East Lyme Water recently completed the upgrade of the Well 5 Water Treatment Plant.

The Well 5 Water Treatment Plant was constructed in 1994 and was due for a rehab. The well itself was originally capable of producing at its design capacity and diversion permit of 0.78 million gallons per day. Prior to the upgrade it was only producing 0.2 million gallons per day, or about 25% of its original capacity despite numerous redevelopment efforts.

Thanks to ARPA funds, East Lyme Water was able to drill a new Well 5A and upgrade the treatment plant through a in-house design-bid-build process. The project budget was $920,000 – a significant cost savings from the typical outsourced design-bid process with an engineering firm and general contractor.

The project consisted of a new gravel pack well and pitless adapter (moving the well outside of the treatment facility), 6-inch raw water main,  filter vessel rehabilitation, filter media replacement including greensand plus for iron and manganese removal, interior building improvements, HVAC, valve replacements, instrumentation and controls upgrades, chemical feed and storage improvements, and a new standby generator. 

The work was completed by East Lyme Water Department staff and a variety of contractors – working under the Water Department as construction project managers. The Well now is capable of producing close to its permitted withdrawal – with one catch. The new well has a much higher concentration of iron than the previous well which means the filters require backwashing daily instead of 2-3 time per week. This operational challenge is currently being solved through an expansion of the backwash lagoons.