NEWTON — The city of Newton Board of Aldermen are trying to decide whether to repair a well built in 1963 that serves as the city’s backup water supply or build a new one.

    “A new well would cost roughly around $500,000 and fixing the old one would cost about $150,000,” Mayor David Carr told the aldermen at their Tuesday meeting. “I have talked to East Central Planning and Development and there is plenty of money out there for this but the only problem is you have to borrow it,” Carr said. “There is not any grant money out there for this project.”

    The dilemma, Carr said, is the city can try to fix the old well, but if the repairs are unsuccessful the city would have that cost, plus the cost to dig a new well.

    Newton Public Works Director Fred Snow agreed it is a conundrum.

    “Whoever we get to fix it will have to pull everything out to replace the leaking pipes,” Snow said of the old well. “The problem is if it breaks while they are trying to replace the casing we will have to get a new well. If anything goes wrong while they are pulling it out we will have to abandon the well and look for an option to get a new well.”    

    Carr said if the city borrowed the money for a new well, the payment would be $4,500 a month for 10 years, or $2,300 a month for 20 years.         Ward 5 Aldermen Don Vares asked Snow what was the original size of the casing in the old well.

    “The last time the well was redone was in 1996 and the casing at that time was 18 inches,” Snow said. “We had to go back in and reline it so we are down to a 12 inch casing.”

    “I would like to get bids on a new one,” Vares said. “I just don’t see spending a lot of money on something that’s getting smaller every time we do it. Now we are at a risk of it being a contaminated well and we will have to close it anyway.”

    Carr asked Snow what was the advantages of going from a 12 inch casing to an 18 inch casing if a new well was built.

    “You can pump 1,000 gallons of water a minute with an 18 inch casing and 300 to 400 gallons a minute with a 12 inch casing,” Snow said. “You almost triple it with an 18 inch casing.”

    Carr said when summer arrives the city will start using more water.

    “We can do without it most of the time but it is our biggest well,” Carr said. “It is our backup and we will need it more once the weather gets to be so hot and we also need it fixed because of fire ratings.”

    The problem is funding.

    “As far as financing we can handle a little bit of the cost out of the cash flow of water and sewer, but we can’t handle it all,” Carr said. “Maybe 25 percent of the cost without hurting our water and sewer very much. As far as paying on a note we have got to really think about it.”

    Carr a 50 cents increase in monthly water rates and a 50 cents increase in monthly sewer rates would only generate an additional $1,500 a month.      “We have about 1,500 customers and I’m not saying we are going to do that but I am saying that $1,500 won’t go far,” Carr said.

    The board agreed to seek bids for a new well and bids on repairing the old one, to be presented at the next meeting on March 17.