OTHELLO - A search of Othello's Well 6 revealed some gravel and a leak, but no answers about how the well's machinery was damaged.

The city requested the investigation following what the city staff described as excessive vibration coming from the well. When the equipment was removed, engineers found the impellers, which sit in bowls along a shaft near the bottom of the well, were bent.

The city inspected the well using a camera. Gray and Osborne principal Larry Julius presented information to the city council about what they discovered.

Julius said some of the rock cavities had become larger in the past year. The cavities are areas of gravel allowing water to come into the hole.

"We also noticed some other interesting items. There are calcium deposits growing on the well hole itself, and iron bacteria that is growing," he said. "That's pretty common for potable water wells of this depth and size."

The amount of deposits and bacteria increased during the past year, Julius said. He suggested the increase was caused because the well was out of service for a while before it was inspected the first time.

"Whereas this year, it's been back in service since last fall," he said. "So the chances for bacteria to grow are pretty obvious. It's not anything that's causing harm. It's something that's quite common in municipal wells."

Public works is monitoring for complaints about taste or odor in the area the well serves, he said. City staff and engineers are looking at ways to remove the deposits and bacteria before the equipment is put back into the well.

The investigation showed the concrete plug at the bottom of the well appears to be leaking, letting some of the water in from below the plug, Julius said.

"There was concern that there were higher fluoride levels down below this 1,000-foot mark, and there was also concern down around the 1,200-foot mark, which was the original volume of the hole, that we might be commingling water from a different aquifer," he said. "We're not really sure that is bad."

Julius pointed out the state Department of Health recently upgraded use of the well from emergency use to seasonal use.

"We could have a little more fluoride coming up from that hole, but it's not going to affect the Department of Health's stance about how they view the well," he said.

The investigation showed more gravel at the bottom of the well, Julius said. The gravel could either be coming from below the plug or from the cavities in the wall.

"We are working with the contractor (and) have requested of them to tell us what they think the problem is. How this has caused damage to the impellers," he said. "We're putting the onus on the contractor to let us know what the problem is, in their view, and why it's not their problem to solve."

The engineers and public works staff feel the damage was caused by gravel getting into the piping, Julius said. The next steps are to figure out how it occurred and how the problem can be solved so it won't occur again.

"So there are still some unanswered questions, but it is getting closer to a resolution," he said. "We think within the next few weeks, we'll have answers from the contractor and be able to come back with a viable solution."

Mayor Tim Wilson questioned how the gravel reached the bowl assembly, which is at a depth of about 700 feet, from the 1,009-foot-deep bottom.

"So there is enough pressure to push the gravel clear up to that?" Wilson asked.

Even if the well was pumping at 2,000 gallons per minute, Julius said he'd be hard pressed to say the gravel at the bottom caused all of the problems. They've ruled out debris coming from the bottom.

"We talked to a number of pump experts, well experts and most of them say, 'I've never seen this before,'" he said. "(The subcontractor who pulled the equipment from the well) said in his 25 years experience of well work they've never seen impellers do what these did."

Councilmember Ken Johnson asked if the contractors will have a solution to the issue before warmer weather comes to the city, and it needs more water.

"That's the goal," Julius answered.