The Cameron City Council is taking measures to improve its water system, moving towards a groundwater-based municipal water system.
The Council has applied to the Texas Water Development Board for grants in order to fund this much-needed system upgrade.
The Cameron Herald reports:
“On recommendation of engineering consultants from O’Malley Engineers, LLP, the City Council voted in September to pursue the option of building a water plant to process ground water for the city’s water system.
The city is applying for planning, acquisition and design funds through the Texas Water Development Board for development of a well field and related structures.
In addition, the city is applying for funds to build a new waste water treatment plant/system.More than $850,000 has been spent in the past year to bring the current 1950s-era water treatment plant and sewer plant up to compliance; however, the aging infrastructure will only be able to maintain standards for about two years.
After several options were studied over the past year – including refurbishing the old plants as well as building new plants and a new intake system at a different site on the Little River, a plan to convert the system’s water source to groundwater was deemed the most economical and reliable way to assure quality water.”
It is good news that Cameron City has already taken steps to get funding, but will it happen soon enough?
With the current system only lasting another two years, things need to progress quickly now if the city is to implement its plan.
Inframanage.com also observes that upgrading the Cameron City water intake and treatment system, and the wastewater treatment plant are levels of service improvements in infrastructure management terms.
Improvements to water and wastewater treatment systems have been developing worldwide over the past few decades as new treatment technologies and methods are incorporated into treatment process streams.
Inevitably, these levels of service improvements cost capital and also additional annual operations and maintenance expenditure once they are deployed.
It is always useful in community consultation, dialogue, and education to make the linkage between service level improvements and long term higher costs, as it reminds the community that while they are paying more for the service they are also getting an improved level of service.
“Cameron, Texas CIMG7552” by Nick22aku at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
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