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Council authorizes emergency wastewater repairs after clarifier failure
Summary
After an engineer's emergency inspection found the city's wastewater plant operating at about half capacity, the council authorized the city administrator to contract for repairs up to $35,300 to avoid plant shutdown and potential TCEQ fines.
The Bandera City Council on Feb. 11 authorized an emergency repair contract for the city’s aging wastewater treatment plant after staff reported a recent clarifier failure left the plant operating at roughly 50% capacity.
City staff detailed the plant’s history and risks, saying the raceway clarifier system—originally installed in the 1950s and last significantly overhauled decades ago—has exceeded its expected lifecycle and now requires urgent parts fabrication and replacement. “We had to drain the clarifier … the wastewater treatment plant is running at 50%. It can't run at 50% for long because then it could ruin the other clarifier,” staff said during the meeting.
Council member Deanna moved to authorize the City Administrator to execute a contract with Pearsall Machine Shop for repair services up to $35,300; the motion was seconded by Jeff and passed unanimously, 5-0. Staff explained the amount is a worst-case estimate pending inspection of parts and that some costs may decrease if components can be reused. Officials warned that a prolonged outage could lead to sewage backups and TCEQ enforcement actions and fines.
The council discussed that the repair qualifies as an emergency purchase that does not require multiple bids, and staff said they would proceed immediately to have crews and fabricators begin work. The council agreed to monitor progress and return to council if additional expenditures are required.
The timeline for parts fabrication was described as short—staff estimated certain remanufactured parts could be produced in about a week—though longer lead times could apply for more extensive replacements. The authorization allows the administrator to contract so repairs can begin the following day.
