SUMMERDALE, Ala. — Efforts to improve Summerdale’s water continue. That’s because during its regular meeting Monday, the Summerdale Town Council awarded a $44,200 contract to Griner Drilling Service Inc. of Spanish Fort for the testing of two possible sites for a new water well.

“This second well will be in one of two locations,” Krebs Architecture Engineering Vice President Vince Lucido said in an interview after the meeting, “either at the end of Davis Road or the end of McCarran Road.”

He explained that it won’t be certain how much water the new well will supply until testing is complete.

“At least 500 gallons a minute,” Lucido said.

The town’s current well, which was tapped about 10 years ago, supplies water at a rate of 700 gallons a minute. But despite the speed, Lucido said a second well is now necessary.

“There’s some water-quality issues with this (original) well,” he said.

Prior to the council’s vote, Lucido explained the procedure of the testing.

“We’re going to do a test bore on each site,” he told the council, explaining that a 2-inch hole would be drilled at both the Davis and McCarran locations. “We can run a water-qaulity test on a 2-inch hole.”

Once the site with the best water quality is determined, a 6-inch hole will be dug at that site.

“Six inches will allow an accurate pumping test,” Lucido said.

Now that the council has approved the project, testing could begin as early as next week.

“The whole process shouldn’t take more than a week or 10 working days,” Lucido said.

In addition, the Summerdale Town Council: approved a one-year contract with Blackmon Insurance, to cover town property, for $48,295; amended a zoning ordinanace for temporary signs; approved an ordinance recognizing a sales-tax holiday on Aug. 3-5; approved the purchase of three police vehicles from the state bid list for a total cost of $60,616, as well as the purchase of equipment for the vehicles; heard a report of Summerdale Police activity for March, which includes 103 arrests and the execution of 95 arrest warrants; heard the announcement that the next Summerdale Police Crime Watch meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 26; and heard a Summerdale Library report for March that included 965 attendees and the receipt of a $25,000 SNOOK grant.