Alta Municipal Utilities Well Improvements

Alta, IA | Water

ISG sited, designed, and constructed two new wells for the City of Alta, ensuring a consistent flow to their water supply.

Down to one fully functioning well due to the failure of another, the City of Alta needed to design and construct a new well, while also identifying a site that could support future well field expansion and a new water treatment facility.

Several factors came into play as ISG’s water solutions experts tested and sited the new well location for the City of Alta, including current and future well capacity, and the ability to accommodate the expansion of a water treatment plant. Additionally, careful planning and exploration was needed due to the City being situated on the edge of the Dakota Aquifer.

Prior to final design, ISG worked closely with the Iowa DNR and Iowa Geological Survey Bureau to locate the best test sites, and test holes were drilled to determine the most optimum location for multiple wells. The selected site was successful in producing the needed amount of water and Alta Municipal Utilities (AMU) proceeded with construction of the first new well.

Once the new well was operating smoothly, AMU took the remaining old well out of service to assess its condition. It was determined the old well casing was deteriorating, prompting the immediate need of a second new well. Due to the forethought of the site placement of the first new well, the second was quickly sited and permitted.

Initial testing of the second new well yielded lower water capacity than anticipated. ISG’s water solutions experts recommended well jetting, a manual drilling technique, and the water capacity sky-rocketed past the expected pumping rates. The City of Alta now has two high capacity functioning wells in a location that will easily accommodate a future water treatment plant.