Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 120, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 24, 1991 Page: 1 of 14
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USPS NO. 114-160 VOL. 112, NO 120
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1991
50 CENTS
CASS COUNTY, TEXAS • 1 SECTK
Health department notifies Atlanta officials after survey
City drafting response to concerns on water
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Texas Department of Health
1100 W< 5( J9th Street
Austin. r<?«4i '8756-J199
(512) 450-7111
Robert A vUcLejn M 0
Deputy Commissioner
Professional Services
Robert Berntlem M O F A C P
Commissioner
July 9, 1991
CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Honorable Lawson McKelvey, Mayor
City of Atlanta
P. 0. Box 669
Atlanta, Texas 75551
Subject: Public Drinking Water Supply
City of Atlanta - 0340001
Cass County, Texas
Dear Mayor McKelvey:
On May 31, 1991, our representatives, Charles E. Schwarz, P.E.,
and Byron K. Lowder, R.S., in company with Mike Partello, con-
ducted a sanitary survey of the subject water system. At the time
of the survey, the condition and operation of the water system
had deteriorated to the point of adversely affecting both the
quality and quantity of drinking water provided to the residents
of Atlanta. This has resulted in numerous and persistent water
complaints over the past few years. The deficiencies noted during
the survey were as follows:
1. A minimum free chlorine residual of at least 0.2 mg/1 was not
being maintained throughout the distribution 3ystem. This appears
to be due in part to improper chlorinator maintenance. The gas
chlorinator at Plant #2 was not functioning, the gas chlorinator
at Wellsite #3 was disconnected, and the gas chlorinator at Plant
#4 was removed.
2. The existing supply wells must be upgraded to assure an ac-
ceptable quality and quantity of drinking water or another pri-
mary supply source must be secured. Well 3 wea reportedly taken
out of service due to a rapidly decreasing supply capacity. Well
12 is reportedly pumping unacceptable quantities of sand. The
supply capacity of the wells at Plants #1 and #2 was not adequate
to overflow the storage tanks and remove a heavy oil sheen on
the surface of the water. Well #5 is not equipped with a flow
meter and cannot be properly monitored.
3. The storage tanks have not been properly maintained to assure
an acceptable sanitary condition on the inside and an attractive
appearance on the outside. In addition, several roof vents were
not properly screened, the roof hatches were not locked, and the
elevated storage tanks were not equipped with water level
indicator gauges.
Page 2
City of Atlanta
July 9, 1991
ID 10340001
4. The distribution map has not been kept up to date resulting in
confusion over the location and status of various valves through-
out the distribution system.
5. A sample siting plan must be prepared for your water system in
accordance with the enclosed explanation sheet. Retain the com-
pleted plan and make it available for review by Department per-
sonnel at the time of the annual survey.
6. The chemical analysis results of a water sample collected from
the distribution system during the previous survey revealed .a
manganese concentration of 0.13 mg/1 and a pH of 6.7, both of
which violate secondary constituent levels established by the
Department's "Drinking Water Standards". Additional water samples
for chemical analysis were collected from each supply well and
from the distribution system during the survey. If the results of
these tests confirm that the water from the existing wells vio-
lates the "Drinking Water Standards", then appropriate treatment
facilities must be provided or another primary supply source must
be secured.
Due to the serious concerns resulting from this survey, a written
schedule for correcting the above deficiencies must be submitted
to the Department within thirty days of the receipt of this
letter. The schedule must include plans for bringing the system
into complete compliance and must specifically address whether
the existing supply wells will be properly upgraded or completely
replaced with another source of supply. The schedule must also
include specific and timely dates for correcting each deficiency.
Failure to submit an acceptable schedule may result in the De-
partment initiating legal action against the city and revoking
the city'3 "State Approved" status. If you have any questions in
connection with this letter, please contact our central office in
Austin at 512-458.-7497 or our regional office in Tyler at
903-595-3585.
