Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families as a result of the recent tragedy.- 09/11
2001 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP
On April 9, 2001, the Annual Meeting of the Membership was held. Meeting activities included the election of three (3) directors. Dale Mutschler, Larry Kaufman, and Duane Johnson were all elected to serve three-year terms on the Board.
John Cooper, Denton County Extension Agent-Horticulture, gave a presentation about residential landscape irrigation.
The Board and Staff would like to thank the Cross Roads Bible Church once again for their generosity for allowing the Corporation to conduct its annual meeting in their facility.
ATTENTION NEW HOME BUYERS
Did your new home come with a completely sodded, landscaped yard and irrigation system? If so, there is a very good chance that the on/off times for your irrigation system were set by the irrigation contractor.
Since irrigators/landscapers want to prevent new plant loss due to lack of water they typically set new irrigation systems to "over water" new landscapes believing this will help them get established. As a result, it is not uncommon to find new irrigation systems set to operate with such frequency that they consume as much as 2,000-3,000 gallons of water per day/every day. Larger landscaped areas can use even greater quantities of water.
If these settings are not changed, water is wasted, the plants do not benefit, and you the new homeowner get a wake up call when your first water bill arrives.
So……. when you move in make it a point to contact the builder for the irrigators name. Set up an appointment and have them come out and show you how your system is set. In fact, have them run it thru a complete cycle, taking a water meter reading before and after. Multiply this consumption by the number of times per day the system is set to operate and you can see how much water you will be using. You can call the BWSC office and we can tell you how much that number of gallons will cost.
Remember, it's up to you. If you don't look into the fine points of operation of your irrigation system, what could be a useful maintenance tool may turn into a water-guzzling nightmare.
Capital Projects Update
BWSC is currently updating its Master Plan and in the process of acquiring additional property for a future pumping/well/ground storage tank site. The site under consideration consists of approximately 4+ acres and is located in a densely treed, naturally screened area within the town limits of Bartonville. The new site is also located adjacent to the proposed Upper Trinity Regional Water District (UTRWD) Southwest service zone surface water transmission main. As a result, BWSC will not only have access to ground water by having the capability of drilling a new water well at this site but also the ability to establish a second point of surface water delivery with the UTRWD should the need arise. Although construction of the facilities will be a number of years off, prudent planning by the Board of Directors prompted site securement at this time.
Once constructed, the new facilities will benefit all BWSC members but will greatly enhance existing/future service capabilities in the western (Bartonville) portion of our service area.
BWSC would like to thank the Town of Bartonville's mayor, council, staff and citizens for consideration/granting of our request for site approval for this system wide benefit.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Michael Paulson
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President
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Duane Johnson
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Vice-President
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Larry Kaufman
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Secretary-Treasurer
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Kevin Alberts
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Director
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Carla Anderson
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Director
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Scott Kilpatrick
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Director
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Dale Mutschlet
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Director
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EMPLOYEES
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Jim Leggieri
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General Manager
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Betty Robertson
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Administrator
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Tony Mauldin
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Superintendent
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Marcy Gustafson
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Customer Service
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Will Atwood
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Field Representative
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Ryan Scott
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Field Representative
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WHERE IS THE WATER?
Do you have any idea how much water you use a day? Most people can tell you how much their water bill is, but could not tell you how much was used or what the "unit" price was. Compare that to buying gasoline. Most motorists know what they pay for gas and their usage is often influenced by the ups and downs of that price. While the price you pay for water does not typically vary to the degree that the price of gas does, water usage for the home should be a point of information monitored and can be useful in making water decisions.
Water, especially water in Texas, is a very precious commodity and must not be taken for granted. Beginning today, customers need to be aware of when, where, and how much water they are using and take responsibility for their actions. Every day homeowners, builders, and homebuyers go to great expense to install landscaping and irrigation systems and are unaware of how much water these "improvements" consume. These systems are most often programmed by the irrigator and never checked by the homeowner. What the homeowner doesn't realize is that they now have a water-guzzling monster installed in their yard and unmonitored can use thousands of gallons of water per day. YES, per day. In some cases, systems like this are consuming 100,000 to over 200,000 gallons of water per 30-day period for yard irrigation! Hard to believe? Believe it! It's true!
Determining Usage
BWSC uses meters that are read like odometers and that record in gallons. There are six or seven digits on the meter face, including a stationary zero. Only the last six digits are utilized in calculating usage. In most cases, there is one circular dial on the meter face that represents one-gallon measurements. A complete revolution of the dial would indicate 10 gallons of water used. When a digit isn't exactly on a number, you will read the lowest number.
