Prarie Grove Utilities
May 30, 2023
The Angelina & Neches River Authority (ANRA) has been the official owner of the Prairie Grove water system since July of 2022. Since ANRA’s initial involvement in September of 2020, crews have made numerous repairs and fixed dozens of water leaks. ANRA has spent a significant amount of time studying and learning the water system as we planned for upgrades that will ultimately create a new water system that meets all state and federal regulatory requirements.
All during this process, ANRA has been open and transparent about the ongoing deficiencies and severely degraded condition of the current system as well as what has to happen to bring the water system into compliance. In order to accomplish this, ANRA has to replace the two water treatment plants and 85% of the distribution system. ANRA has worked very hard to secure grants that will enable customers to avoid having to pay for the majority of the costs of construction for the new water system. We have successfully secured a 70% grant for the project
Future Improvements
In January of this year, ANRA submitted the final components of the application for funding to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The final application amount was $7.7 million. The proposed project will contain the following elements:
- Construction of a new 8” water supply line and master meter from the City of Diboll;
- Construction of a new booster station capable of serving 500 residential water customers;
- Replacement of 85% of the existing distribution system;
- Creation of a looped distribution system by constructing water lines that connect from FM 1818 and Buttermilk Rd, down to the intersection CC Rd, and back to FM 1818;
- Installation of fire hydrants at key locations.
It is important to note that the project has not yet been fully designed. ANRA worked with its engineers to develop these project elements for the purpose of developing a budget for the TWDB application, which is approximately a 20% design effort. Current economic factors, specifically inflation within the water industry, are significant drivers of the project budget. The final project budget will be set later this year and we anticipate it to be lower than the current project estimate because of contingencies that were placed in the budget.
We anticipate receiving loan commitment from the TWDB in July of this year. Once we are notified, ANRA will have six months to set the final project budget and actually close on the loan. The loan portion is 30% of the final budget amount for the entire project. Once ANRA closes on the loan, we will have to begin making debt service payments 30 day later.
Rate Increase
The implementation of the phased rate increases is being required sooner than anticipated because the TWDB is processing the funding application much sooner than expected. Therefore, this second rate increase will become effective on July 1, 2023 and will be reflected on your bill, which will be due July 10, 2023. This means that the bill that you receive in the mail at the end of June will reflect the initial increase.
This second rate increase is a significant increase in the base rate. It is necessary to implement this increase now so that ANRA can begin building up funds to start paying debt service on the loan portion of the project funding in January of 2024. The tables below compare the upcoming rates to existing rates and also provides example bill amounts for the rates as they relate to different water consumption levels:
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Public Meeting
There will be a public meeting at the Diboll Civic Center on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at 5:30 PM to discuss rates and future improvements.
If you have any questions about the rate increase, water quality or service, please contact us at 936-632-7795 or via email at utilities@anra.org.
The following customer notice is required by the TCEQ as a result of the non-compliances associated with Disinfection Byproducts Monitoring. This customer notice has also been mailed directly to every active water customer of the utility.
Customer Notice TTHM Violations 2023-05-08PGU Water Main Break & Boil Water Notice Update #5
Boil Water Notice Rescinded
Prairie Grove – Notice of Water Main Break and Boil Water Notice – Update #1
9:00 a.m. Monday:
Summary: After a water main break at the Sherwood well, a Boil Water Notice has officially been implemented.
Details: Due to low water pressures in the water distribution system caused by a water leak at the water treatment plant, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has required the Prairie Grove Utilities public water system (PWS ID Number 0030027) 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, Prairie Grove Utilities officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking or human consumption purposes. Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, Prairie Grove Utilities 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 Mr. Chris Key, P.E., Executive Manager, Utilities, Angelina & Neches River Authority at (936) 632-7795 or (800) 282-5634.
If you wish to contact TCEQ, you may call (512) 239-4691.
December 28, 2022
To: Prairie Grove Utilities Customers (Public Water System ID # 0030027)
Subject: BOIL WATER NOTICE RESCINDED
On Friday, December 23, 2022, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) required the Prairie Grove Utilities public water system (PWS ID Number 0030027) to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals, or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
Prairie Grove Utilities has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by Prairie Grove Utilities used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of December 28, 2022.
If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Mr. Chris Key, P.E., Operations Division Manager, Angelina & Neches River Authority at (936) 632-7795 or (800) 282-5634.
If a customer wishes to contact TCEQ, they may call (512) 239-4691.
Update 7pm Tuesday:
Since 4pm, the demand has continued to be reasonable, so we’re going to leave the system on.
We intend to read meters tomorrow. Our crews have already looked at just about every meter in the system, but a full meter read will help us find any smaller leaks that might remain.
We hope to be able to lift the boil water notice at some point tomorrow as well.
Thank you again for your understanding, patience, encouragement, and good attitudes as we went through this at seemingly the most inconvenient time possible.
Have a good night, and if you spot the guys out reading meters tomorrow, wave at them and give them a thumbs up. They deserve it.
Update – 4:00 p.m. Tuesday:
The news so far today is good. We began this morning with full tanks as hoped, and as of 3:30 p.m., we’ve only dropped by 11%.
Dropping at all doesn’t sound great, but we expect some during the day because the well is undersized.
It’s normal for usage during the day to outstrip the ability of the system to replenish, and it generally is able to catch up overnight when demand is at its lowest.
The demand we’re seeing so far today is in line with an average day. So we believe most, if not all, of leaks have been found.
Will we be able to leave it on tonight?
We’re can’t promise yet, but likely, yes.
Unless usage spikes significantly this evening, it’s looking VERY likely that we will be able to leave it on.
This evening around 7 p.m. once we see what it looks like after everyone gets home and starts using more water, we will update with a final decision.
These updates all go out over multiple channels: anra.org, the text notification system, and here on Facebook.
If you would like to receive these alerts as text messages, signup is easy. Just text “PGU” to 800-282-5634.