City Council approves Update of Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
The City of Eagle Pass City Council approved to update the City’s Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan at a special meeting held on Tuesday, July 15, 2014.
City Council approved the amending of Section 21-51, Article II, Chapter 21 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Eagle Pass, in order to update the Water Conservation and the Drought Contingency Plan of the City of Eagle Pass, designed to provide the efficient management of water supplies and other water supply emergencies. The original ordinance was approved in 1998 and the update is to amend the City’s Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan.
The amended plan includes installation of master water meters, denying water service taps to customers not meeting the plan requirements, existing rate structures should encourage retrofitting of old plumbing fixtures which use large quantities of water, disconnecting City water customers who do not pay their monthly water bills timely, and the building inspection department denying certificates of occupancy to new construction which fails to meet the plan requirements.
The Eagle Pass Water Works System (EPWWS) serves the City of Eagle Pass and surrounding areas of Maverick County, including approximately 61,500 persons through 15,617 connections, which 14,309 are residential, 1,098 are commercial, and 210 are government connections, using a total of 2,799 Million Gallons of water (2012-2013 figures).
The EPWWS supplies water from a 15 Million Gallons per Day ultra-filtration system in Eagle Pass which treats surface water for distribution. EPWWS also operates a 6.0 Million Gallons per Day and 1.5 Million Gallons per Day wastewater treatment facilities, servicing both the City of Eagle Pass and most of Maverick County. Numerous distribution system improvements have been made that include multiple storage tanks, transfer mains, and improvement in the distribution system.
The five year historical average daily per capita water use within the EPWWS system is appoximately 153 gallons per capita per day (GPCD). EPWWS intends to continue reducing the water consumption as described in the facilities plan to a five-year target of 148 GPCD by May 2020, and a ten-year target of 145 GPCD by May 2025.
All water users, including utility, City of Eagle Pass offices, and public facilities are presently metered. Master water meters are currently installed and periodically calibrated at all existing water sources. Critical plant flow meters are regularly calibrated and certificates of calibration maintained. Customer meters are tested based on customer feedback. Meters with accuracy less than+/- 5% are removed from service.
Meters are tested for function and accuracy whenever problems are reported. Meters that demonstrate problems during testing are removed from service. Also, meters are removed from service after fifteen years of age. All meters removed from service are completely disassembled and internal parts are replaced with new parts.
All users of water are required to install a meter registered with the EPWWS. Unauthorized water usage is checked for during the regular maintenance and inspection activities, and through the water accounting program. The current water accounting system estimates water losses based on meter readings and estimates of unmetered uses (fires, etc.).
The City of Eagle Pass, through its Water Works System, will promote water conservation by informing water users of methods to conserve water inside their homes and other buildings, in landscaping and lawn uses, and in recreation uses.
Information will be distributed to water users as follows: Distribution of educational materials will be made semi-annually to the public and schools and timed to correspond with peak summer demand periods. The City currently practices this program and will incorporate material available from the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and other similar associations and organizations to expand the scope of this project. Regular articles will be published in the local news papers and presented over one or both of the local TV stations. These presentations will correspond to the mail outs or more often, if conditions warrant. New customers will be provided with general conservation literature when applying for service.
Rate structure is cost based and does not encourage excessive use of water. This is accomplished by a tiered rate structure with higher rates in dollars per gallon for higher uses of water for all users. This Water Conservation Plan is enforced through authority of City of Eagle Pass ordinances. This Water Conservation Plan was developed based on coordination with the regional planning group.
Current program of leak detection is reactive, based on reports of leaks provided to the Water Works, and by visual inspection. Repairs are to be performed within an eight hour period. Documentation of leak repairs is maintained including all pertinent details of leak, to keep history of repairs and allow for evaluation of problematic areas.
All wholesale water supply contracts entered into, including contract extensions, shall require wholesale customers to develop and implement a water conservation plan or measures as described in state code. This same requirement shall be extended to subsequent customers of the provided water. To ensure future water conservation measures are maintained, all new and replacement fixtures are required to meet low water use-criteria.
The ordinance amending the Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan was approved unanimously. This ordinance will now be read two more times publicly before final approval and amendment of the Eagle Pass City Code of Ordinances. The public is welcomed and invited to comment on the proposed amendment or update of the City of Eagle Pass Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan at the next City Council meeting.
