The backwashing process in wastewater treatment pumps water backward through filter media. It is a form of preventive maintenance that allows the filter media to be reused. Water filtration media includes filter sand and gravel, anthracite filter media, greensand water filter media and garnet filter media.
The Corpus Christi City Council recently voted 6-3 to increase water and wastewater rates. The move was prompted by a possible federal lawsuit and to maintain water quality, said members of the council supporting the rate increase. The added cost to the average city residential user is expected to be a few dollars a month. The result will add about $16 million to city coffers within two years.
The city also voted to change how customers are billed, which could actually result in a lower monthly bill for light residential users. Currently, the city bills customers based on the quarter of the year that used the lowest volume of water. The new system will charge a constant rate based on year-round usage.
The money is needed for what it estimated to be about $600 million to$800 million in improvements in the city’s wastewater treatment system. The Environmental Protection Agency has threatened to sue the city if it does not upgrade its system, which the agency claims has violated the federal Clean Water Act more than 120 times between 2007 and 2015. The EPA recorded more than 7,000 sewage overflows into homes and neighborhoods during that time as well.
The city and EPA have tried to settle differences since 2012, disagreeing over the number of violations, the length of time allotted to fix the problems and the amount of money needed. While the city has offered to spend $655 million in capital improvements to its water treatment and sewage facilities over 15 years, the EPA insists the city spend $808 million and complete the work within 10 years.
That was in 2015. This May, the council decided against 10 city staff plans, most of which would have closed three plants and built a new one. The treatment facility serving the Southside would also be expanded and upgraded under the proposed plans. The price tag was estimated at about $764 million.
The council also turned down all 10 staff proposals. An alternate plan presented by Councilman Greg Smith proposed spending $579 million. Smith’s plan leaves Greenwood open, calling for flood-proofing in the neighborhood instead. The council agreed.
Streets are the biggest issue, Smith said at the May council meeting. He ranked wastewater as second, followed by drinking water.
“We have to do all three,” he said. “How we do this one really affects what we can do on the other two.”
What the EPA will do next is unclear. The new proposal will have to meet requirements, which include computerizing operations. Meanwhile, the council is moving forward on Smith’s plan, voting to raise rates at the Aug. 15 meeting.
City Council members Michael Hunter, Lucy Rubio and Carolyn Vaughn voted against the increase.
