Running water has been restored to North Bayshore Park, a county park and campground in Little River, following the replacement of a pressure tank for the park’s well.
Corrosion at the well caused the county to shut off the supply of running water at the park, 500 Bay Road, in late May. Although the park remained open over Memorial Day weekend, bathrooms were limited to vaulted toilets, and showers and flush toilets were not available.
“We need to have water out there, or we just won’t have campers,” Robert Skalitzky, head of the Oconto County Forestry, Parks and Recreation Department, told the County Board on May 21.
Water was restored last week at the park, located on the west shore of the bay of Green Bay, north of Oconto.
The water was shut off after camp visitors complained of a sulfur smell to the water. The county hired a local well drilling company to evaluate the problem.
The well drillers determined an underground pressure tank was corroded and rusty, and recommended the county replace the well and pressure tank. They advised placing the pressure tank in a building, not underground. The cost of the project was estimated at $8,000.
However, after consulting with the Department of Natural Resources, county officials opted to keep the existing well but replace the pressure tank, at an estimated cost of $2,500. The funds will be taken from the forest, parks and recreation department’s building maintenance and boat landing accounts.
