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Westbrook Village

President's Story on the Lakes Well "Again"

By now many have seen, or heard about, the hoses hooked up to the hydrant for the Lakes GC.  And I am sure many are saying, “What? Again?”.  You can refresh your memory of what happened in October 2019 by going to "The President's Story on a "Well" Gone Bad!"
 
So what this time?  We believe our Well was drilled somewhere around 1947. It originally supplied orchards that used to exist on WBV property. That means the Well is around 70-73 years old! The Lakes Well was abandoned until 1983 when Westbrook Venture brought it back into operation to supply water to the new Westbrook Village community.  It has been repaired several times over the past 20 years. With Well expert advice, and past history, each repair was expected to be the repairs to last for six to eight years.  Our October repair of installing an inner sleeve was in hopes to extending the Well’s lifespan by maybe eight years.  
 
Recently we had a significant amount of sand sucked up into the pump and finding its way to the pond at #18.  Jose Murillo, Assistant Superintendent, noticed the Gallons Per Minute (GPM) of water pumped out of the Well dropping from 1000 GPMs to 800 GPMs. He also observed a growing sand pile in the pond. Within a few days the GPMs dropped to 500. At this point, we were advised to shut the pump off to stop from damaging the new sleeve and we returned to city water via the hydrant until diagnosis and repairs were complete.

Above are pictures of what a pump bowl should look like (left) and what sand did to ours (right).

Empire Pump pulled the pump, inspected the degree of damage, and reinstalled a new pump and a sand separator.  By the time you are reading this we will be using our Well water once again.

Above shows the sand that has accumulated in the ponds on Lakes #9 & #18 from the well.

New Sand Separator that we attached to the bottom of the pump.

New pump with 9 bowls/impellers.

At this time, we have been advised by Well experts that the Well is no longer a viable long term option, and we cannot ignore what is in our faces any longer.
 
Available members of the BoD met with Clear Creek Associates, a Well consulting company, to discuss what it takes to dig a new Well.  From this initial discussion we found we could relocate the Well from the courtyard in Village Square to a location on hole #18 that would provide easy access for the dig and easy piping to the lakes.  Clear Creek President, Marvin Glotfelty, also discussed options on size of casing, depth of well and desired GPMs that would meet our need to care for the course and HOA Lease Rights. The discussion on the possibility of keeping the current Well as a “back up” Well was very positive.
 
The BoD has formed a committee to investigate the cost and time line involved in drilling a new Well. The hydrogeologist we met with indicated the typical life expectancy of a Well, used under the condition this Well has been used, has a life expectancy of 50-60 years.
 
This is not merely “dig a hole and drop in a pump” task.  Digging a new Well has many steps, that from start to finish will take approximately 5-6 months. The following flow chart lays out the steps to a well installation.

The BoD has asked Clear Creek Associates to prepare a proposal for providing Project Management services for a new Well at WBVGC, Lakes GC. To do this without this expertise is a death wish.
 
The BoD is also working through “how to pay” for this new Well.  It is our plan to continue with our projected budget’s regular maintenance and facility requirements, therefore, we cannot use our operational or APF budgets for this project.  When we are able to collect and analyze payment options available to the Club, we will share those options with the membership.  Meanwhile, we are asking the membership to understand without a Well there is no water and without water there is no golf course.  This is a MUST HAVE!
 
The BoD has also formed a Well Committee comprised of Board Directors, Members with appropriate experience for such a task, and our Golf Club Managers.  As we begin to develop the plan we will keep you informed. 
 
And as usual, I will keep the membership involved in the journey through stories and pictures via email and our Member Web Page.  We are hoping COVID19 will let us back in the Ballroom for a Member Forum in November.
 
Be safe and stay healthy!

 
Respectfully
Jill Riedel, President

2023
Business Associate Members
About WBVGC

We are a membership based Arizona golf club providing an amazing experience for your golf lifestyle.

Lakes: 19260 N. Westbrook Parkway
Vistas: 18823 N. Country Club Parkway

Phone: +1 623 566 4548 - Contact Us

Upcoming Events
  • 03.28 - Coaches Cup @ Lakes
  • 03.28 - Lakes Double SG
  • 03.29 - 18-Hole Couples @ Vistas
  • 03.29 - 9-Hole Couples @ Vistas-Back
  • 03.30 - Coaches Cup @ Vistas