If you want to evaluate water usage for a specific purpose (i.e., irrigation), record the digits on the meter face prior to and immediately following running the system through a complete normal cycle. Running through a complete cycle is recommended to determine how many total gallons of water are consumed after all stations have run since consumption by station may vary depending on the number and type of sprinkler heads. After all stations have run and the cycle is complete, compute the gallons used by subtracting the "prior to startup reading" from the "completed cycle reading". Multiply the computed number of gallons times the number of complete cycles the system runs per day. Multiply this number by the number of days the system is programmed to run to calculate the quantity of water used for a specific number of days. To conserve water, and possibly prevent an expensive water bill, it is recommended that you have your system thoroughly checked by a competent professional. Faulty irrigation heads, damaged piping, leaking connections, improper spray patterns, etc. not only waste water, but also perform poorly.
If you suspect that you have a service line leak, which would be on the customer side of the meter to the house, take a reading of the meter when you will not be using water for a 6 - 8 hour period. After the 6 - 8 hour period, take the reading again. The reading should remain the same if you did not use any water. If the reading is higher, this indicates that water is continuing to pass through the meter and going somewhere! This test may not detect problems with irrigation systems.
The Danger of Cross-Connections and Your Water System
What is a Cross-Connection? - Any connection that allows contaminants of any kind to enter your public (Bartonville Water Supply Corporation) drinking water system. Cross-connections come in many forms. A cross-connection caused by back sipohnage can occur by way of lawn sprinkler systems or any hose submerged in a bucket, pool, tub, livestock trough, etc. However, the private well or irrigation well is one of the most common cross-connections affecting public water systems. Homeowners generally do not equate the convenience and supplemental benefit associated with the inter-connection of the two systems as a threat to public health and a direct violation of state regulations.
Typically, private wells are not constructed with the same degree of sanitary protection used for public water supplies and are most likely never sampled for the presence of contaminants. In fact, many lawn irrigation wells are often times no more than very shallow holes in the ground that rely on surface water run-off and shallow supplies of ground water for sources of recharge.
Once pressurized, an irrigation system whose piping is inter-connected between the homeowner's household service line leading from the public water system's meter and a private well, is a cross-connection. According to section 290.46 (j)(3)(B) of the Texas Commission on Environmental Qualty rules and regulations for public water systems, such connections are prohibited. Such connections, if detected by the public water supply system, can result in the discontinuation of public water service until corrected.
Remember: No physical connection between the two sources is allowed. A gate valve or any other mechanical separation is unsatisfactory. Only a physical, air-gap separation is acceptable. An example of an acceptable air-gap device can be viewed at the office. Bartonville Water Supply Corporation asks your assistance in eliminating all such situations. Please do your part. . .call the office with any questions.
Thursday Night School Will Teach Landscape Design for Homes
Take a look at your landscape to see what improvements you can make this fall. Does your landscape really look that great? Are your plants healthy and drought tolerant variety? Are you spending a fortune on water?
A Home Landscape Design School will be held on consecutive Thursday nights, October 4, 11, & 18th.
Participants will receive instruction and materials covering all aspects of landscape design, installation and maintenance necessary for the creation and maintenance of a landscape for their own home.
The program is being co-sponsored by the Denton Count office of Texas Cooperative Extension and the Parks and Leisure Services Department of the City of Lewisville. The school will be held from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Lewisville Municipal Center Community Room, 1197 West Main Street in Lewisville. The cost is $25 per family and pre-registration is required. To register, call 940-565-5536.
Residential and Commercial Water Rates Effective January 2001
Base Service Charge 5/8 inch Meter $ 23.84
Base Service Charge 1 inch Meter $ 39.81
Base Service Charge Water Gallonage Rates
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001 to 20,000 gal |
$ 2.04 Per 1,000 gal
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80,001 to 100,000 gal
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$ 20.42 Per 1,000 gal
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20,001 to 40,000 gal
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$ 3.06 Per 1,000 gal
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100,001 to 150,000 gal
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$ 28.59 Per 1,000 gal
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40,001 to 60,000 gal
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$ 4.08 Per 1,000 gal
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150,001 to 200,000 gal
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$ 40.85 Per 1,000 gal
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60,001 to 80,000 gal
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$ 9.19 Per 1,000 gal
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200,001 to 300,000 gal
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$ 57.19 Per 1,000 gal
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Over 300,001 gal
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$ 73.53 Per 1,000 gal
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Example Water Bills for 3/4 X 5/8 Residential Meter: (includes $23.84 base rate)
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Gallons |
Amount
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Gallons
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Amount
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| 5,000 | $ 34.04 | 55,000 | $ 187.04 |
| 10,000 | $ 44.24 | 75,000 | $ 345.29 |
| 20,000 | $ 64.64 | 90,000 | $ 595.44 |
| 25,000 | $ 79.94 | 125,000 | $ 1,514.39 |
| 35,000 | $110.54 | 155,000 | $ 2,433.39 |
| 45,000 | $146.24 | 205,000 | $ 4,557.59 |
| 305,000 | $10,358.29 |