[HollyMutual-Announce] Spring startup update

[Holly Mutual Water Company]

All:

This morning I was saddened to learn that Dave Bomhoff, our primary well maintenance contact for 30+ years, died unexpectedly. For those of you who knew him, Dave had a great and warm personality and was reliable source of knowledge, experience, and determination, who kept our wells running over many years. He was always willing to help, whether working a hundred miles a way, or checking out a problem at 2:00 am. Dave said he would never retire, and he stuck to his word. Nevertheless and for as long as I can remember, Dave has been training a rotating cast of fellow workers at Colorado Water Well (CWW) to impart his institutional knowledge. I will remember Dave fondly for the rest of life.

Dave of course had been working on the spring startup for our wells, which we generally schedule for April 16th. In the past Dave would assess the state of the wells, report water depths, and test the pumps in advance. I had been in communication with him during March, but at this point neither CWW nor I know precisely where we stand. Today I've been coordinating with CWW's general manager to pick up the pieces and get that process back on track.

Dave and I had also been discussing changes to our water distribution strategy for this year, in anticipation of heavier than usual demand. In the past Holly Mutual began each watering season by distributing water 24 hours per day, allowing everyone to schedule their irrigation companies and test their systems during daylight hours. After a few weeks we would then switch to distributing water according to our published schedule (early morning until 10:00 am). Unfortunately, in recent years the initial 24 hour startup demand would sometimes increase beyond the capacity of the wells, resulting in unpredictable time gaps where we had no water to distribute.

This year, once CWW reports that the wells are operational, we are planning to distribute water from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm for the first few weeks. Based on their well measurements, we will then determine our irrigation schedule. I will keep everyone informed through this email list when the wells are again running and also what our anticipated irrigation schedule will be.

Several property owners had requested us to schedule Dave to assist them with distribution problems they experienced last year. Because troubleshooting can only be performed when the wells are operational, his plan had been to accomplish this sometime during the last two weeks of April. This is now on a short term hold while CWW determines a new primary contact and we can discuss the particulars.

Thanks for your understanding,

Mark Derbyshire
President, Holly Mutual Water Company