VIDALIA — What may look like a miniature oil well on the Vidalia riverfront is in fact a drilling operation for another subterranean commodity — water.

For the last two weeks, workers with Griner Drilling Service of Columbus have had a small drilling apparatus in place near the south end of Front Street, and pipes that will eventually be used in the finished well line the ground nearby.

Under normal circumstances, Vidalia operates one well and has two backup wells, and the well that is in use is rotated from month to month, Vidalia Utilities Manager Mark Morace said.

“We feel safer with one well and two backups,” he said.

The city is currently operating on a two-well rotation because the third well failed approximately a year ago.

“(The well) started pumping sand, which indicated a hole in the casing down in the sand where we pump the water from,” Morace said.

After a camera was lowered down the well shaft, it was discovered that there wasn’t much that could be done to patch the well, so it was shut down and capped.

The new well will be located adjacent to the one that failed and will be approximately 300-feet deep.

The city could actually operate on only one well, but Morace said the reason they are rotated is because the wells will eventually fill with sand if they are not used.

The well construction is set to be a 90-day contract, but Griner expects to be finished in 60 days.The city expects to be able to tie the new well into the system by the first of February, Morace said.

There should be no disruption in service when that happens, he said.

The bids for the well drilling project were opened Sept. 18, and the project was awarded to Griner, the low bidder, Oct. 14, Vidalia City Manager Ken Walker said. The total cost of the project is $339,100.