City plans $21 million water system overhaul

The City of Cameron is applying for $21 million to fund a major capital improvement over haul of the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure facilities.
Low interest loans are being sought through TWDB, Texas Water Development Board Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs.
In the past two years engineers have worked with the city council and staff to develop five-year plans for infrastructure improvements. “Everything dealing with water and wastewater infrastructure was put on the table for evaluation,” said City Manager Rhett Parker. “The projects were then prioritized according to demand and need, then packaged into a large capital improvement plan that the city can afford.”
The City Council approved the application plans at Monday’s council meeting.
The applications include $10 million to fund the design and construction of a new wastewater (sewer) plant to replace the current 1957-era plant; $2 million to refurbish all 15 city wide lift stations and a smoke test of the distribution lines; $5.4 million for refurbishing the drinking water treatment plant; a hydrological study on the water line distribution system to evaluate line size, pressure and allow the city to prioritize key line replacement; and $3 million for replacing 25 percent of the existing water lines throughout the city.
The plans also include replacing key valves and fire hydrants to make it easier for city water crew to maintain the system and repair water leaks by shutting off high-pressure lines while fixing leaks.

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