One of the largest water wells in the Midwest is located on Wolf Road in Waukesha, WI and it helps to supply water to over 72,000 people in the city. In 2018, it started to experience electrical issues causing the motor to shut down on voltage and current imbalance issues. It was important to get it back up and running full-time or the city wouldn’t be able to keep up with the water demand.
An initial study showed the power supply was within industry standards but the fluctuation in the 2,300-volt power supply caused the motor insulation to break down and fail due to current imbalance.
The well pump for the Wolf Road well is set to 800 feet on 12-inch schedule 80 (extra heavy) column pipe. A deep sandstone well like this one, pumping water at a rate of 2,500 gpm is impressive and there is nothing else like it for water wells in the Midwest. It is a key component to Waukesha’s water supply.
Having installed the Wolf Road pump initially, the City of Waukesha knew Municipal Well & Pump could be trusted to address the electrical issues and provide more longevity to the installation.
With the pump’s motor currently running at full capacity, it was decided the best course of action was to pull out the existing pump and send to SME USA in Phoenix, Arizona to repair and rewind the motor, increasing the horsepower to 1,000 HP. Having a larger motor running at only 70% capacity (as opposed to 100%) would require less electricity and would lessen the effects of the power fluctuations.
Repairing and rewinding the motor required sending it to SME USA in Phoenix, Arizona. This meant having to install a spare pump and motor because they needed to continue extracting water from this well to comply with DNR regulations and maintain an adequate water supply to the city. This spare equipment was on-hand and ready to be installed due to proper planning by the Waukesha Water Utility.
Current results are extremely favorable with the well pump providing 2,500 gpm and no interruption of service. In leu of installing an extremely expensive electrical upgrade, which included a variable frequency drive, Municipal Well & Pump provided a time and cost effective alternative.
