CU investigates water pump failure

Roddy Rogers, manager of water distribution and supply, said the pumping system, installed late last month, was intended to be intermittent, and the shutdown likely occurred as the system continues to synchronize.

“There are several pieces that need to be synchronized, and there will be starts and stops as the system is synchronized and as maintenance or upgrades need to be performed,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”

Rogers said CU does not believe that any sort of breakdown occurred. Following the shutdown, CU voluntarily stopped the system’s other four pumps to perform maintenance; officials spotted some bearing and leaking problems.

Rogers said he expects all pumps to be up and running in the next few days.

CU opted to rent the five-pump system for 60 days at a price tag of $650,000 while its three permanent Stockton Lake pumps are repaired.

The system had been pumping water to Fellows Lake, where water storage capacity has risen from 67 percent a couple of weeks ago to 73.6 percent now. But, Rogers said, that increase is largely because of recent rainfall.

In previous years, the city’s reservoirs have averaged about 86 percent capacity in late spring. Rogers said that despite rising lake levels, Stockton Lake was never intended to be a fix-all solution for Springfield’s water shortage.

“We’re thankful for the rainfall, but we’re still as low this time of year as we ever have been,” he said. “No matter how many pumps we have, the reservoirs will still decline if we don’t get rainfall.”

Rogers encourages residents to continue conserving water, particularly in regard to irrigation.[[In-content Ad]]