Othello awarded grant to rehab well

OTHELLO — The City of Othello was awarded a $310,000 grant to rehabilitate a well.

The city requested the funding from the Community Block Grant Revitalization program two weeks ago in a letter signed by Mayor Shannon McKay, stated City Administrator Ehman Sheldon.

For more than a year the city has studied the well to determine how to make it functional for drinking water. The well, capable of producing 3,100 gallon of water per minute, is the largest well in the city and is currently only used during emergencies such as high-use periods during warmer weather.

The well has levels of fluoride too high to be used for drinking water. Since determining the water levels where the contaminants were originating, the city has devised a plan to seal off parts of the well to prevent high fluoride levels from entering the water supply.

Sealing certain portions of the well is expected to lower the gallons of water produced per minute.

Construction for the project is slated to begin in October, during a period when the need for the well is low, Sheldon stated.