WOODROW - OSCEOLA WATER SUPPLY CORPORATION
Hill County, Texas
Announcements
To all Members, Customers and Concerned Persons of Woodrow-Osceola Water Supply Corp.
In line with the open letter published April 1st of this year, Woodrow-Osceola Water Supply Corp. at its regular Board meeting held August 12th 2008 voted on the increases necessary to start funding the new well #6 to be located on HCR 1446. The increases are based upon current estimates supplied by our engineers to cover the loan costs required with a total necessary increase to our members of $7.50 per month minimum billing. To help ease the increase it was decided to put in place a two step increase the first step to be on billing due in November 2008, and the second to be on the billing due in the month USDA funding becomes available. This will take minimum bills from the current $27.00 to $30.00 per month as of the November Bills. At the same meeting the budget for 2008 – 2009 was voted on and approved. No increase for the next fiscal budget year was proposed and it is hoped that costs can be controlled in such a way that no increases will be required.
The Board members and employees would like to express their gratitude to all members and customers for their continued support.
Malcolm Tucker
General Manager WOWSC
Job Opportunity
Wanted Experienced Water Operator with Distribution or Ground Water "C" License. Need clean current drivers license. Backhoe experience a plus. Must be a self starter and work with minimal supervision. Email application or fax resume to: Teena Worbington at Teena@wowater.com or Fax 254-874-5433
Important Information Affecting Your Water Co-Op For The Future
Closing Arguments
Submitted In PGMA Hearing
Hill County Working Toward A Different GCD…
Article submitted by The Reporter Newspaper
www.hillsbororeporter.com
Closing arguments have been presented in writing to the administrative law judge who is considering the designation of a priority groundwater-management area (PGMA) in Hill and neighboring counties.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is seeking to designate Hill, McLen-nan, Bosque, Coryell and Somervell counties as a PGMA in order to force the creation of a groundwater-conservation district (GCD) for the Trinity Aquifer.
Hearings on the matter were held in Waco recently before State Office of Administrative Hearings Administrative Law Judge Paul Keeper. According to a TCEQ representative, once the designation is approved, counties in the area will have until September 2009 to form a GCD before the agency seeks to force the creation of one.
GCDs are designed to give local leaders control of water resources in their areas. They are created in one of two ways, either by the Texas Legislature or by local petition. Both require voters in the district to approve its creation.
They are funded by either ad-valorem taxes, user fees or a com-bination of the two. Most districts work to prevent waste, collect data, educate people about water conservation and pre-vent irreparable harm to the aqui-fer. By law, they must develop a groundwater-management plan outlining the GCD’s goals and the steps needed to reach those goals. The plan must be developed in coordination with appropriate surface-water management entities. A GCD could provide some added regulation of activities that will impact water supplies for the region.
Some areas in western portions of the Barnett Shale have been fighting injection and water wells that have been drilled by oil-and-gas firms.
The Texas Legislature has created districts for McLennan and Coryell counties, but they must be affirmed by voters by 2012 under the legislation.
The legislation also requires the two counties to have at least one neighboring county join their district. If a county fails to form a GCD, TCEQ’s executive director said in arguments presented to the judge that the agency will recommend the creation of one district to cover the five-county area or two district’s with counties combined with the GCDs created by the Texas Legislature.
Proposals in the arguments have Hill County joining McLennan in its GCD. The issue of representation on the McLennan County GCD board has Hill County Judge Justin Lewis looking for alternatives to that pro-posal.
He said that Johnson, Ellis and Navarro counties have expressed interest in aligning with Hill County to form a GCD. Representatives from Coryell County have asked that the desig-nation be delayed so that a new groundwater study can be com-pleted. Coryell County Judge John Firth has said that he believes the new study will show that the PGMA should be larger than the current five-county area proposed.
The report, expected to be finalized by August, would include more up-to-date and detailed in-formation about the threats to the Trinity Aquifer, according to Judge Firth.
The proposal to create the PGMA is based on a report authored by C. Leon Byrd with TCEQ.
The report, last updated in De-cember 2007 to include actions taken by the Texas Legislature to create GCDs in Coryell and McLennan counties, is mostly based on data gathered before 2004, according to Judge Firth.
