Well, Well…Replacement Under Pressure

For more than 500 customers in the Kala Point community, the only early sign of a water system issue was a gradual drop in water pressure. Behind the scenes, the well’s submersible pump—responsible for moving water from 400+ feet below the surface—had failed.

Fortunately, Kala Point is part of the larger Quimper Water System, the PUD’s biggest service area, which serves more than 3,200 customers from Beckett Point to Port Hadlock and north to Glen Cove. Thanks to this connection, surrounding wells were able to support Kala Point during the outage.

To help reduce strain on the system, a Stage 3 mandatory water conservation alert was issued to affected customers. Their cooperation in lowering water use helped maintain reservoir levels while crews tackled the complex repairs.

Fixing a major water system component is no small task. The failed equipment—a 50-horsepower in-line submersible pump—had to be removed along with hundreds of feet of drop pipe. For perspective, when connected vertically, the full assembly reaches nearly three-quarters the height of the Seattle Space Needle.

The well underwent a thorough cleaning and treatment as crews took advantage of the easy access and awaited arrival of the new pump and drop pipe.

Wellhead structures are unique, as they are often designed to be deconstructed. With the roof removed and sides disconnected, crew had easy access to the work area as they installed a temporary pump and, later, completed the flushing process of the well.

Replacement of the well components took a full day, with new drop pipe and the submersible motor being lowered down one 20′ section at a time. An additional day of testing was needed to ensure all components functioned as intended, with full service coming online September 29th.

Wellhead pump replacements are rare, as these components often serve reliably for decades. But when they do fail, repairs come at a cost. In this case, replacement is estimated to total more than $120,000.