Sincerely,
tf- u)&
Charles H. Wentworth, P.E., Director of
Environmental and Consumer Health Protection
CHW:CES:dr
cc: Mr. Jim H. Long, City Manager
Cass County Health Authority
Public Health Region 7
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
Atlanta city officials say they are
working "as hard as they can" to
comply with deficiencies the
Texas Health Department says it
has found in the city's water sys-
tem. City manager Jim Long said
Monday he is preparing a written
report that details the city's plans
for answering the health depart-
ment's criticism.
The city recently received a
two-page letter from the health
department's Austin office in
which items in six general
categories were addressed. The
July 9 letter ordered the city to
submit a written plan within 30
aesthetic aspects of water — ap-
pearance, taste and smell — and
those are the ones the city must
address at this time.
Manganese and discoloration
In the letter, the health depart
ment cites problems with all of the
city's wells and warns the city that
the manganese levels found in the
samplings was: too high and the
pH levels too low
The inspecting engineers report
a water sampling with a man-
ganese concentration of 0.13 mg/l
(milligrams per liter) and a pH
level of 6.7. City manager Long
disagrees with those figures.
"I don't know where they got
that it was 0.13," he said. "We
—
"...the water system had deteriorated to the
point of affecting the quality and quantity of
the water."
—Charles Wentworth
Texas Health Department
Construction to begin on new county jail
By VALERIE EAVES
Journal staff writer
Construction on the new Cass
County Jail should begin within
the next couple of weeks. The
Cass County Commissioners
Court Monday awarded the con-
struction bid on the new facility.
Four Thirteen, Inc. of
Texarkana was the low bidder for
the construction of the jail with a
proposal of$1,622,000. Denson
Construction of Tyler entered a
bid of $1,699,000, while RPR
Construction of Tyler bid
$1,727,000 on the project.
The bids were opened in a spe-
cial court session last Tuesday,
however, the awarding of the bids
was delayed until Monday's
regular session to allow time for
background checks of the three
bidders. The jail architect, Phillips
Swager Associates, researched
the background of Four Thirteen,
Inc. and received good recom-
mendations from other engineers
who have worked with the com-
pany, including the Corp of En-
gineers at Red River Army Depot.
Phillips Swager Associates
recommended that the court ac-
cept the base bid from Four Thir-
teen, Inc.
The base bid includes the con-
struction of the facility and in-
cludes the security control sys-
tem. Two alternatives were also
bid, they included two different
types of security control systems.
The base bid security control sys-
tem provides control and monitor-
ing of doors, locks and intercoms
through the use of a Central
Processing Unit, or computer. Al-
ternate #1 includes a system
which provides control and
monitoring of doors, locks and in-
tercoms through the use of relay
switches; and Alternate #2 in-
cludes a system which provides
control and monitoring of doors,
locks and intercoms through the
use of printed circuit board tech-
nology.
The commissioners found that,
surprisingly, the state-of-the-art
computer-controlled security sys-
tem was the least expensive of
the three.
However, until the commis-
sioners can study the computer-
controlled security system and be-
come comfortable with it, they al-
so reserved the right to approve
Four Thirteen's bid on Alternate
#1. at a cost of $9,000 more than
the base bid.
Although the construction bids
came in well below the $2 million
Please see COUNTY page 2A
days for dealing with the health
department's findings during a
May 31 inspection.
"There are several dis-
crepancies in the letter that we
want to address," city manager
Jim Long said Monday. "Some of
their figures don't compare with
ours. A rough draft of our
response has been completed
and we'll be sending it to them as
soon as it's put in final form."
No hazard to health
One of the health department's
engineers conducting the inspec-
tion in May, Charles Schwarz, told
the Citizens Journal Tuesday that
there is no health hazard con-
nected with the city's water sys-
tem. If that were the case, a boil
water order would be issued,
"I have to remind people some-
times that there is often a big dif-
ference in safe water and water
that is pleasant to drink," Schwarz
said. "Right now, the water in At-
lanta is safe, according to chemi-
cal and bacteriological standards
But it hasn't always been pleasant
to drink."
