CORPUS CHRISTI – Months after it was supposed to go into service, the new water tower built on the Southside still isn’t running.
Last year, the city hoped for the 171-foot tank, which holds three million gallons, to go online in spring of this year. However, that was pushed back because of construction delays and a leak repair. Still, there was a target date to have it operational some time this summer. Now, the city says there are more maintenance issues that need to be addressed before that happens.
“There’s a couple of (water) lines that we’re replacing before we want to initiate that,” says Gabriel Ramirez, the city’s Assistant Director of Water Quality and Treatment. “There’s one on Alameda and another one on Port that are getting replaced — a couple of 16 inch water lines that are over 60 years old.”
That old age proved to be a problem on the water main on Alameda. Back on July 12th, the transmission line blew out near the intersection with Pennington. Ramirez says because the new tower will make our water flow with more force, now is the time to make the changes and reduce the chance for more breaks.
As Ramirez tells KRIS 6 News, “By adding a new water tank that’s significantly higher than the other ones, we’re going to have an increased water pressure. And with that, you want to make sure that any lines that are older or prone to breaking, that they’re definitely replaced before you do that.”
The water line replacements will happen in the coming weeks. However, the city is not setting a specific target date for the water tower on Holly to start pumping water into your homes.
“When we feel confident that the system can handle it and that we’re ready to do it, then we’ll bring it online,” Ramirez says.
Another new water tank on Rand Morgan and Leopard was scheduled to go on line this year. It’s also unclear when it will start up. There are also two additional water tanks are planned for 2020.
