The City Council in Bridge City heard a citizen complain about the dirty water that the city is working to correct. Kenneth Prosperie aimed his message not so much at the city’s water department, but rather more at City Manager Jerry Jones.
Prosperie presented each member of the City Council with a 13-page handout citing a history of the brown water in Bridge City, including a newspaper article from February 22 that was headlined with Jones decrying “fake water news”.
Prosperie blamed the city trying to avoid a so called black eye for why the problem got as serious as it did. He credited environmentalist Bob Bowcock with really bringing the problem to light. “Citizens pay for clean safe water. This is not a free service given to the citizens,” Prosperie admonished. No action was taken by the City Council after listening to Prosperie.
Jones actually began the City Council meeting by informing the council that the city is still waiting on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide the go-ahead for Bridge City to install filters in the Romero well. Jones was told the recent THM samples of the water from that well taken by the TCEQ resulted in a level of 11 which is considered very low for any contaminates. Jones added, “We’re real optimistic about getting that back on line pretty quickly.”
Mike Lund with the city’s water department reported the flushing of the lines which started three weeks ago after the installation of filters in the other two wells has shown very good results. Three sections have been flushed removing a lot of the residue in the lines which are clearing up in eight to ten minutes according to Lund. He estimates his crews will flush nine to ten sections to clear all the water lines.
The City Council approved a preliminary plat for a 22-lot subdivision in the city limits. The Acadian Quarters Subdivision Phase 2 will be located between FM 1442 and John Street and is being developed by Rodney Townsend. It received approval earlier from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The council adopted an ordinance approving the gas rates presented by CenterPoint Energy. A resolution was approved recognizing the investment training done by members of the city staff.
Bridge City could be getting a farmers’ market starting in the next few weeks. Marian Pepper spoke to the City Council about her desire to start a market for fresh produce in the city. Mayor David Rutledge was very interested in the idea having organized such a market himself several years ago. City Manager Jones indicated the walking track near the Seniors’ Center at the City Park could be mowed and prepared as a site for the farmers’ market. Pepper felt it would work for her purpose very nicely. She left very optimistic that the market would be a reality shortly.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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