Wellborn Water issues Mandatory Stage 5 Water Conservation

21,965 Views | 206 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by FamousAgg
cajunken
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Just got the email that Wellborn SUD has jumped all the way to Stage 5 Water Conservation:

"As of July 14, 2022, Wellborn SUD is implementing Stage 5 Water Conservation. Stage 5 Water Conservation prohibits any and all outside watering. Outside watering includes automatic sprinkler systems, handheld watering, hose end watering, and soaker hoses. These restrictions will remain in place until Monday when the District reevaluates system water demands.

These changes are mandatory and absolutely necessary to maintain safe storage levels for fire protection, drinking and sanitation. "
KaneIsAble
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AG
Came here to post this too
ElephantRider
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AG
Also under a boil water notice due to system pressure being low.
MB19
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AG
Not good.
DM44
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Question: Is this water issue due to Wellborn SUD not sufficiently preparing for the influx of people moving in and new houses being built in the area? Yes, it is hot and dry, somewhat more than normal. But it is always hot and dry in the summer and a water district should be prepared to withstand some drought. It's only mid-July.

College Station is building a new water tower near the Scott & White hospital. What is Wellborn SUD doing for the future?





rptsAg03
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How did we go from Stage 2 to Stage 5 and boil notice in like 24 hours!?!?
DM44
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rptsAg03 said:

How did we go from Stage 2 to Stage 5 and boil notice in like 24 hours!?!?
Wellborn SUD was quick to blame the consumers use of water leading to a sudden loss of water pressure.
75AG
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AG
They literally went from StGe 2 to Stage 5 to a boil-order in 7 minutes.
cslifer
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Well if the consumers are using more than the system can handle...
ElephantRider
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AG
DM44 said:

Question: Is this water issue due to Wellborn SUD not sufficiently preparing for the influx of people moving in and new houses being built in the area? Yes, it is hot and dry, somewhat more than normal. But it is always hot and dry in the summer and a water district should be prepared to withstand some drought. It's only mid-July.

College Station is building a new water tower near the Scott & White hospital. What is Wellborn SUD doing for the future?








More river water!
Tailgate88
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AG
Quote:

Boil Water Notice for Wellborn Special Utility District July 14, 2022 Due to reduced distribution system pressure caused by extreme water demand created by excessive outdoor watering, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required Wellborn SUD Brazos County PWS # 0210016 to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.

To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.

In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, Wellborn SUD officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, Wellborn SUD officials will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail. If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Stephen Cast 979-690-9799 or email: scast@wellbornsud.com.

This boil water notice is necessary due to the loss of system pressure as required by TCEQ. The District's current loss of pressure is due to the extreme high demand put on the system as a result of customer non-compliance to the district previously issued outdoor watering schedules.
aggiepaintrain
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AG
y'all better prepare for a long summer if you're on Wellborn water

next 10 days 100 degrees+

Hornbeck
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DM44 said:

Question: Is this water issue due to Wellborn SUD not sufficiently preparing for the influx of people moving in and new houses being built in the area? Yes, it is hot and dry, somewhat more than normal. But it is always hot and dry in the summer and a water district should be prepared to withstand some drought. It's only mid-July.

College Station is building a new water tower near the Scott & White hospital. What is Wellborn SUD doing for the future?



Somebody done messed up….

Seriously, it doesn't go from "hey watch it" to "OMG Wellborn is burning" in one day without some kind of catastrophic event. My guess is that the guy whose job it was to keep an eye on that went to Disneyworld last week.
waterchick
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Actually it can. Wellborn went to Stage 1, then they went to Stage 2 yesterday. If they had some condition that suddenly caused them to lose pressure then that is an emergency which is defined in their Stage 5 here:

https://www.wellbornsud.com/drought-contingency
Rexter
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I wonder if the proposed/canceled Millican Reservoir would've helped…
Tailgate88
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AG
I can confirm that water pressure is very low early in the morning, which tells me that there are a ton of sprinkler systems going.

Pretty funny they are saying you can't even water your potted plants with a hose?
coconuthead
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I guarantee the same people who have been watering their lawns every day leading up to this will continue to do so.
RDH80
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AG
It was me . I had to fill my pool .
75AG
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AG
Just got 10 drops of rain in Duck Haven!
waterchick
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Rexter said:

I wonder if the proposed/canceled Millican Reservoir would've helped…
Doubt it. As I understand it, it would have been relatively shallow, inundated land up to the area behind Cinemark, and, when it was proposed in the Region H (edit: Houston water planning region) Regional Water Plan a few years back, would've sent the water to the Houston area.

