Got Water? Making Water Supply a Before Thought
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Water supply can derail a project. That’s the blunt point we’re here to make. At SSM, we’ve seen development plans be entirely transformed, due solely to the lack of pre-planning water supply needs.
It’s not uncommon to think of water supply like one would think of electricity or other utilities. Build the building, design the space, and connect the water- right? Wrong. Not thinking of your water supply first or in the earliest stages can threaten the entire project.
Your number one question in your earliest stages of development should be: “Where is the water coming from?”.
Here are a few priorities that outline why consideration of your water supply from the very beginning is absolutely essential. You’ll see that the process of making water happen in your space can not only be a very long one, but could be very impactful to your initial project goals. If we, your water resources team, come in late our options become limited and our hands are increasingly tied. Getting a hydrogeologist in early, before breaking ground even happens, means that your project results in the way you envision it, on a timeline that works for you, and with your end goals at the forefront.
Source of Supply
The first key to identify is whether your operations will utilize public water supply or your own self-supply. While a public supply might be the easiest to access and the timeliest option, it often comes with many other considerations. For example, depending on your intended usage you might be facing high tapping fees. This comes in when your usage capacity requires the public supply system to charge you for over and above the cost of just the water. For example, if your capacity requires the system to get a more robust infrastructure set up- you will pay for that improvement. We have seen organizations ill-prepared for this cost of implementation and wishing they had considered a self-supply instead. While a public system might be the fastest way- just setting up a tap- it might not be the most effective or best option for you.
A self-supply, on the other hand, may be a better option as it eliminates these tapping fees. However, establishing a self-supply is a project in and of itself that extends over a long period of time. So, identifying your plan before even breaking ground on your project is essential.
Your Needs
An initial consideration in finding a water source is establishing and articulating what your specific needs are. Not only will this be key to identifying a public- or self- source, but it will also be a critical first step in the development of your self-supply.
Identifying your needs provides a baseline, answering questions such as “How much water will the site need on a daily, monthly, and annual basis? What is the typical production yield from a single groundwater well in this area? Will one well meet the site’s needs, or will multiple wells be required” Questions such as these can be addressed by consulting with a professional hydrogeologist. Getting a handle on these issues early ensure development happens correctly and you’re not left to deal with expensive problems down the line.
Siting & Feasibility
The next goal of establishing a self-supply is finding the optimal location. Our experts will help with this- don’t worry. Site exploration and feasibility studies ensure that sites are prime, optimal, and can produce what you need to produce.
Along with this process will require some exploratory drilling. Here is where the water supply begins to unfold. This is considered exploratory because while we’re confident in our experts’ skills and capacity to identify a prime location- no expert completely knows until we see exactly what’s going on underground. So, we use all of the data, the science, and the technical expertise we have to identify our most confident and precise location. Then, exploratory drilling will confirm or identify a better location for your supply to exist.
Testing & Regulations
For a self-supply to be legitimately utilized, it must then go through an extensive route of testing and permitting to comply with environmental regulations.
Water from the source must be tested multiple times over an extended period of time to ensure adequate water quality. Completion of this is required before you may begin to use this water supply for your operations. While the identification of the supply location may be over, this is the period where timelines can extend as very specific intervals between testing is required.
Ownership of a self-supply also comes with other specific regulations that must be considered. Here’s an example: if your water supply is used strictly for industrial processes, versus consumed by people (break rooms, bathrooms, etc), your permits and who and what you need to operate will differ. The same is true for whether or not the people using your water are considered transient (infrequent water users, like restaurant customers) or non-transient (year-round employees). Depending on the size of your system you might also be required to have a licensed operator on your site to run and manage your water system.
Thinking Ahead
Having your own water supply can prove to be a great asset to your operations. Often times we think of water as just something that’s always there. And if it’s not right there, that’s okay we’ll just dig a well and get it. But, it just isn’t that simple. Always make sure to think of this from the very beginning of your planning stages. This way, you are able to have the most effective system in place when you need it.
It’s the best decision to bring in your water resources team from the very beginning of your development process, so that you can get everything you need and in the fashion you need it.
We love water, and we love making water happen. But, we hate seeing organizations or projects disrupted because water supply wasn’t a before thought, but rather an afterthought.
#ProblemSolved: Our Water Resources Team is here to help. If you have questions, send an email to Al Guiseppe, PG at al.guiseppe@ssmgroup.com or give a call to 610-898-3049