WINONA - The Mayor and Board of Aldermen declared a state of emergency due to the mechanical failure of one of the city's water wells.

According to water superintendent Frank Faulkner, the city's number four well located on Greensboro Street is currently out of commission due to a breakdown of the well's pump. However, Faulkner confirmed that no Winona water customer lost water pressure or went without water due to the breakdown.

"There was no water loss," Faulkner said. "We have backups. If another [well] goes down, then we will have a problem."

Faulkner invited Robert Morris, an engineer with the Donald Smith Company, to speak to the board and explain the extent of the problem.

"We came out and tested the well and the pump was running very poorly," Morris said. "It was not producing water like last year."

Morris said, in a last resort, his crew was forced to cut the main pipe to the well to determine the cause of the breakdown. A damaged oil pipe was determined to be the cause of the problem.

"No matter how much oil Frank puts in at the surface, if it isn't getting to the pump, it will eventually wear out," Morris said.

Morris said the pump will be replaced with a six horse-power, 900 gallons a minute submersible pump similar to that he replaced in recent years for the city. The cost will be no more than $40,000.

Mayor Jerry Flower said, "This is an emergency. We've got to find the money because we have to fix the water."

The board unanimously voted to declare the downed well an emergency and give Flowers the authority to oversee repairs of no more than $40,000.