The Palestine City Council hired a new public works director during its meeting Monday night. Kevin Olson, a professional engineer from the Tyler area was appointed by the council after its executive session. Olson currently works as a utilities superintendent in public works for the city of Kilgore.
exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas
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Welcome to exTRA – an aggregation of both TRA-related and industry-specific news clips. TRA’s communications division provides these clips as an educational service to TRA’s valued staff, directors and consultants. The articles selected are determined to be of interest to our readership, but in no way reflect TRA’s official position(s) or view(s).
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El Paso Water's President said water bills could increase because of a new Texas state law. Senate Bill three was passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in response to the state's big freeze last February. 
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The City of Palestine Council approved a certificate of obligation to fund a $1.8 million generator for the water treatment plant. Along with the main generator, they also have plans to purchase three portable generators for the substations. City officials said the need arose from a 2018 incident in which they lost power and were without drinking water for two days.
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The slow leak was repaired in the San Jacinto River Authority’s (SJRA) 30-inch surface water transmission line located along Research Forest Drive near New Trails Drive in The Woodlands. SJRA’s contractor has laid street pavement and completed saw cuts for contraction joints. Curb will be placed this week, in addition to lane stripping. Site restoration is ongoing.
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The city is focusing on priorities such as replacing cast iron water mains, eliminating public-side lead service lines, reducing water loss and increasing wastewater collection pipelines to reduce sanitary sewer overflows during rain events.
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Squatting in shin-deep river water, Shaun Donovan pushes his hands into a combination of sediment, mud and rock, and pulls out a glistening, blueish mussel. Longer than an avocado and as thick as a bulging wallet, it could be mistaken for a stone until it shows it’s alive. As Donovan sets it aside, its shell opens slightly and a pearly white glob peeks out.
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Some residents of Sugar Land could begin to see their water meters being replaced starting next year. Sugar Land’s city council recently approved a $1.1 million contract for an Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project during which the city will aim to “enhance efficiencies, address aging infrastructure, and improve the system's operation, integrity, customer service and sustainability,” according to a news release from the city.
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Chalk Ridge Falls Park on Stillhouse Hollow Lake has been closed temporarily after the death of a dog that developed respiratory problems on Saturday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday. “The owner took their dog to a local veterinarian and sadly the dog had to be euthanized,” the Corps of Engineers said in a press release. “At this time, it’s suspected that the cause of this incident was due to the presence of blue-green algae also known as cyanobacteria.”
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From
myrgv
Residents of the Queen City will soon see higher bills as Mercedes officials struggle to balance a budget whose needs outweigh the city’s ability to pay for them. Residents can expect both their property taxes and their water bills to go up in the coming months, as the Mercedes City Commission mulls both a 3 cent rise in property taxes and a separate increase to the water and sewer rates.
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Killeen residents’ water bills could spike by $8.30 per month if the Killeen City Council gives final approval on a street maintenance fee increase that is a part of the monthly water bill. During a workshop meeting last week, City Council returned to the tenuous issue of street maintenance fees, and during a meeting that left several members of City Council visibly enervated, a motion of direction was made to increase the fee from $1.70 to $10 a month per single family household.
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A tree appears to have caused a backup earlier this month that led to one of the spill gates failing and draining Lake Gonzales. There is no safe way to fix it and no money available to replace all the spill gates at the aging hydro-electric dam, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the owner of the dam, said. GBRA operations staff and engineering teams evaluated the gates and came to a conclusion, Executive Manager of Engineering Charlie Hickman said.
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Backup generators at the water treatment facility and the three substations are on the horizon for the city of Palestine. According to City Manager Teressa Herrera, the city is currently working on standby power improvements that include a $1.8 million generator for the water treatment plant, water well rehabilitation and backup generators for the water stations.
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Beginning Aug. 20, the Trinity River Authority will be repairing a bypass section of Campion Trail around the agency's meter station construction site. This area is adjacent to the Irving Golf Club, and it affects Campion Trail between Mountain Creek Preserve and Trinity View Park.
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Public Works Director Rob Flores’s internal report on City infrastructure painted a bleak picture of the water and wastewater facilities in Devine. The report was obtained in full by the News, and portions of it were also shared on social media by other parties. City Administrator John Vidaurri said that the infrastructure report was provided to City Council at the previous budget workshop, which was held during the Regular Council meeting last Tuesday, August 17, and that the report and the Utility Fund budget was slated for review during a budget workshop in the Special meeting scheduled for press night on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
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From
cw39
The City of Sugar Land recently launched a web-based tool, to provide residents and city engineers with real-time information on street flooding. The city hopes this will help residents make more informed decisions to protect life and property. Called the Integrated Stormwater Management Model (ISWMM), it is a system of integrated drainage models that includes the entire city and its infrastructure assets.
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The city of Granite Shoals received its first of two payments of $630,243.56 from the American Rescue Plan on Aug. 20. City staff voiced ideas on how the money should be spent during the City Council’s regular meeting Tuesday, Aug. 24. The city anticipates receiving a total of $1,260,487.12 from the federal COVID-19 stimulus package approved by Congress earlier this year. The final payment will come in the next few months.
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Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin would like to make Lake Houston Area residents aware that Houston Public Works, Coastal Water Authority, and San Jacinto River Authority are working together closely and monitoring the tropical system approaching the Gulf of Mexico this weekend and early next week. In the coming days, there may be a need to enact our storm management lake lowering protocols and would like residents to make sure they are prepared in advance.
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Marble Falls resident George Russell steps away from his service on the Lower Colorado River Authority board with a great sense of accomplishment as well as confidence in the direction of the entity’s stewardship of the river basin. Russell, whose LCRA at-large term expired this year, served three terms as mayor of Marble Falls starting in 2009 to 2015. He previously served as the city manager of Georgetown, 1998 to 2002, and then as the city manager of Marble Falls, 2002 to 2008. He offered a personal reflection about his tenure at LCRA and service within communities as well as what his future may hold.
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Property tax rates in Marble Falls could be lowered based on the proposed 2021-22 budget, but taxable values are increasing within the city. Service fees for both water and wastewater will also increase over the next year. A public hearing for the proposed budget and a record vote for the tax rate is scheduled for the Sept. 7 City Council meeting. The public hearing for the proposed tax rate and the tax rate and budget adoption will take place during the Sept. 21 meeting.
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Residents living in the Upper Valley of El Paso are dealing with a smelly situation. "So it looks like it’s dried up but you can see all the toilet paper and nastiness everywhere," one business owner told KFOX14. El Paso Water said that two wastewater pipelines near Doniphan Drive and Sunland Park Drive broke during the severe flooding that happened across the city two weeks ago.
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Denison is looking to invest nearly $458,000 to repair two failing, collapsing storm drains that has created a large sinkhole near Waterloo Lake Pool. City officials said the wet and rainy spring weather this year exacerbated the existing failure of the drains and pipes and led to the city to need to act on the repairs.
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Although we have been experiencing a milder and wetter than normal summer, in Texas drought, which can have a long-lasting effect on many aspects of the environment — including our groundwater, always seems to be lurking around the corner. Even though, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System, North Texas is not currently experiencing drought conditions, water conservation should still be on the forefront of everyone’s mind.
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In a recent Facebook announcement, the City of Nash, Texas, reiterated that water bills are due 5:01 pm on the 15th of each month. After that, customers receive a late penalty. If not paid by the 25th of the same month, an additional penalty of $40 is applied, and water is cut off.
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In a water-starved state like Texas, it’s a good idea to know your drought level and—if you get your water from a surface lake—your local lake level. Awareness of how full or empty your water source is can be an inspiration for reducing your daily water usage.
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