21 days ago, Hometown H2O attempted its first well site in the rural coastal community of Jewel, Oregon with the simple goal of providing clean water access to Steve and Lana Gleason – a goal that proved to be anything but easy.
The first two wells McMullen Drilling attempted produced a mere 2GPM of saltwater; a third attempt resulted in 120 feet of dry sandstone. The fourth hole was drilled at the lowest point on the property, but after drilling down 100 feet, 200 feet, then 300 feet – it was determined that this site too would be a non-producer.
Disappointment reflected in everyone’s eyes with Steve and Lana asking if anything else could be done? At that, Mitchell’s Matt Johnson reassuringly said to them, “Our charter here is to solve water, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”
Matt set to work on contacting the Water Systems Council to inquire about a member conducting business in Reverse Osmosis Filtration who would be interested in helping. His plan: to move back to the original site from day one, drill a fifth salt-producing well, add a RO Filtration system, two separate holding tanks – one for the well to pump into and one for treated water, plus a booster system to move the clean water up to the Gleason’s home.
The plan was set into motion on July 8th when the fifth well was drilled down to 100 feet. The site picked up 2GPM with a total dissolved solids (TDS) level of 3400 (typically a good producing well will have at least 10GPM and a TDS below 600.
Today, we are happy to report that McMullen Water Systems successfully installed a Goulds 7GS05R 4” submersible pump with a 1/2HP 2-wire motor. By sizing a “reduced stage” pump, Matt sought to minimize the amount of lift from the well thus offering protections against over-pumping.
Over the course of the next six to seven days, McMullen Water Systems will develop the well by pumping 60 gallons per hour, after which, a water sample will be taken. The sample will be expedited across the country to Master Water Conditioning, located in Pennsylvania, to be analyzed and a custom reverse osmosis system built for the Gleason’s well.
While this project continues to overcome twists and turns, the determination from all involved to provide this deserving couple access to clean water has produced a plan that shows how great teamwork, creativity and compassion create innovative solutions.
Stay tuned for our next update!