Fort Bend County WCID #3 Projects
Recent Projects
The District recently completed two projects in the district.
Lake 6 Spillway
During the heavy rainfall during Hurricane Harvey the water level in Lake 6 increased to a level where the water began spilling over the top of the dam located next to Jones Creek. After applying to FEMA the district was awarded funds to make the repairs. Plans were prepared by the district’s engineering firm and submitted to FEMA for approval. Once the plans were approved the district requested bids from contractors. The work was completed in 2022.
Drainage Ditch – Texana Way
The ditch on the west side of Texana Way from Sandy Point to Lavaca Lane had been identified during intervals of high rainfall as a deterrent to efficient removal of the rainwater to the main drainage ditch in the district. The problem was confirmed when the ditches along Texana Way and Sandy Point were surveyed. Both ditches were recognized as having issues with efficiently removing rainwater. Bids were submitted for both ditches but the district did not have sufficient funds to perform both streets without jeopardizing the reserve funds for the district. Texana Way was identified as the ditch in the most need so the work was put out for bid. The work on the ditch was completed during 2022.
Planned Projects
Chloramine Conversion
The district is converting its disinfection process from Chlorine to Chloramine. This project was started in 2022 and is nearing completion in late 2022. The change to Chloramine provides several advantages for the district. The first advantage is to allow the district to get access to the City of Richmond’s water supply in the event the district has a catastrophic failure at the water plants. The district’s water system has a connection to the City of Richmond’s water main and can be accessed easily if the need arises. The City of Richmond uses Chloramine for its disinfection process so accessing their water supply would not cause any issues should the need arises.
There are advantages for using Chloramine as a disinfectant over Chlorine.
- Chlorine gets used up during the disinfection process and may be used up before it reaches the end of the water system. Chloramine will last longer and provides a more complete disinfection of the water.
- Treatment with Chloramine will result in fewer Disinfectant byproducts as compared to Chlorine or other disinfectant chemicals.
Issues to consider after Conversion to Chloramine
- During the conversion to Chloramine the residents my notice a change in the taste of the water. The “chlorine taste” will be removed resulting in this change.
- Chloramine has an effect on fish, other aquatic animals, reptiles and amphibious animals since they absorb water directly into their bodies. Pet stores do have chemicals that can treat the water to remove the chloramine and make the water safe for these pets. The small amount of Chloramine in the water does not affect mammals and birds and this water can be safely used to water these pets.
- For anyone using dialysis at home they should consult the instructions with the unit and technicians to best treat the water used to flush the units. Dialysis units require a lot of water to flush the system and could have some affect.
Once the conversion at the plant is completed a notice will be provided on the door of each residence informing them of the conversion. Information will also be posted on the district’s website informing the residents of the conversion.
Sandy Point Ditch Work
As mentioned earlier a survey conducted on the ditches along Texana Way and Sandy Point were identified as in need of work to improve drainage of water during heavy rainfalls. Work will now be performed to improve the drainage of the ditches on Sandy Point.
Backup Generator at Plant 2
A backup Generator was installed at Plant 1 and performs well when the electrical power is interrupted to the district. A backup generator is being planned at Plant 2 to have complete backup for the district in the event there is a mechanical issue at Plant 1 during a loss of power. This will keep the water system working uninterrupted.
New storage tanks
The current storage tanks are the original tanks in the district and have experienced some corrosion and wear over the years. Repairs have been done over the years but eventually the repairs to the tanks will be cost prohibitive. Replacing the tanks will reduce the maintenance requirements for the district’s water plants.
New Water Well
The Water Well at Plant 1 has experienced some failures over the years and the repairs to the well have required reducing the size of the piping in the well. This has reduced the well output to only 50-60% of the well at Plant 2. Should Plant 2 go down during months of high water usage the well at Plant is insufficient to provide the needs of the district. Drilling a new well will bring both wells to similar outputs and each well could individually provide the districts needs should one plant be down.
Lakes
Lakes 1, 4 and 5 will be drained, sediment and sufficient lake bottom removed and then have clay hauled that have properties that are selected to prevent the loss of water through the lake bottoms. (Issues regarding this can be found in other documents already provided). Work will be put out for bid and work will be done based on the most economical method for selected contractor. The work should be similar to the recent work performed on Lake 2 done by the Texana Plantation HOA. The water requirements to maintain the water level in this lake has reduced since the work was done.