Pecan Grove MUD

Pecan Grove MUD Drinking Water Report Info
The staff at Orange County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 (Water District) feels a specific measure of fear when they hear a weather forecast that includes significant amounts of storm activity. We all need downpour to survive, and our zone is blessed with abundant precipitation on a yearly basis. So why would your Water District fear the methodology of storm events? It is because heavy rainfalls place a huge strain on the Water District's wastewater accumulation and treatment system because of storm runoff discovering its way into our sanitary sewer system. Extraneous water entering a gathering system is alluded to as Inflow and Infiltration, or "I and I" for short. I and I overloads the accumulation system, backs up private sewer lines, creates poor or "slow" flushing of toilets, and taxes the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant to effectively treat and process the wastewater before it is come back to the environment. Aren't sanitary sewer systems supposed to be separate from storm water waste systems? Yes, they are proposed to be totally separate and sealed against inflow of storm water. So what's the issue? Why does storm water runoff enter our sanitary sewer system? The issue consists of numerous elements. Gravity pulls water downhill and doesn't give it a second thought in the event that it is perfect rainwater or used wastewater. In the event that there is an opening into any pipe, structure, or discard downhill starting from the earliest stage, storm water will be pulled in to flow there. Just as seawater surrounds a submarine and will discover its way into the vessel through any size split, gap, or opening in the frame, storm runoff and groundwater will spill into a sanitary sewer system at every chance. What are those opportunities? Here is a list of some of the common sources of leaks: 1. Cracks and breaks in primary sewer lines that structure over time. 2. Harmed manholes either at the surface, in the sidewall, or where it counts where sewer lines interface with the sewer vent. 3. Low quality or crumbled tap connections on the primary lines for individual services to customers. 4. Private sewer service lines, typically 4" in width, at individual homes that have cracks, holes, decayed joints, open-finished lines, or open cleanouts. These leaks can happen either inside the open option to proceed (Water District jurisdiction) or on private property between the option to proceed line and the customer (property owner jurisdiction). 5. Private, Illegal seepage connections purposefully emptying storm water out of private properties into Water District facilities (e.g., roof gutters and low spots in yards associated with sewer service lines). Open cleanouts in yard lines are an immediate (and illicit) way for storm water into the sanitary sewer system and are especially hazardous. Two factors aggravate the issue caused by leaks in sewer lines - 1) crumbling because of the age of the accumulation system, and 2) high amounts of precipitation. The oldest parts of the Water District's gathering system were worked in mid-1950, over 60 years back. Newer service areas included later are now decades old, as well. Moreover, the average precipitation in our five-county zone of Southeast Texas is the highest in the state of Texas - over 60 inches for each year. Would extra treatment plant capacity solve the issue? Increased treatment capacity is almost always necessary for the executives of I and I, yet it is just a piece of the solution. The Water District has just supplanted its outdated gathering of five smaller treatment plants that had been constructed over numerous years with a single, current, and productive treatment office. That treatment plant went ahead line in late 2013 at a finishing cost of just under $14 million. The enormous lift stations and power mains necessary to transport the wastewater from the previous treatment plants to the new treatment office were constructed at a cost of $5 million and finished in 2015. The Water District now has sufficient treatment capacity to deal with a genuinely huge surge of I and I as well as support substantial new development without the burdensome administrative exhibition deficiencies previously associated with the numerous small treatment units. Can the gathering system leaks be fixed? Yes they can, however at incredible expense, and, not all leaks are within the Water District's jurisdiction. In the oldest part of the gathering system lying north of Old Hwy 90 and south of Tram Road, the Water District contracted to have 90,000 feet of primary sewer line restored by substitution of the fundamental line alongside the individual service line connections up to the customers' property lines in 2014 and 2015 at a cost of around $6 million. That undertaking contacted less than 33% of the complete accumulation system, however represented the sewer lines in the worst condition in the District. The venture didn't supplant private service lines, which are believed to be enormous contributors to the I and I issue, because those lines are on private property and open funds can't be used to fix them. Even in the wake of spending $6 million for sewer line restoration to seal that zone of the accumulation system a significant I and I issue still exists there because releasing private sewer lines convey enough extraneous storm water into the system to proceed with the overloading situation. The subsequent stage in the process of I and I decrease, especially in the focal piece of our community, is to press for private property owners to restrain the water they deliver to the gathering system to wastewater as it were. This, in actuality, means that private sewer service lines must be sealed against I and I, requiring the fix, or more probable, the substitution of most residential and commercial service lines, also alluded to as "yard lines". These upgrades, as noted above, can't be financed by open funds (except for award funds) because they are privately owned and the responsibility of private land owners. So as to cause the necessary upgrades in private sewers to be made, the Water District would most likely have to use its authority to refuse to keep on receiving customer discharges that incorporate illicit I and I. Truth be told, the Water District is going into a concurrence with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that will require the District to uphold its own law denying customer discharge of storm water into the sanitary gathering system. The substitution of private sewer service lines will be a very troublesome, burdensome, and expensive program, which is why it has not been attempted before in this community. It will necessitate that homeowners supplant their yard lines at their own cost. It has been done, however, in different communities all through the nation, so it very well may be done here, as well. The Water District believes the best first step in achieving decrease of I and I originating from private properties is to use State of Texas award funds to pay for the fix or trade of individual service lines for qualifying homeowners. Capability for receiving these funds is based on family household pay. Just low-to-direct pay (LMI) households are qualified for these award financed benefits. This methodology would have two significant benefits - 1) It would provide savings of up to $2,000 for homeowners who may otherwise not have the option to pay for required improvements, and 2) It would serve as a demonstration task to develop the methods and controls for effectively leading a blend private/open recovery exertion that could be applied to the rest of the community of households that don't fit the bill for award funds. Non-LMI households will at last advantage, as well, from the experience picked up by Water District personnel in the execution of such a program. Since award applications must be submitted by cities and counties, the Water District has organized the City of Vidor to sponsor the applications. To be qualified, the Water District has consented to contribute the $55,000 in required coordinating funds for each awarded undertaking. Two grants have been awarded to the City of Vidor/Water District for the fix or substitution of private sewer yard lines. The 2015/2016 Grant task is nearing culmination and 2017/2018 is now underway. For this undertaking to now move forward it will be necessary to distinguish the individual recipients of the award benefits. Homeowners must finish award support applications to be considered for these benefits. For a household to be qualified two conditions must exist - 1) There must be reported private sewer line leaks that should be fixed, and 2) The household salary must qualify as low-to - moderate.Sewer line leaks are hard to discover because everything happens underground and far out. Blowing smoke (non-dangerous smoke designed specifically for this purpose) into the lines helps distinguish leaks where smoke blows out through holes or breaks in the pipes. The Water District had its recovery temporary worker smoke test the finished lines to ensure they were release tight and to recognize leaks in private homeowner service lines. These private sewer leaks were archived by video for this very kind of undertaking. When all is said in done, private service lines associated with more established homes are decades old and will very likely experience leaks. As individual homeowners apply for award benefits the Water District will evaluate their sewer lines for leaks by reviewing the existing smoke test videos and performing individual service line smoke tests if necessary. To decide budgetary qualification a homeowner must provide answers to simple salary questions. To take in increasingly about profiting by this significant award undertaking please call the Water District and speak to the General Manager, Norman Blackman, or Director of Finance and Office Administration, Chris Serres..