The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
Failed water tank fixed, second tank soon to be at full capacity
Water Systems Drilling crewmen finish splicing in the new motor and pump at the number two well next to the tank in Pine Haven.
A local emergency was called last Tuesday when one of the two water wells on which Pine Haven depends for drinking water failed completely and the other dropped from approximately 150 gallons per minute to around 20 gallons. Water Systems Drilling was able to install a new motor and pump Wednesday afternoon.
The new pump is larger than the one the crew removed and began drawing between 250 and 300 gallons per minute when activated Wednesday evening, subsequently filling the tank over the next 24 hours.
This allowed the quickly failing second pump to be shut off as the drilling company prepared to replace the damaged components in that well on Monday. It is expected to be working at full capacity by the end of the month.
Many volunteers walked through town Tuesday afternoon, handing out flyers with the required restrictions and talking to people about the problem. The response was positive, according to Mayor Karla Brandenburg, with everyone they spoke with shutting off their sprinklers.
Pine Haven Fire Chief TJ Gideon, who had been appointed as the town's emergency liaison and coordinator, discussed the possibility of the mayor rescinding the emergency order at Thursday morning's meeting as the water tank was already at 89 feet (around half full).
Mayor Karla Brandenburg acquiesced after assurances from Crook County Emergency Manager Ed Robinson and Gideon that the emergency could be reinitiated if the situation should become critical again before the backup well is brought online.
During this situation, Robinson used both the Code Red and IPAWS with limited results. When the Code Red application was put into use advising town residents of the situation Monday, many received the text, but others did not.
Of the latter, those who are not signed up for the county's system are advised to call Crook County Emergency Management at 307-283-2390 to do so. Others did not receive the missive for unknown reasons.
The IPAWS was received by people as far away as Torrington while several residents within the targeted area (Pine Haven and the surrounding area) did not get it. In one case, Councilman Tom Roberts was in his vehicle with his wife – she received the alert while he did not.
As is historically usually the case, this real-life setting shows needed adjustments in the effort to reach people affected by possible emergencies and the benefit of a positive response by informed citizens.
