Keeping Water Treatment Management Local
The first Mayor Jaggers’ Column, about the biggest challenge we are facing, asked good questions, a necessary due diligence about our water treatment in a unique valley, with a river running through it, a special designation of EPA designation. Our long studied Water Treatment Process, including 1) collection, 2) a treatment plant and 3) dispersal, which is now contracted to enhance the Blue Hole, our nationally award winning park, one of many accomplishments of the previous elected and stalwart volunteers of Wimberley. The substance of Jaggers second column, June 28th suggests that she has been working on a contract with Aqua Texas, with many particulars described. A contract with Aqua Texas (AT), a subsidiary of Aqua America (AA), is with a non-local, national corporation whose website advertises “a privatization of local municipal water” treatment, as their primary business goal. AA is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as < WTR > as an almost 1 billion dollar for-profit water corporation. Can our new mayor, and the current City Council members, stay open minded during their “data gathering,” or, have they been “spun and schmoozed”?
Well, seems to me that our new mayor, and several members of the City Council, have been “schmoozed” by this billion dollar corporation, whose 1000’s of employees are committed to acquiring water treatment plants from small communities, “and relieving locals of the burden of water treatment.” One definition of “schmoozer,” is a well-informed salesman, a skilled and persuasive negotiator acquiring what, in this case, an investor-driven East coast water corporation wants! At the AA investor website, “It is reported”... “For the full-year 2017, Aqua reported net income of $239.7 million,” from small municipal contracts. If fiscal responsibility, as elected officials, and, as the stated intention of our Mayor’, is paramount, let us consider the “supposed short term gain” of “making the elected officials job easier” by “going with Aqua Texas,” AGAINST the long term drain of millions of local Wimberley Valley dollars going to faraway investors; and, for how many years to come?
Having attended Water Treatment Committee meetings for over 10 years, I observed one of Wimberley’s great assets to be its surprisingly large population of retired executives and spouses volunteers, from impressive and highly competent corporations, many of a multi-million dollar size. These caring local volunteers have worked to solve our long standing water challenges, on many levels. Even while suggesting “honoring citizen contributions,” I have been shocked to hear the current Wimberley Council dialogue stating that all previous citizen volunteers seemed incompetent and their water decisions seemed inadequate? Double-speak? Really? Or, could our new small town group be being “smoozed” by an almost billion dollar corporation, intent on making a big profit from our local pockets?
My experience of Wimberley’s local water competence is two-fold. First, the city-owned water treatment facility, purchased from Deer Creek, is running just fine, under capacity. The learning of the skills needed for water treatment facilities, a specific, but learnable, skill-set, has been wisely delegated to water treatment specialists, by prior City administrators. Secondly, as a Wimberley Water Supply Corporation (WWSC) customer, our family has benefited from a local, service-oriented corporation which has dependably pumped water to Wimberley Valley residents for over 40 years. Our experience with the WWSC is
1) if a problem arises, staff has always been accessible to us, as local members. 2) The WWSC is run by a local board of competent citizen member volunteers, and;
3) has a hydro-geologically skilled, though small staff. Of note: the same day as the Mayor’s second column appeared, a front page WimView article testified to WWSC’s guidance for our current drought dilemma. The WWSC knows what they are doing and are open to citizen input at any monthly board meeting. My average monthly bill for water is $30. We have our own septic. Since the early 90’s, we have known and trusted the WWSC multiple wells, for the delivery of services across over the 40 miles of water piping in our unusual hydro-geological bioregion, the Wimberley Valley.
Obviously, I trust the ability of our local and experienced Wimberley officials to wisely guide a water treatment facility, more than the current administration, many of whom are new to our valley. As Wimberley continues to grow, many un-knowns can be expected. Many questions still need to be answered about this big municipal decision we will all have to live with for years to come. Maybe the current high level of anxiety could be relaxed, if more trust in a local, accessible citizen advisory board for a Wimberley owned and managed water treatment facility was seriously considered and established under this administration?
Can we, as responsible citizen volunteers, let a distant for-profit water corporation, known to have past spills, locally and in neighboring cities, cost our town center unknown millions? Aqua Texas’s customer track record proves them to be non-responsive and expensive for several nearby municipalities, and our immediate neighbors in Woodcreek. And, Aqua Texas has been seen as irresponsible with our Hays Trinity Ground Water Conservation District, suing rather than paying a nominal fine for a tremendous 30-50% waste of our precious aquifer water. Who holds the liability and responsibility for future costs, if Wimberley is being “spun and schmoozed” !!!!
Roberta Shoemaker