Perhaps there is irony in the fact that Mother Nature is giving trouble to those who would rip up her earthen mantle to make money.

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Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum

Mega water woes

Water samples from test wells drilled for the North Florida Mega Industrial Park have had unacceptable levels of arsenic, causing issues for development at the park.

By TONY BRITT  tbritt@lakecityreporter.com

Columbia County —  and the North Florida Mega Industrial Park —  has a water issue.

Arsenic has been found in test wells drilled by the county near the park and the discovery is impacting the county’s plans future utility plans.

Assistant County Manager Kevin Kirby updated the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners on the county’s utilities during a workshop Thursday afternoon where he talked about the test well water containing arsenic, a naturally occurring element that can be fatal if consumed in large quantities. That discovery is leading to a larger investment from the county in developing the site.

Looking to provide water for the industrial park, the county had a test well drilled. When it showed unacceptable arsenic levels, the county moved about a mile west and drilled a second one. The water samples from that well had the same problem, although “significantly lower” levels.

“That test well showed up with unacceptable levels of arsenic,” Kirby said. “So we moved to the west and drilled a second test well. That well also showed unacceptable levels of arsenic.”

Kirby said the next options, according to experts working for the county including hydrologists and geologists, was to look at drilling another west to the east of the previous two test wells. In this area of the state, water travels in a southwestern direction.

The experts, Kirby said, indicated there’s a 99% chance the county would not have any water problems if drilling the well farther east near the Baker County line.

Scott Sigler, a principal geologist with Jim Stidham and Associates, who is working with the county on the project as a subcontractor to North Florida Professional Services, said there were other options, but the county was not interested.

“There was arsenic present in the initial test well that was at a level that was problematic,” he said following the workshop. “It could be treated. Arsenic can be treated and provided water. There is a cost for continued treatment and the engineer and county administrator felt that cost was going to be prohibitive to continued service.

“Again, it can be treated at an additional cost, but ideally we would find a well that doesn’t require any treatment at all.”

The estimated price of drilling the third well is $60,000. However, moving the well four or five miles east is also going to cost an estimated $5 million capital investment to have the water system service the park.

Kirby and County Manager David Kraus also examined another option they presented to the commissioners: partnering with the city to extract the county’s permitted water from the city’s well in the area.

The city agreed to the concept and proposals indicate that option was roughly $2 million, roughly half of the county’s most easterly capital investment option.

“It sounds like a brilliant plan — a no brainer, then our experts came back and said, ‘Hold on a second guys,’” Kirby said.

The experts believe that if the county draws a considerable amount of water out of the city’s well, based on the southwestern movement of the arsenic plume of arsenic, it will probably cause a problem with the city’s well, which has had no signs of arsenic.

“That made us back up and punt because Lake Citians are Columbia Countians also,” Kirby said. “So, if we cause that problem by providing the water at the industrial park trying to save money — we would never want to put our Lake Citians in harm’s way.”

Additionally, Kirby said the commission needed to decide if their focus was solely on the industrial park in regards to utilities or were they wanting to look bigger picture at a regional utility.

“We’ve been educated that many other places are joining in partnerships with other counties which spurs economic growth for everybody,” he said. “Are we site specific on what we’re doing today — are we willing to roll the dice and cause an arsenic problem that probably won’t exist unless we pump or this water or do we want to spend a little bit more money upfront, know 99% that the arsenic problem goes away and position us for growth in the future? That was the $100 question.”

The board reached a consensus and opted to drill its own well.