What's next for Well 8
Updated 5/14/2021
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Madison Water Utility is installing a "sentinel" monitoring well in the hopes of detecting Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as they move toward Well 8. Learn more at our Well 8 sentinel well project page.
Madison Water Utility currently plans to operate Well 8 this summer from July to September, depending on weather conditions. Well 8 is a critical source of supply during these higher-demand summer months, especially with Well 15 out of service.
Concerns about Madison Kipp
Well 8 became the focus of neighborhood concern after a chemical called PCE (tetrachloroethylene) was found in groundwater at nearby Madison Kipp Corporation property. In 2013, a shallow monitoring well found very low levels of PCE in the upper aquifer about 600 feet from Well 8. It's important to note that no PCE has ever been found in the water at Well 8. Madison Water Utility routinely tests water pumped from Well 8 when the facility is in service, and no PCE has been detected.
Background
Located in Olbrich Park on Madison's east side, Well 8 is 774 feet deep and draws water primarily from the lower aquifer below a natural barrier known as the Eau Claire Shale. The well also has an attached underground reservoir, which forms the basis of the sledding hill at Olbrich Park.Well 8 was drilled in 1945, and although it was initially operated year-round, it is now used only during the high-demand summer months because it contains naturally occurring iron and manganese, which can cause discoloration. Still, supply provided by Well 8 can be crucial. The well played a critical role in refilling East Side reservoirs during and after the Apollo Way fire in August of 2014. Crews used an estimated 2 million gallons of water to fight the fire.
PCE Plume Evaluation Report
The utility hired an independent consultant, hydrogeologist Eric Oelkers with SCS Engineers, to analyze groundwater movement in the Well 8 area and locate an appropriate site for the monitoring well.
Oelkers completed his PCE Plume Evaluation Report in October of 2017 and recommended that a sentinel well be drilled in an area northwest of Well 8 near Lowell Elementary. Madison Water Utility started the Well 8 sentinel well project in 2021. Once the well is drilled, samples will likely be drawn and analyzed quarterly for the first two years to collect background data, then twice a year after that.Looking to the future
Instead of drilling a new well to meet supply needs on the East Side, Madison Water Utility may eventually reinvest in the Well 8 facility in order to use it year-round once again. That would mean rebuilding the aging facility and installing iron and manganese filters, similar to the ones recently installed at Well 7 on the North Side. But it also means further study of the contamination plume near Madison Kipp and its potential to impact the well. PCE can be successfully removed from water, and any rebuild of Well 8 would include provisions to add a future treatment system to remove PCE and other volatile organic compounds if necessary.