Schwarz said that the standards
set by TDH are broken into two
categories: primary and secon-
dary. The primary standards are
totally health-related. The secon-
dary standards deal with the more
Local sales tax rebates
reveal economic strength
Sales tax rebates issued to cities in Cass County this month show a
healthy 9.3 percent gain over payments mailed here last July. Likewise,
total payments for 1991 are running more than 7 percent ahead of pay-
ments made through July of 1990.
State Comptroller John Sharp's office mailed payments totaling
$57,924 to six cities in Cass County that collect the state sales tax and
receive a percentage in return. THat total compares to last July's
$53,016.
"Local sales tax rebates, from Beaumont to El Paso, continue to run
ahead of this time last year," Sharp said, "an indication that the Texas
economy is expanding at a steady rate."
Statewide, the tax rebates to cities so far this year come to $705 mil-
Please see REBATES page 3A
Mabel Morriss, former D'ville
mayor, civitan, dies at age 96
5!
Mabel Bryan Morriss, 96, of
Texarkana, Texas, died Saturday,
July 20, in a Texarkana hospital.
Funeral services were held Tues-
day at 11 a.m. at the Douglas-
sville United Methodist Church.
Born Oct. 26, 1895, in Cass
County, Mrs. Morriss was a for-
mer Douglassville City Council
member and also served as
Mayor of Douglassville. She was
secretary/treasurer of Bowie-Cass
Electric Cooperative and a mem-
Cause still undetermined
Journal stall pholo by JOHN COLEMAN
The Atlanta Fire Department Is continuing its Investigation Into a fire that totally destroyed the Atlan-
ta residence of Kathy Weaver early Sunday morning. The fire department received the call at 4:03
a.m. Sunday and when they arrived at the 1115 E. Main Street address, the house was engulfed In
— flames. No one was at home at the time of the fire, which kept firefighters at the secen until about
Please see MORRISS page 3A 0;3o Sunday morning.
took a sampling on Grandview
last week and it was 0.03. well
below the required levels for man-
ganese. They say our manganese,
levels are too high, we're showing
that they are well below stand
ards."
Schwarz clarified that for secon-
dary standards, the TDH is shoot
ing for a manganese level not to
exceed 0.05 mg/l. The man-
ganese constituent is not health-
related, but is regulated because
it will often cause staining
problems or discoloration in the
water.
"This may be one of the
reasons some of the Atlanta resi-
dents have reported discolorat!on
in their water," he said.
Schwarz acknowledged that it's
hard at times to discern whether
the high manganese levels are
Please see WATER page 2A
AISD planning
to bid track
before Aug. 1
Journal Staff Report
Final specifications for a
proposed new track facility for the
Atlanta Independent School Dis
trict are being prepared and ad
ministrators hope to bid the
project before Aug 1
Superintendent of Schools J.D.
Cox told those attending
Thursday's meeting of the Atlanta
school board that the planning for
an entire stadium is under way
and he wanted the district to look
at the option of a lease-purchase
agreement on the facilities.
"If we do a lease purchase,
however, we'll have to add some
stands to the visitor's side and a
press box," Cox explained.
Following an executive session,
the board recommended that
Sandra Juroska be hired as a
Special Education teacher at the
Atlanta Primary School. Mrs.
Juroska is the wife of Chester
Juroska, wife of the new Queen
City school superintendent.
Cox told trustees that the dis-
trict is approaching the "threshold"
of its 1990-91 budget year and,
with 92 55 percent of the an-
ticipated tax revenue collected, he
expects the district to get all of its
state funds for that budget year
"I'm also pleased to say that our
ADA (Average Daily Attendance)
Please see AISD page 3A
Kids! After School come by Sonic for
Happy Hour! ^
AH Fountain Drinks 1/2 PriCC 2:30-5 p.m.
JL
T
Hwy 59 Loop • 796 8177
Tuesday Night is Family Night
Regular Burger 1 / 2 Price
5 p.m. til closing
i ■. i
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Coleman, John. Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 120, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 24, 1991, newspaper, July 24, 1991; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348080/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.