The water has returned!

WASILLA— The water has returned for residents of the Snowshoe subdivision after going without for more than two weeks due to a busted pipe in their well system. The delay in repairs had much to do with the somewhat complicated transition between the old and new well managers, Garyn Johnson of Snowshoe Water, the former, and Home Water, LLC, the latter.

Residents like Annette Mullen are happy to have the water back, but they’re still eager to safely drink it since they are still under a boil water notice. So, the water is back but not yet officially ready to drink.

“It’s nice to be able to flush the toilet and run some laundry. It would be terrific to get a drink of water,” Mullen said.

Several different crews got together on June 14 and worked all day, digging and pumping, digging and pumping, working against the surge of water.“If you’re an acronym, you came out today,” quipped Chris Elder, owner for Home Water LLC.

The repairs sprang from a combination of Home Water LLC facilitating from Anchorage Well and Pump, Tew Excavation, MEA, MTA, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Conservation.

This followed a heated public meeting on June 12 where frustrated residents tried to figure out why it took so long to have running water. DEC and Rep. Cathy Tilton (R-Wasilla) facilitated the meeting with about 40 residents in attendance.

Both Garyn Johnson, co-owner of Snowshoe Water, and Elder were absent from the June 12 meeting, striking a chord with Mullen, one of the leaders of Snowshoe residents who tried to get straight answers on the matter. Mullen said that she still has a sour taste in her mouth over Johnson, the previous well owner.

“Garyn washed her hands of it and there’s still so many unanswered questions,” Mullen said.

Mario Cottini, a foreman for Tew’s Inc said that they had a rough start getting going but were able to isolate the leak sometime in the evening. Jana Littlewood from Anchorage Well and Pump came out on Thursday as Cottini busily dug the ground.

“It’s a very imperfect science; finding out what’s going on 10 feet in the ground is really hard,” Littlewood said.

As that June 14 evening drew in, Jack Title, a certified heavy equipment operator with Anchorage Well and Pump, said that they were going to keep working to finish that day.

“You’ve got 50 houses without water, that’s a no-no in our field,” Title said.Home Water LLC business manager, Garrett Elder also stopped by on Thursday to check out the repairs. He said that he gave out update voicemails to the Snowshoe customers.

“The other company [Home Water LLC] was up front about everything. They were real diligent in the process,” Mullen said.