Village Well Shut Down After Gas Causes Cloudy Water

The village has found the naturally occurring gas, carbon dioxide, in the water being pumped from Well No. 4 and has temporarily shut it down.

The gas is otherwise harmless - it's the same used to put fizz into soft drinks - but can make water just drawn from the tap look cloudy, said Village Administrator Jeremy Smith.

The village, however, will contact businesses that use municipal water in their manufacturing processes to learn whether their operations or products could be harmed or altered by presence of the gas.

Closing the well will not affect the water supply for residents or businesses as there are several wells throughout the village.

The technical term for the problem is "entrained gas" and Smith said "many municipal water systems have this issue and our issue appeared last year. It may well be something that we are able to pump through, especially considering this type of issue can come and go."

Smith informed the Village Board in a memo prepared for its Tuesday meeting that "the Water Commission explored treating the issue, but the costs are significant" and the problem is only an "aesthetic issue" since the gas does not affect the water of the water.

In fact, Smith explained to trustees that if they were to draw a glass of water that at first appeared cloudy, the gas would dissipate after a short time.

Smith told trustees that he hoped the well would be back in operation by April.