Wickham Water District to get new holding tank

WARWICK - The Wickham Water district is getting a new holding tank, adding another upgrade to this once-beleaguered water district. The town added a new well last year, dubbed well number 10, bringing the number of wells serving this district to three. Because the district's holding tank does not meet the county health department's capacity requirement of a two-day supply, the town decided to build a new holding tank and then refurbish the old one. "We were going to just refurbish the old one," said Supervisor Michael Sweeton. "We would have had to shut the entire system down and bring in tankers of water during the project. When we looked at the cost of that, it was prohibitive." So the town transferred $75,000 of surplus funds in the district to help with the project. The remaining funds will come from the developer of Ridge Homes, a new development built over the past few years across Kings Highway near Airport Road. The money already has been collected. The total price tag: between $200,000 and $220,000 Last fall, all of the pipes were run from the well, fencing was installed and samples tested on the new well. The new tank will be installed beginning this fall, Sweeton said, when use in the district historically drops after spring and summer. In the fall of 2006, the old tank will be refurbished. In May 1999 this district, which is the largest in the town serving 340 homes in Wickham Village, Ridge Homes, and Wickham Knolls, suffered through well contaminations and closures. A sewage leak coupled with a broken chlorinator caused the district to basically shut down. E.Coli contamination forced residents to use water trucked in by tankers and three wells were permanently closed. Now, both the quantity and the quality of the water have been improved. "This continues to enhance that district," Sweeton said. "We continue to make improvements to the Wickham District."