After the train derailment, the City requested that UPRR do some significant ground water testing and research to ensure that the wells in Mosier are not susceptible to contamination. The City is particularly concerned about Well #2 that is used by the City as a back-up well and is used by the school to irrigate the lawn area.
In the next few weeks the City will be conducting a pumping test of Well #2 with level transducers in both Well #2 and the HRS&G well behind the Mosier Manor.
Large amounts of water will need to be pumped out of Well #2 for the period of one week, and will be conveyed through ODOT and UPRR culverts onto the UPRR property next to the tracks and on the north side of the Mosier Fruit Growers’ building.
From Well #2, flex piping will be installed across Third Ave. with temporary speed bump type protection so that vehicle traffic won’t damage the pipe. The pipe will then run along the school’s western property line and secured along the fence to the ODOT drainage ditch, where it will then go through the existing culvert system to the UPRR property near the tracks.
The City will work closely with ODOT, CH2M, Clean Harbors, HRS&G, the Mosier Manor, the Mosier Fruit Growers, and the Mosier School to perform this important groundwater research.
