Reprint from the Progress Times - January 18, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Construction begins on water treatment plant

 

After years of turmoil, Frank Flores, general manager of the La Joya Water Supply Corporation believes that the beleaguered utility corporation is on the right track with the beginning of construction on a new water treatment plant that will more than double the water treatment capacity of the utility. Ground was broken at a short ceremony behind the LJWSC offices on Abram Road Wednesday, January 16.

"I am extremely pleased to have this plant under construction," said Flores. "The additional water treatment capacity that the new plant will provide will allow us to meet state regulations for our customer base and allow for some limited growth. There has been a strong demand for new service in the area since the Texas Water Development Board authorized us to accept applications for several new subdivisions and in the last year, we have approved new residential developments that will add over 1,000 connections to the system. We continue to receive new applications and I anticipate that this strong level of demand will continue."

Flores is part of a small team that now oversees the utility entity that has seen more than its share of trouble in the last few years.

Because of problems with customer billing and cutting off services without notice as well as reports and scandals involving the destruction of corporate records, in August of 2005 State District Court Judge Aida Salinas Flores placed the corporation in receivership when Assistant Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the entity.

Pablo Vela Jr. of Long Chilton, LLP, was hired to be the receiver who then hired Flores, retired from the Mission water system, to help right the ship. According to Vela, the problems of the past are just that now, in the past.

"We’ve corrected the problems with billing and shutting off water and the boil-first order," said Vela. "We have better quality of water being produced and we’re also working to provide enough capacity to have some expansion. Our regime is coming to an end. As soon as the Texas Water Development Board authorizes the court to make the transition, they will do that."

Taking over for the receivership team will be a board of appointed members from the surrounding communities of Palmview, Sullivan City, Penitas and part of Mission. Hidalgo County will also be represented by three appointments.

In the meantime, Vela believes the new plant is a step in the right direction.

"While the new plant will let us back into compliance it provides only a limited cushion of excess rated capacity for growth," said Vela. We must continue to work on ways to expand the utility’s service capacity. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has re-rated the water treatment capacity of our Havana plant and we are adding additional capacity with well water which increases our rated service capacity under current state regulations, but we need more capacity, at least on paper."

The 6 MGD water treatment plant is the last of three major projects organized by the receiver of LJWSC. The plant, which is tentatively scheduled for completion in April 2009, will cost approximately $10 million and was financed by the Texas Water Development Board through loans obtained over the last two and a half years.

The plant will, most importantly, bring the utility corporation into compliance with state regulations. TCEQ requires a utility to maintain water treatment capacity levels based on the number of connections. The TCEQ also rates each plant in a system for the quantity of water that it is allowed to produce. A utility can obtain a higher rating for a plant if it can demonstrate that its plant can safely process additional water. The rated capacity is higher than the actual demand planed on the system by customers.

LJWSC currently has 13,300 connections and has facilities in construction that will allow it to be rated for 15,400 connections. To remain in good standing with state regulations, the utility must stay within the rated limits regardless of the actual water usage levels unless it can obtain a waiver from the state regulations. TCEQ has notified the receiver that until the new plant is completed, LJWSC is not eligible for such a waiver.