Crockett city manager: discolored water is usually cosmetic; replacing 83 miles of pipe could cost $100–120 million

City Manager John told the Crockett City Council that discolored water in the city is "not automatically mean unsafe water" and described the technical reasons residents see rust-colored or cloudy water.

John said the city treats water using a long-lasting disinfectant (monochloramine) and periodically performs "chlorine conversion" burns to remove nitrification. He explained that switching between lake-treated water and well water changes pH and mineral content, which loosens rust and sediment in century-old pipes and leads to temporary cloudiness or discoloration. "Discolored water does not automatically mean unsafe water," he said, noting the city conducts daily residual testing and third-party lab analyses.

The manager walked the council through the city's infrastructure figures: about 455,000 feet (roughly 86 miles) of water lines in the ground, roughly 1 million gallons pumped per day with about half a million gallons sold (the remainder lost to leaks and system losses). He said the city performed two chlorine conversions per year on TCEQ guidance, flushed lines as needed, and offers to waive customers' bills if a flushing event initiated by the city requires an extended home-side flush: "If it took about 30 minutes to flush, we'll comp your bill."

John summarized recent investments and plans: the city invested about $3 million last year to install 12,000 feet of new pipe, previously spent about $4 million on storage and elevated tanks, and expects more work ahead. He said the city has secured or is pursuing grant funding: about $8 million in additional grant awards for the coming year and roughly $4.7 million in projects funded as grant matches. Using replacement rates and local estimates, John said replacing the entire system would likely cost between $100 million and $120 million and that borrowing now at low interest would spread costs across decades; for example, he estimated a $100 million 40-year note could equate to about $83 per month per customer under the city's assumptions.

Council members asked about sources of funding, including ARPA and state grant programs. John said the city used roughly $1.4 million in ARPA funds and that about $200,000 remained earmarked; he said other state and federal grant programs, including CDBG and recent state constitutional funding streams, were being pursued and that some grants have matching requirements. He described project prioritization based on funding source restrictions and low-to-moderate-income-area requirements for certain grants.

John stressed the constraints caused by aging materials and deferred maintenance: many mains and hydrants date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries and corrode with changing pressures and water chemistry. He described the city's approach to replacements (using C900 thick-walled PVC for new mains) and selection of streets where coordinated street resurfacing made joint pipe replacement practical.

The presentation concluded with an appeal to the public: report discolored water promptly so crews can flush affected areas before the problem spreads, and recognize that city staff live in Crockett and treat the same water. John asked council to continue pursuing grants and low-cost borrowing to accelerate replacements rather than delay and face higher costs later.

Next steps noted during the meeting included preparing grant packets for projects such as North Fourth and continuing preliminary engineering for qualifying districts; no binding financing decision was made at the session.