The arguments presented by TCEQ’s executive director said that a delay of the designation would be a waste of resources al-ready spent to get the ball moving.
Robin Smith, an attorney for TCEQ, said that since the new report would likely just further support the need for the PGMA, she saw no need to delay.
“TCEQ feels that it would be best to move forward in this case,” she said. “If the study would just support our conclusion, then there is no need to delay.”
She further said that nothing is stopping the two GCDs that have been created from recruiting other areas to join them.
The legislation requires that at least one adjacent county join the GCD and that it be affirmed by voters. It does not preclude the districts from seeking a broader area to protect.
The Texas Legislature created the process to form PGMAs in order to address expected water shortages in areas of the state where growth in demand is pro-jected to overtake supply levels.
The study says that the aquifer is in danger of depletion and becoming polluted over the next 15 to 25 years.
June, 2008
Dear Water Consumer:
Due to pressure from regulating authorities we are beginning to aggressively enforce TCEQ rulings on cross-connection, back flow prevention and double hook up to residential meters. Below you will find some ‘flexible’ definitions of cross connections and double hook-ups. If you find yourself in any of these or similar situations please contact our office to find out how we may help you correct the situation. You may also read our Tariff.
TCEQ’s Definitions:
Cross Connection: A physical connection between drinkable water and a liquid
or gas that could make the water unsafe to drink. (Wherever there is a cross
connection there is a potential threat to public health from the liquid
or gas contaminants) e.g., private well connected to house without an air
gap or a TCEQ recommended method of backflow prevention.
Backflow: Water flowing in the opposite of its intended direction, either
from loss of pressure in the supply lines or an increase in pressure on
the customer side. (In either of these situations, if any affected customer
pipes include a cross connection contaminants could be drawn through the cross
connection into that customer's pipes – and, if the backflow continues, perhaps
into the water mains). All outside faucets must be fitted with at least a
vacuum breaker or other method permanently installed to prevent contamination
of water supply.
All the situations listed below without proper control will allow whatever the hose is dropped into to back up into the water supply system should pressure drop due to leak or other system failure.
* Hose pipe connected to outside faucet and dropped in swimming pool.
* Hose pipe dropped in mixing tank on tractors.
* Sprinkler systems connected to residential supply without proper backflow
devices.
* Hose pipe left in animal water trough.
* Water hose left lying on ground. (Particularly bad if you have pets!)
Double Hook-Ups as defined by Woodrow-Osceola Tariff page 27 section 24. Prohibition of Multiple Connections to a Single Tap. No more than one (1) residential, commercial, or industrial service connection is allowed per meter. The Corporation may consider allowing an apartment building or mobile home/RV park to apply as a “Master Metered Account” and have a single meter (This refers to section E3 (c, d & e). Any unauthorized sub metering or diversion of service shall be considered a Multiple Connection and subject to disconnection of service. If the Corporation has sufficient reason to believe a Multiple Connection exists, the Corporation shall discontinue service under the Disconnection with Notice provisions of The Tariff (Section E16).
Unacceptable Situations of Double Hook-Ups:
* More than one residential home hooked to a single meter.
* Second building or workshop connected to a meter already supplying a
residential
home if that second building contains kitchen and/or bathroom facilities.
* A business that is connected to a residential meter but is in a separate
building.
* A residential meter is being used as a master – meter to supply water
to several
businesses or homes. (Strip-Mall)
* Connecting one residence with another using a water hose.
Acceptable Situations:
* Snowbird hook-ups. (Temporary R.V. hook up)
* If second building is not a business and is solidly connected by a permanent
breezeway to the residential home. (Granny room)
* Private use barn or workshop using water to water animals, or wash room.
This may all seem unnecessary and just another way to get money, but it’s not, as I said at the start of this letter we are under pressure to “Get It Right” and make sure all our members are treated equally.
Remember, if you already have a ‘float’ meter all you need to do is request it be made active and we will put it in the ground for you. Some float meters are ‘fully paid’, that means it will cost you nothing to have your float put in the ground. But unfortunately a lot of ‘floats’ are just ‘membership’ paid only and that means installation of the ‘float’ will have a cost involved.
