minds to make repairs to the 30-year-old system, we just didn't expect it so quick," said Prather. "Tuesday, they had an issue but then it dropped down to 80 gallons per minute Wednesday."

Prather said the construction was going to cost about $50,000 to $60,000 and the engineering had started and everything was in motion.

Then this happened, and they moved to conserve water, according to Prather. He said they switched to bottled water and he figured they were still on conservation measures.

Prather said there are about 1,600 people in the town of Century and there are more than 1,300 at the prison, making it the biggest customer of the water system.

"For tank and well maintenance, we will activate this hook-up each time, using it as a back-up source," said Prather. "This is the most cost-effective short term alternative is this interconnect."

Prather said he was waiting to hear from the well contractor if the well is repairable or if a new one needs to be installed. He said that after 30 years of continual use, spot repairs can be done down in the hole, but complete fail will mean a new well.

"The water tower and the well belong to town," said Prather. "Everything inside the fence is the responsibility of the Florida Department Of Correction's infrastructure. The meter is where ownership changes."

Once the interconnection is completed, according to Prather, there will be two sources for water to the prison. He said one will serve as a feed line and he noted that modern critical infrastructure usually has redundant features built in to improve reliability.

Century Mayor Henry Hawkins said the well was in trouble for a while, citing that it was three decades old and in need of work.

"Our well was messing up, so we had to dig it up and see what's going on with it," said Hawkins. "In the meantime, we've got an interconnect with Central Water Works."

Hawkins said the well didn't stop, but it was slowing down. He said the well has been there as long as the prison has.

"You never know what's going on with them until they just quit," said Hawkins.

Hawkins said there are two options: to repair the well that is there if it is repairable, or to replace it. He said by Friday, there will be a connect under the road to Central Water Works.

"This is something we have been working on for a while, but the well just didn't last until we could get to it," said Hawkins.

On Wednesday afternoon, Prather sent an email that stated:

'Well #3 will live. There are a number of steps and cleaning procedures to complete, and the bottom plug is believed to be the main problem. It will need to be re-grouted. The screens are in good condition. They have recommended wire brushing everything, and removing debris, followed by dynamic pumping test with another video to verify that no sand is being pulled in. After that, a temporary submersible pump will be installed. The existing turbine pump and related bearings will need to be replaced at a later date. The work described above will take 5 or 6 days to complete. The Contractor is working every day.'