PRELIMINARY WELLFIELD DEVELOPMENT WORK TO BEGIN IN JUNE IN TWO CITY DEVELOPMENTS

Frederick, Md. --- The City of Frederick will begin work in two neighborhoods in early June in support of the City’s Water NOW Team initiative to increase water supplies for the City of Frederick. Residents in the Fredericktowne Village and Riverwalk Park areas will notice City Department of Public Works crews beginning to lay pipeline as early as Tuesday, June 1. The project schedule calls for initial pre-construction work to begin on the park site on or about June 1, and to be complete within 120 days, or approximately October 1, including final cleanup of the site. Prior to commencement of pre-construction work, engineers, surveyors and consultants may be seen walking in the park performing prepatory tasks.

The City’s goals include testing and redevelopment of two existing municipal water supply wells in these parks. Well #3 is located between the two baseball fields approximately 550 feet east of Schifferstadt Boulevard, while Well #7 is located approximately 600 feet west of Schifferstadt Boulevard.

Please note the elements of work, which will take place in these areas throughout the next 120 days:

Survey and stakeout of temporary water piping in the park
PLACEMENT by the Department of Public Works of temporary water piping in the park
Drilling and installation of monitoring wells around existing Well #3 and Well #7
Drilling Well #7 to a larger diameter, and installation of permanent well casing
Installation of temporary well pumps
Fencing of the two well sites for security and safety reasons
Conducting continuous pump testing of the wells for a period of approximately ten weeks
Removal of equipment, piping and cleanup of the site.

Area residents can expect to see engineers and contractors at the two well sites and at the Monocacy River on a daily basis, including evening and nighttime hours. During a portion of the testing program, personnel will be required on site 24 hours a day. Once redrilling of Well #7 has been completed, both well sites will be fenced for security and public safety purposes.

Temporary piping will be laid on the ground, to safely convey the water generated during well development for proper discharge and disposal to the Monocacy River. To power the pumps, portable generators will be used throughout the testing period. In order to minimize noise levels, the City will be using "hospital grade" silencers and acoustical baffling will be added to absorb sound.

The City's existing sinkhole monitoring program will be intensified in Fredericktowne Village Park during the well testing program, under the direction of the Engineering Department. As is standard City policy, the Department of Public Works will immediately respond to sinkhole reports, assess and repair. Before pumping begins at either Well #3 and/or #7, the City will have a Sinkhole Liability Plan in place. The director of budget and purchasing anticipates presenting a Sinkhole Liability Plan at the June 3rd Mayor and Board of Aldermen Public Meeting. The plan will consist of self-insurance and or other secondary forms of coverage in addition to the current coverage available to the City. The plan is to ensure that the City has in place a plan to enable it to "do the right thing" if any damage is caused by the operation of these wells. Currently, the City does have coverage in place that would allow for recovery under circumstances where the damage was due to the negligent operations only. The new plan will ensure recovery due to causation and not just due to negligence.

The project has been planned and designed to minimize any inconvenience to the public during the well testing. The drilling and testing program will not interfere with use of the baseball fields in the park. Once testing is complete, the contractor and the Department of Public Works will remove all equipment and temporary piping, and restore the well sites to their previous condition. If the pumping tests are successful, the City will return to the sites in early 2005 to install permanent well pumps and electrical controls.

For additional information please contact Tom Pellegrino, CIP Project Manager, at 301-600-1313.