I sincerely hope that we can get any issues resolved as quickly as possible. I am at the office everyday and will be happy to answer any question you may have.
Regards,
Malcolm Tucker, General Manager
Woodrow-Osceola Water Supply Corporation
A Letter From the General Manager:
Increased Demand, Legislation, and the Cost to Keep Up
As this is written gasoline is $3.28 per gallon, milk $4.50 per gallon, and the average power bill runs $250.00 to $400.00 per month. You can even spend a dollar on an 8 ounce bottle of water. So it will come as no surprise that the cost of the water flowing out of your faucet is increasing. By the end ... click to read more.
A brief description of your water system
WATER PLANT NO. 1 (Blanton)
Consists of one deep well (1,485') w/40 hp submersible pump; one hydropneumatic
pumping station, complete with one 60,000 gallon welded steel ground storage
tank, one 5,000 gallon welded steel pressure tank, two 15 hp booster pumps,
one air compressor, electrical controls, valves, piping and gas chlorinator;
housed in one 10' x 12' tile pump house w/ concrete roof and one 6' x 6'
tile chlorinator house w/concrete roof; all completely enclosed with a 7'
chain link fence.
WATER PLANT NO. 2 (Osceola)
Consists of one deep well (1,660') w/50 hp submersible pump; one hydropneumatic pumping station, complete with one 60,000 gallon welded steel ground storage tank, one 4,000 gallon welded steel pressure tank, two 15 hp booster pumps, one air compressor, electrical controls, valves, piping and gas chlorinator; housed in one 10' x 12' tile pump house w/ concrete roof and one 6' x 6' tile chlorinator house w/concrete roof; all completely enclosed with a 7' chain link fence.
WATER PLANT NO. 3 (Woodrow)
Consists of one deep well (1,446') w/60 hp submersible pump; one hydropneumatic pumping station, complete with one 100,000 gallon welded steel ground storage tank, one 5,000 gallon welded steel pressure tank, two 25 hp booster pumps, one air compressor, electrical controls, valves, piping and gas chlorinator; housed in one 10' x 12' tile pump house w/ concrete roof and one 6' x 6' tile chlorinator house w/concrete roof; all completely enclosed with a 7' chain link fence.
WATER PLANT NO. 4 (Jawbone)
Consists of one deep well (1,443') w/60 hp submersible pump; one hydropneumatic pumping station, complete with one 100,000 gallon welded steel ground storage tank, one 7,500 gallon welded steel pressure tank, two 20 hp booster pumps, one air compressor, electrical controls, valves, piping and gas chlorinator; housed in one 11 "4" x 14' tile pump house w/ concrete roof and one 6' x 6' tile chlorinator house w/concrete roof; all completely enclosed with a 7' chain link fence.
WATER PLANT NO. 5 (Freeman)
Consists of one deep well (1,466") w/75 hp submersible pump; one hydropneumatic pumping station, complete with one 100,000 gallon welded steel ground storage tank, one 7,500 gallon welded steel pressure tank, two 20 hp booster pumps, one air compressor, electrical controls, valves, piping and gas chlorinator; housed in one 11'4" x 14' tile pump house w/ concrete roof and one 6' x 6' tile chlorinator house w/concrete roof; one 300,000 gall elevated tank with a water high level of 128 ft, all completely enclosed with a 7'chain link fence.
| 9,781 | linear feet of 8" PVC pipe |
| 152,939 | linear feet of 6" PVC pipe |
| 101,855 | linear feet of 4" PVC pipe |
| 167,004 | linear feet of 3" PVC pipe |
| 61,690 | linear feet of 2 1/2" PVC pipe |
| 226,049 | linear feet of 2" PVC pipe |
| 216,969 | linear feet of 1 1/2" PVC pipe |
| 14,470 | linear feet of 1" PVC pipe |
| 1,368 | water meters |
| TOTAL: approximately 260 miles of service line | |
Future Plans
The future will see the water system adding a new well #6 at 302 HCR 1446 complete with a new elevated tower.