A new well is in the works for the city of Viroqua.

City administrator Matt Giese and public works superintendent Steve Clark met with the Vernon County Building and Facilities Planning Committee Feb. 4 to discuss a potential well site at the county farm.

“This is one of several sites we’re taking a look at,” Giese said. “It’s about 1,500 feet east of Railroad [Avenue] on [Co.] BB on the north side. We could potentially need up to four or five acres; we have no idea yet where the best spot would be to actually drill.”

Giese said there were several reasons the city is investigating potential sites for a new well: the Department of Natural Resources asked them to, it would increase flow pressure for fire hydrants and the oldest city well, Well No. 3, was drilled in 1944 and is beginning to show signs of its age.

“There’s at least a couple other sites that the committee is going to want to look at, and I don’t even know if this one will come up as the top spot,” Giese said. “If it does, we’ll want to get back on the agenda and talk to [the Vernon County Building and Facilities Planning Committee] some more.”

Giese wanted to know if there were any objections to the city potentially purchasing a portion of the county farm land. Although no one on the building and facilities planning committee objected to the potential of a Viroqua well located on that land, they did have several concerns that would require further planning and discussion if the project materializes.

“We would want to view the site before we go ahead with this,” Will Beitlich, county board supervisor, said.

Vernon County Highway Commissioner Virgil Hanold asked Giese and Clark to place stakes on the property marking the piece of land the city is considering so the committee members know exactly which portion of the property the city is considering.

“I don’t have a problem with [the well on that site], provided they don’t go into the working land too much,” Jim Servais, county board supervisor, said.

Beitlich said the portion of land the city is looking at is mainly rocks and wooded area, not very useful for farming.

Clark said the well would probably be 1,100 feet deep.

Giese said there isn’t a set timeline for this project, but it could be completed in the next year or two. The city would need to do research on the land before anything was decided.

“We’re probably a couple of months away from starting anything,” Giese said.

Giese said that the city’s investigation of a new well is not related to past problems the city had with its newest well, well No. 5. That well was drilled in 2005 and needed improvements in 2007 to stop a higher concentration of sand from reaching the pump. Giese said well No. 5 has been operating without problems for more than a year.

Viroqua currently receives water from well No. 3 on Oak Street, well No. 4 on Congress Avenue and well No. 5 on Arena Drive.