Irrigation systems use 13 - 20 gallons per minute. If there are any leaks or broken sprinkler heads, they use even more. I've seen accounts with water usage north of 50,000 gallons in a month. That's the equivalent of three backyard swimming pools in a month.
EBrazosAg
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AG
Rexter said:

I wonder if the proposed/canceled Millican Reservoir would've helped…


That water was always headed to Houston. Not the Brazos Valley. This isn't a supply problem- it's a treatment and distribution issue.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
rptsAg03
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Wellborn says don't use water, ercot says conserve energy, so naturally we're all filling pots with water and turning on our stoves…
75AG
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AG
It went from 2 to 5 to boil in 7 minutes 10:27 am to 10:35 am today.
SARATOGA
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Maybe if it didn't take you 2 ? 3 ? years to build your new tower ?

Honestly, Elon built a car factory bigger than the Empire State building quicker than CS can build a water tower.

Don't come looking for sympathy from me...
SARATOGA
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This boil water notice is necessary due to the loss of system pressure as required by TCEQ. The District's current loss of pressure is due to the extreme high demand put on the system as a result of customer non-compliance to the district previously issued outdoor watering schedules


Um, how about Wellborn Waters "COMPLIANCE" with keeping enough water on hand to serve their customers ?

Do your job. Build some towers, some more treatment plants. But if customers are willing to buy then don't complain when they do...
KaneIsAble
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AG
you seem very angry; maybe time to push back the keyboard.
SARATOGA
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You're probably right.

I'm frustrated with providers of a service attempting to place blame on the customers of a service for their lack of preparedness.

Dear Wellborn water, you put clean water in the pipe, I'll pay for the amount I take out.

(that is the end of our responsibility to each other).

As I mentioned on the ERCOT thread, supply chains are would so tight that what is created is immediately used. Where is the STORAGE or BACKUP, or JUST IN CASE.

Supply should be at least double ? maybe quadruple ? peak demand. and expand as peak demand expands.
techno-ag
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AG
Prolly better to just drink bottled water around here anyway. We're partial to the taste of Ozarka. Hard to drink tap water with all those solids in it, even without a boil notice.
MTTANK
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AG
Spend thousands a year keeping a nice yard and gardens. Watering two times a week was stressing the grass in certain areas, but not the end of the world. No watering will obliterate it. Pretty comical it's not a management issue on the providers side. It's all my fault for needing water in the heat of a Texas summer. Unbelievable.
GIG 'EM
happyinBCS
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I have had a R/O system for 30 years the maintenance cost is low the ice and water are great if I were buying bottled water all these years the cost would have been huge. by the way TDS in CS water is about 420 ppm after the R/O about 35ppm the ice is clear and the water tastes great. and I do agree with Saratoga we pay for our water and electric and it is ridiculous that it is always up to the end user to solve the problem. If we don't pay our bill, they cut us off, when we have plentiful rainfall and low electric usage, I have never had them give me a dime back.
cslifer
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Both of those items are extremely expensive to build and maintain. Are you willing to pay higher rates to cover the cost of construction and operation?
happyinBCS
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CS utilities already are proposing a 10% increase and we all know that with the fees and taxpayer subsidies it is a monopoly where in other markets you can choose your provider
AG81
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AG
DM44 said:

Question: Is this water issue due to Wellborn SUD not sufficiently preparing for the influx of people moving in and new houses being built in the area? Yes, it is hot and dry, somewhat more than normal. But it is always hot and dry in the summer and a water district should be prepared to withstand some drought. It's only mid-July.

College Station is building a new water tower near the Scott & White hospital. What is Wellborn SUD doing for the future?








Looking at a few of my neighbor's yards, that's not the reason. Lush is an understatement.
cslifer
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COCS and Wellborn water are different entities, COCS rates have nothing to do with Wellborn.
Expert Analysis
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AG
I posted this in the other thread but this one is just as pertinent and it seems several hear have the same logic. It's clearly bad management. They cannot blame the customer for doing what they have been doing when there was not requirement to do otherwise. They cannot expect water schedule changes across the board in a single day especially when they asked for changes that were different from their voluntary requirements. If anything there may have been a surge in use today with people changing to the new schedule and others that had yet to change away from Thursday watering.

Quote:

they just went to stage 2 yesterday. Today is the first day of mandatory anything.

to say this is the result of "customer non-compliance to the District's previously issued outdoor watering schedules." is the SUD not taking responsibility for not enacting stage 2 sooner and not adding capacity to their system to meet growing demands.

Wellborn SUD was bad during the freeze and hasn't gotten any better.
Also Wellborn SUD raised the base rates a few years ago. I am not aware of any plans on increasing capacity, though I have not been looking for that information. Waterchick any clue on Wellborn SUD capacity improvements?
 
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