Hello Members:
We have a big event on Monday, so I thought it might be a good opportunity to update all of you on that and some other items.
Well #1 Decommissioning – Well #1 is finally being replaced. Last year we embarked on a project to replace Well #1. It was the first well for Whitewater Springs and has been in operation for over 20 years. It has started to show some decline over the last few years, so the board voted to replace it. The new well was drilled last year right behind the pumphouse on Woodhollow Drive. Monday, a crew will be coming to pull the old pump out of Well #1 and plug it. You may notice the crane they will be bringing as they will need to take everything out through the roof of the pumphouse! We will then be able to go through the steps to get the new well operational. The new well will be called Well #6. Until we get Well #4 operational, we’ll have Wells #2,3,5 and 6 ongoing.
Permit Discussions – We continue to have discussions with the district over the limitation they placed on our permit. We don’t have any big news to report yet, but at least we’re all meeting and trying to figure out a solution. The PUC required us to start selling new meters again. This means that until we get the permit issue resolved, increasing restrictions will be needed to keep us within the permitted amount. As you all should know by now, we are at Stage IV water restrictions for the community. This is due to the District being at Stage IV, but also due to WWS being at 100% of the permit amount year-to-date. This Stage does not allow for any outdoor water use except as provided by a source outside of our public wells. Sources allowed would include rainwater collection systems, water reclamation systems, or trucking water in. Please plan accordingly. We think that by eliminating outdoor usage we will be able to remain under our permit for this year and avoid being fined by the district.
Back-Up Generator Project – Tomorrow is the deadline for contractors to submit bids for our backup generator project. This project will provide automatic backup power to the Whitewater Drive site including the well at that location. We estimate that using this generator the community could use water at a normal pace for up to 4 days powered only by the generator. We could extend this by all reducing our usage during a power outage if we think the outage may be longer. Hopefully we’ll never need to do this but at least we are ready for it!
Well # 4 – The Well #4 project is still on hold pending funding discussions with TWDB. Once that is resolved we’ll be able to move to any design alterations and then bidding. It is very unlikely that any construction will start earlier than six months from the time funding is secured.
Annual Meeting – As previously announced, we will be holding our Annual Meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 5th at the Bertram Library. A regular board meeting will be held immediately following the annual meeting. The agendas will be posted at the mail kiosk as well as on the website on Saturday or Sunday.
Thank you all for your continued support!
Gregg Thompson