The Providence Village Town council moved forward on a ground storage tank and upgraded site for the water tower during its meeting Tuesday.
Kyle Hogue, Water Team Leader and project manager from Garver Engineering, presented the completed plan, which is estimated to cost the city $3,601,000 all told.
“We’ve tried to make this number as realistic as possible, but when it comes to a project of this size, it really depends on when we put it out and how hungry the contractors are,” Hogue said. “It's under review by TCEQ. I wasn’t able to get a status on that, but it’s usually a 60 to 90-day approval, so we should be getting close on that.”
The project will net a 50’ ground storage tank and upgraded pumping capacity for the town.
“That allows us to do two things,” Hogue said. “Right now, you’re completely dependent on their pumping capacity to fill your elevated storage tank. Even though you have your own pumps, with the current horsepower you have, you are not able to fill. Even when the elevated storage tank is down for maintenance or what have you, we can bring our system up to capacity and pump out of the ground storage.”
The onsite generators will be upgraded from 40 to 50 horsepower, and a third 50 horsepower unit will be added.
“The generator and pad are a big-ticket item here and are crucial for resiliency,” Hogue said. “With the TCEQ requirements, a lot of which have been updated since winter storm Uri, you’ll have a 48hour fuel supply there.”
Town Manager Brian Roberson briefly weighed in at that point.
“I want to insert, because I love unfunded state mandates,” Roberson said. “Rather than the state committing to do their job and keep the grid up, they’ve put a mandate on us to have power to pull from during events.”
Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Nelson asked for a timeframe once the plans are approved.
“A six-month construction period is to be expected, a couple months of advertisement and a month to award, so nine to 10 months total,” Hogue said.
Mayor Linda Inman then intoned that she’d be wanting “something cool” painted on the side of it.
“Speaking of painting, the ground storage tanks usually aren’t much to look at,” Roberson said. “They’re just kind of plain, but we are coming up due for the elevated tower to be painted, so that one could have something interesting. We haven't gotten any quotes on that yet, but it’ll be in the next year or two probably.”
