As the PRESIDENT OF HARRIS COUNTY MUD 304, I, LAFRANCES MOSES, am addressing the LOW WATER PRESSURE on the night of May 12, 2023.
PRECISION UTILITIES (our new water company) was notified immediately.
The incident occurred due to a POWER SURGE at the plant causing a loss of memory that set off a chain of events and was no fault of the Operator. An investigation of the Motor Control Center showed the controls had sustained memory loss. The Operator reprogrammed EDAs (Exploratory Data Analysis) and the plant was restored.
I, along with DIRECTOR MICHAEL GARRETT have been up all night working at the plant and remotely with the owner of PRECISION UTILITIES in constant communication, to ensure operations are back to normal and that the quality of water received is of the highest standard.
PRECISION UTILITIES will be in our communities today FLUSHING AND TESTING our system to ensure that we continue to have superior water. By chance if you happen to see them, take a minute, and THANK THEM FOR THE EXCELLENT SERVICE and the quick response which they have provided for us.
We confirmed with Precision Utilities that our water pressure never dropped below the TCEQ requirement level of 30, which would have required a BOIL WATER NOTICE.
When is a BWN issued?
- When a violation poses an acute health threat to the customers of the PWS 30
TAC, subchapter F, Section 290.122(a)
– E. coli: If a PWS exceeds the Microbial E. coli Maximum Contaminant
Level (EMCL) and receives a violation [30 TAC 290.109(b)(1)(A-D)] .
An EMCL violation can occur when:
– Collects a sample that is total coliform positive and any of the
required repeat samples are positive for E. coli.
– Collects a sample that is E. coli positive and any of the required
repeat samples positive for either total coliform or E. coli.
– Fails to collect all required repeat samples after an E. coli positive
routine sample.
– Fails to test for E. coli when any repeat samples test positive for
total coliform. - Turbidity: High turbidity levels indicate a severe failure in filtration and
possibly other treatment processes at the plant [30 TAC
290.46(q)(4) ].
– a conventional water treatment plant has a finished water
(combined filter effluent) turbidity level above 5.0 Nephelometric
Turbidity Unit, or;
– a plant with membrane filters has a finished water turbidity level of
above 1.0 NTU (for systems that treat surface water or
groundwater under the direct influence of surface water). - Groundwater systems that experience high turbidity should contact TCEQ
as soon as possible to determine if there is a threat to public health and if
a BWN is necessary. - Any event where conditions at a PWS are such that public health protection is
compromised or potentially compromised [30 TAC 290.46(q) ] o Low pressure (i.e., below 20 pounds per square inch)
o Water outages
o Disinfectant residual levels below the required minimum (i.e., 0.2 mg/L
free and 0.5 mg/L total)
o Line breaks or repairs (construction)
o Storage problems
o Well problems
o Mechanical equipment problems
o Power outages
o Treatment facility problems
o Natural disasters
MISSION STATEMENT: THE WATER THAT WE CONSERVE TODAY CAN SAVE US TOMORROW