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Project tests whether Temple Garden’s wells are still usable

The wells have not been upgraded in more than 20 years, so the provincial government determined the structures needed to be rehabilitated

SaskWater is working with the City of Moose Jaw to determine whether the wells that supply water to the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa are still serviceable or need to be replaced.

Diamond Energy Service from Swift Current has set up a service rig near a SaskWater shed on Manitoba Street East, while Codeco-Vanoco Engineering out of Calgary is overseeing the project. The project will determine whether the wells are still able to produce; if they can, then new equipment will be built for them. If not, then they could be abandoned.

As a frame of reference, the work is occurring beside the former National Light and Power power station, which is the red brick building motorists pass as they head toward Regina.

The municipality owns the geothermal wells, while the Crown corporation draws water from the wells to feed the spa, explained Courtney Mihalicz, communications manager for SaskWater. The wells have not been upgraded in more than 20 years, so the provincial government determined the structures needed to be rehabilitated.

An analysis and assessment will be performed to determine what needs to be done for the rehabilitation, she added. The work should be completed by early November.

Contractors will work on the wells one at a time since the province wants to provide continuous fluids to the spa, explained site supervisor Steve Cox. He was unsure how much volume each well held, but noted there were 500 pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure in each well.

One of the first steps contractors have performed is testing the integrity of the hole casing, which is an important step to figure out if the wells can be reactivated, he continued. The casing allows contractors to run electronic tools down the hole to test for erosion or fatigue on the structure.

“When a drilling rig comes here, and they drill down into the ground, and they run steel pipe into the ground, that’s the casing,” Cox added.    

Results of the hole’s integrity will be sent to SaskWater, which will then determine if the casing is still good to use.

The source of the water was discovered accidentally when drilling for natural gas back in 1910. The same water was once used in the Natatorium.

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