Photos: New LRFD well, pump installed

Image 1: Western Water Wells of Helena works with Lincoln's MT Poverty Well Drilling to install a new well next to the Lincoln Rural Fire District's well house in the center of Lincoln Wednesday, Sept. 12.

Image 2: Mark Christian with MT Poverty Well Drilling and Bill Frisbee, chairman of the Lincoln Rural Fire District board, watch the flow of water coming from the new well.

Christian said Western was on hand to help with a high-pressure pump test, but they were unable to verify the flow. Christian returned Monday with a flow meter to determine exactly how much water the new well can produce, but was stymied when sand got into the meter and prevented them from accurately reading the dials

Christian said regardless of the exact volume it produces, the well will be there and weill producing water consistently.

The existing well, which was dug with an excavator in 2012, proved to be too shallow to produce the volume of water needed to fill the district's water tenders or to provide enough pressure fire hoses run directly off the well house.

Frisbee said the Lincoln School District donated the high-volume, hard start pump to the fire district for use with the new well. The school district recently replaced the pump, which tended to damage the PVC or HDPE fittings in their system when it kicked on. That issue shouldn't affect the fire district's system, which is constructed using all metal fittings.