WTH is going on in Trophy Club?!

Good thing for the citizens that THE PEOPLE are following the trail.  Too bad the "news" isn't.  As with most things in Tarrant County, it leads back to water and money.

Here's the latest incoming from Trophy Club concerning their water, MUD, SLAPP, corruption and lack of "news" coverage.

We know we've asked this before, but is there a reporter in the county?  Anyone?  Hello...

Trophy Club's Wastewater Woes Worsen

Trophy Club Municipal Utility District(MUD) officials showed little Christmas cheer on Tuesday December 20th as they reviewed  the findings of a local wastewater treatment consultant hired to review MUD 1 operations after repeated violations of the plant's permitted limits for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).  The MUD District Manager and newly hired wastewater treatment superintendent briefed the 5 directors on the report and detailed the problems that contributed to the previous superintendent's resignation just last month.

The report addressing chronic violations of BOD limits was a 180 degree deviation from the previous administration's handling of the matter.  As late as 2010, MUD director Jim Budarf had claimed in writing that the wastewater treatment plant had, “...never been in noncompliance.”

According to the report, the MUD wastewater treatment equipment was designed to meet a BOD permit limit of 10 parts per million (ppm) by  the engineering firm CDM when it was installed.  The current MUD permit limit however is 5 ppm(one half the equipment's capability).

The MUD was required to install approximately 3 million dollars in equipment in 2003 as a part of an agreed enforcement order by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The enforcement order came after multiple permit limit violations of BOD and other pollutants.

Details about the wastewater treatment equipment had been requested repeatedly by the group Citizens for MUD Accountability.  Ironically, MUD attorney Pam Liston, who had stated that there were no records responsive to those requests in 2009, presided over    Tuesday's discussion.

Kevin Carr, who was the subject of a formal ethics complaint by Citizens for MUD Accountability in 2009 over the environmental violations, was also present.  Mr. Carr, who had  been quoted in 2009 as saying that he was “insulted” by the ethics complaint, stated for the record that the report was not related to drinking water.  He did not clarify why he thought the discharge into Grapevine Lake (a source of drinking water for millions) had no impact on drinking water.

The Title of this article pays homage to the editorial travesty published by the Star-Telegram Times Register on Nov. 18, 2009 titled “Water Woes Wrapped Up” .  According to that article,“Trophy Club resolved its wastewater violations months ago and no longer has issues needing correction...”

Unfortunately for the Trophy Club MUD, the Star Telegram holds little sway with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality who issued the permit this year with the 5 ppm limit.  According to Trophy Club's most recent notice from that agency penalties can be subject to fines of $32,500 per violation per day with the possibility of imprisonment for knowing violations.

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Another flood "study"...

This one in Arlington concerning Rush Creek Watershed.

Once it's completed FEMA and the Corp will get involved.  YOU know what that means.  Cha-ching.

Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Then watch the Arlington flooding that happened Wednesday, though no one is sure the cause for the water main break.  Those living near the waste water plant have been flooded many times in the past several years.  Maybe they should study that, too.  Check it out on Fox 4 news.  What all runs downhill?

In September 2010, Tropical Storm Hermine sent several feet of floodwater raging through dozens of west Arlington homes and the Willows at Shady Valley condos. The city, saying that no amount of dredging would stop Rush Creek from flooding, bought 48 of the affected homes and the condominium complex as part of a $16 million program to address chronic flooding.

During Tuesday's City Council meeting, interim Public Works and Transportation Director Keith Melton outlined a planned Rush Creek watershed study that aims to identify its true 100-year flood plain, which hasn't been updated since the 1970s.

Many of the homes in the Shady Valley area were built before those flood maps were adopted. Over the years, development upstream has increased storm-water runoff flowing into the creek and through the downstream neighborhoods, causing millions of dollars in flood damage.

Arlington wants to determine how high Rush Creek storm water could rise once the watershed is fully developed. Rush Creek, which encompasses about one-third of the city, is the largest of the city's nine watersheds and has the most undeveloped land within it, Melton said.

The study, set to be presented to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers in 2013, will help the city identify possible drainage and storm-water-retention projects to protect structures, interim City Manager Bob Byrd said. The studies could help FEMA determine a new 100-year Rush Creek basin flood plain, which could affect homeowners' flood insurance premiums.

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Some Arlington homeowners said they were shocked and completely helpless when a water treatment plant mishap sent water rushing through their homes.

“I’m a realtor and was working at my computer and happened to look out the door and saw water coming 90 miles an hour down the hill,” said Carol Cash.

She said this is not the first time water from the plant has flooded their home. And her family has been trying to negotiate a settlement deal with the city.

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Mary's Creek

The Fort Worth Business Press gives you the heads up about the Fort Worth Water Department meeting concerning Mary's Creek. 

From the article it doesn't sound like much has changed, no matter how much the residents protest.  YOU should pay attention.  YOU could be next.

And speaking of water and sewage...check out Durango's question for the day. 

The Fort Worth Water Department will host an open house on July 21 to discuss plans to purchase a site for the future Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility. The open house will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. at Western Hills Baptist Church at 8500 Chapin Road.

The event will feature no special presentation, but citizens with questions about the project can ask water department officials about the plans.

Work on the Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility began in 2009 with a Site Selection Study that included a Community Advisory Committee. The committee recommended criteria for selecting the site.

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