Drought taps out rural residents' source of water.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

It had served reliably for 34 years, but last month Allen Glander's well stopped producing enough water for his rural home south of Springfield.

The failure defied logic. The 75-foot-deep well had always yielded plenty of water, even during dry summer months, and the shortage occurred during the winter, a time when groundwater levels normally are highest.

Glander figures that this year's drier-than-usual winter played a role in his water woes. "I can't prove it to you, but that would be my thinking," he said.

Recent rains aside, Lane County well drillers and state water regulators think Glander may be right. Some drillers, for example, report they are busier than normal for this time of year helping homeowners with well problems.

Unless the region gets a tremendous amount of precipitation this spring, officials anticipate widespread effects from the driest winter since 1977.

River, stream and reservoir levels are well below normal, meaning electricity production may drop, and rates may rise. Fish may be faced with inhospitably warm and low waters. Continued relatively dry weather increases the risk of forest fires. And with a lack of precipitation, underground aquifers may not recharge sufficiently. That could bode ill for some of the many tens of thousands of Oregon residents who rely on private wells.

Well production problems typically occur in the summer or fall, after groundwater levels have dropped, experts said.

"The wells that normally have problems in August and September, we are seeing problems with them already," said Bob Murphy, drilling manager of Casey Jones Well Drilling Co. in Pleasant Hill.

There are 250,000 wells in the state, most of them serving homes. The other wells include agricultural and municipal users, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

Measurements in the Willamette Valley show groundwater levels are 1 to 2 feet lower than last year, said Doug Woodcock, groundwater section manager in the Water Resources Department.

"That unto itself typically isn't a cause for a crisis, but for people with wells that are marginal, a couple of feet can make a big difference," he said. "Folks who have deeper wells and adequate yields stand a better chance of going through a drought without having a problem than somebody who has a shallow well or a low-yield well."

About 95,000 people live outside of cities and towns in Lane County. Some residents receive water from rural water districts, but many rural dwellers - no one seems to know their number - rely on their own wells.

Harold White, owner of White Water Well Drilling in Creswell, said he suspects that wells less than 100 feet deep may have difficulty producing adequate water later in the year.

"I think a lot of the shallow wells are going to go dry in the summer," he said. "No doubt, we are going to have problems."

Rural residents with sputtering wells are reacting to the current conditions by installing new wells or having their existing wells deepened, drillers said.

Both solutions are costly.

White dug a new, 211-foot-deep well for Glander, 136 feet deeper than the old well.

To help get well owners through the dry spell, water regulators recommend keeping wells clean and in good working order.

The Water Resources Department also recommends that owners monitor water levels in wells by taking measurements in the spring and fall.

It can be expensive to install a new well or make an existing one deeper.

Glander's new well, for example, will cost about $7,500, including the 200-foot water line that is needed to connect the well to his house.

Casey Jones Well Drilling charges $1,000 to prepare a well for deepening, plus a per-foot drilling charge of $12 to $20, co-owner Casey Jones Jr. said.

Well owners should be happy to see the spring showers, but a lot of rain will be needed to prevent some wells from drying up later in the year, experts said.

For example, if an aquifer is 100 feet below the surface of the ground, the rains we are having now may recharge the aquifer somewhat, said White, the well driller. "But I don't think they will help very much," he said.

More disputes may crop up among well users if dry conditions persist and wells start to dry up, said Michael Mattick, water master in Lane and Linn counties for the state Water Resources Department.

Well owners file groundwater interference complaints if they believe their water supplies are being affected by other wells, he said.

Housing development, as well as dry weather, can be a factor in such disputes, Mattick said.

CAPTION(S):

Allen Glander checks the progress of drilling for a new well off Jasper-Lowell Road. Glander's well failed after 34 years.