Cities weigh water options

Don't drink the water has long been a bit of advice in small West Texas towns. But now, the cities have to face some of the reasons why.

For more than a year, residents in Crane have received notices telling them about excessive levels of arsenic in their drinking water.

But city officials promise they are working on the problem.

Studies show Crane with arsenic levels of 0.014 milligrams per liter. The Environmental Protection Agency has said levels above 0.010 mg/L can be a health concern.

City Manager Dru Gravens said the notices have been going out to Crane residents quarterly for about a year-and-a-half.

The city has hired an engineering firm for $15,000 to conduct a study. Gravens said most of the 53 wells supplying city water have been tested.

"We're seeing which ones are the biggest problems and shutting them in," he said.

The city is trying to get the wells to produce the right "blend" of water to get the level below 0.010 mg/L, Gravens said. But if that doesn't work, Crane may have to modify its water treatment facilities at a cost of between $800,000 and $1.5 million.

It would also consider having residents install reverse osmosis filtration systems under their sinks which Andrews is considering doing, Gravens said.

Andrews City Manager Glen Hackler said his city has started a 30-day demonstration project this week at its pump station that will test different types of reverse osmosis filters, which are designed to lessen amounts of arsenic and fluoride in its water.

Currently, Andrews has around 0.030 mg/L of arsenic in its water. Hackler said those numbers were considered acceptable until 2006, when a federal law went into affect lowering the maximum containment level for arsenic from 0.050 to 0.010 mg/L.

This fall, the city will start a pilot program, in which 40 homes, representing around 1 percent of total households, are chosen to test reverse osmosis systems for a year.

"We're going to try to find out what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages," Hackler said.

After tests are completed, the city is considering presenting a plan to the state to issue filters to every home in the city. Hackler said doing that would cost about $1.5 million, with $100,000 to $150,000 annual operating expenses. That should add an additional $2 to $2.50 a month on the average water bill.

That's a fraction of the $8 to $10 million he estimates it would cost to build a centralized filtration system. Hackler said a centralized system would also waste 25 to 30 percent of the water that runs through it, not an appetizing possibility in an area where water is scarce.

The city has also made a request through the Environmental Protection Agency to get a $400,000 federal grant to help pay for the project, Hackler said.

Currently, Andrews has a "compliance agreement" with TCEQ, which allows it to set up a water station at city hall that supplies residents with reverse osmosis water, Hackler said.

The city is working closely with the state environmental agency. Hackler said TCEQ is supplying engineers to the Andrews home filter project. And, if the project is successful, more communities are expected to follow.

"Truly, we are partners with TCEQ," he said. "They know most cities want to comply, they just don't have the means. You can't just double and triple water rates."

While larger cities like Odessa get their water from entities like the Colorado River Municipal Water District, Hackler said Andrews is among the larger communities in a group of 90 in Texas with higher than acceptable levels of arsenic. Of those, two thirds are in West Texas.

"Most of them are small cities that don't have any alternative," he said.

But Hackler hopes that by the end of next year, the residents of his city will have just that.