WATER WOES CONTINUE: Plant issues brought up at special meeting

By DINA AREVALO
Special to the NEWS

With the multimillion dollar Water Plant No. 2 still inoperative the city of San Benito faced a new worry Friday after three 10 horsepower pumps were reported out of service at Water Plant No. 1.

The issue was brought up Monday during a special city commission meeting which was held to interview several engineering firms hoping to secure work contracts with the city. Victor Gutierrez, a principal partner and engineer from Coym, Rehmet & Gutierrez Engineering LP, which already holds contracts with the city, mentioned the water pumps when asked by Mayor Celeste Sanchez to describe the firm’s plans to address any project oversight issues that may arise during or after work is completed.

Gutierrez spoke of the speed with which the firm addressed the problem with the pumps, saying “we felt that was urgent enough to warrant immediate response.”

“We came and evaluated the problem that’s going on there,” he said near the beginning of his presentation, and spoke of making cost estimates available to the city manager.

City Manager Manuel Lara confirmed Friday that an assessment of the city’s original water plant is currently ongoing. But, he added the city “is not making remodifications” to the plant and that the pumps in question have “nothing to do with operations presently,” he said.

The pumps, he said, are part of the city’s back up preparations. “You always want to be prepared for backup,” he said. “We’re doing a proactive assessment… what do we need to have ready?” he said.

But that seemed to be at odds with the sense of urgency Gutierrez spoke with when addressing the commission, saying he had “dropped everything” to spend all day Friday at the water plant.

Lara downplayed that urgency, saying, “It’s not an emergency, that’s why we didn’t call an emergency meeting. But it is a critical issue,” he said. He continued, saying the city would have called an emergency meeting within two hours had it been an emergency. “Is it critical for use of this plant?” he asked regarding the three water pumps. “Yes, of course it is, and we want to have backup,” he said.

The city has been plagued by water issues for several years, though, beginning when the $17 million Water Plant No. 2 began operating at less than half its initial 5 MGD (million gallons daily) capacity within months of its 2009 launch. A study conducted in part by Coym, Rehmet & Gutierrez Engineering LP found that the plant could produce a maximum of approximately 2.8 MGD only “with great effort on the part of City staff.” Now totally inoperative, the city has been forced to rely solely on the original water plant, which has been in operation since 1927.

Nonetheless, Lara insists the city is prepared to meet current water demands. “At the demand that people are using right now [the plant] has an existing capacity of 5.9 million gallons per day,” he said, adding that demand decreases during winter months and during periods with lots of rain. He said a recent check of current demand showed the city is using approximately 2.4 million gallons per day. The city also has a contingency plan via an agreement with the city of Harlingen to draw water from its facilities if the need arises, he said. One of the most recent times that agreement was used was after San Benito’s original plant became nonfunctional after Hurricane Dolly in 2008. But the city has to pay for any water it draws from Harlingen, even the amounts used to conduct tests which ensure the smooth flow between the two cities.

“We have a responsibility to the community and we want to assure businesses and people in the community that we’re on top of things,” Lara said.

In August, the city filed a lawsuit against Cruz-Hogan Consultants Inc. and several other companies involved in the construction of Water Plant No. 2, alleging negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, breach of warranty, breach of contract and violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Cruz-Hogan has since filed a counter suit against the city, seeking damages from both the city and Lara.

Want the whole story? Pick up a copy of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/12/12/water-woes-continue-plant-issues-brought-up-at-special-meeting/

7 comments

Skip to comment form

    • Juan on December 18, 2014 at 7:27 am
    • Reply

    Juan hasn’t that much idle time on his hands,this was best left to the water dept. employee’s,with loads of ample time,to cruise the streets of san benny,waiting til quiting time gets there.

      • El Vato Loco on December 23, 2014 at 2:17 pm
      • Reply

      I couldn’t agree with you more Juan.

      I drove to Harlingen yesterday afternoon for a meeting and saw four city of San Benito employees working(?) on the Highway 77 frontage road. Actually one person was digging with a shovel and the other 3 were standing around the city truck (supervising I guess). Two hours later returning to San Benito, the same 3 individuals are still standing around the city truck talking.

      Taxpayers are lucky if they get 4 hours of work from some city employees. It is the supervisors who need to be held accountable and fired if they are not willing to manage the city workers. But then again, this is San Benito where some employees get hired and protected based on recommendations or suggestions from certain city commission members. They know who they are.

    • Juan Ocha on December 16, 2014 at 8:16 am
    • Reply

    Juan probably put it up himself just for the sake of posting a comment on here about it.

    • Juan on December 15, 2014 at 9:11 pm
    • Reply

    The sign is not hard to find,go down Sam Houston on the block where the old post office is,and where the water dept. office is,its on the corner,I’m sure you’ll find it.Simply open your eyes and stop talking and texting,Who else other than the city do you think would have the energy to make a sign,after all their jobs depend on it,unlike the school administration that must beg for their bonuses to supplement their padded salaries.

    • Juan 2 on December 15, 2014 at 11:34 am
    • Reply

    The tacky sign could be the handiwork of the same rocket scientists that can’t get the stop light fixed at Stenger / McCullough FOR MONTHS! It could be the same vatos that can’t get McCullough Street fixed, for MONTHS. SAME people, SAME excuses.
    The water plant debacle will be lawsuits after lawsuit. I wonder who the MAYOR was when the water plant was approved?? It had to be Cesar or Morado??

    • Juan on December 13, 2014 at 7:47 am
    • Reply

    After that dynamic water department finishes worrying over 3 – 10 HP pumps,they need to start worrying about their tacky temporary sign they put out on the corner of Sam Houston St.,this fine work of art consists of a piece of cardboard,with marker pen writing,covered with a piece of plastic.This is secured to the light pole with a piece of twine,the base of the sign is an old wheel hub.Real Barrio Style,vatos.

      • El Vato Loco on December 14, 2014 at 9:42 pm
      • Reply

      Sam Houston St. has many corners and intersections. Be more specific in regards to what intersection you are whining referring to and what proof do you have that the fine work of art was created by the city? Better yet, take a photograph and post it here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.