To shut of water at the house or to leave the faucets dripping--advice needed (Houston: new construction, contractor)

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by fnh

About ten years or so ago, our MUD in northwest Houston (near but not inside Jersey Village) connected into the City of Houston's water system to mitigate the subsidence of Jersey Village caused by pumping groundwater out of the aquifer below.

Our MUD now has the capacity to switch back and forth between aquifer and city water, so our neighborhood water was restored fairly quickly.

I thought anyone was using surface water by now?

[fnh]

I'm not sure I understand the question, but our City of Houston interconnect is surface water. Our MUD however dates back thirty years now and for most of that time pumped groundwater from the northwest area aquifer, which contributed to subsidence (sinking) of Jersey Village and significant flooding in that neighborhood. We were required to join City of Houston for that reason but still maintain all of the infrastructure in place.

The neighborhood is still under a boil water notice, which is a TCEQ requirement whenever water pressure drops below a certain point until it can be retested. But, water is flowing.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by fnh

I'm not sure I understand the question, but our City of Houston interconnect is surface water. Our MUD however dates back thirty years now and for most of that time pumped groundwater from the northwest area aquifer, which contributed to subsidence (sinking) of Jersey Village and significant flooding in that neighborhood. We were required to join City of Houston for that reason but still maintain all of the infrastructure in place.

The neighborhood is still under a boil water notice, which is a TCEQ requirement whenever water pressure drops below a certain point until it can be retested. But, water is flowing.

About 20 years ago my MUD imposed a hefty surcharge (bill went from $25 to $40 overnight) due to mandates to convert the entire system from ground water to surface water. As I recall it was an region-wide mandate. I am just surprised that any MUD is still pumping from aquifers.

[fnh]

Per DH (who has served on a MUD board of directors), the MUD was required to curtail groundwater consumption. The significant up-front infrastructure costs of connecting to the City of Houston's network were offset by credits area MUDs receive for using surface water versus aquifer, making it more expensive to pump aquifer water and further discouraging the practice. But, it is not prohibited.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by fnh

Per DH (who has served on a MUD board of directors), the MUD was required to curtail groundwater consumption. The significant up-front infrastructure costs of connecting to the City of Houston's network were offset by credits area MUDs receive for using surface water versus aquifer, making it more expensive to pump aquifer water and further discouraging the practice. But, it is not prohibited.

Thanks for the info.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by WRM20

They've been working 24/7 to get the backup generators for the pumps thawed out, according to the spokesperson. When the generators are up, the pumps can run.

The generators need to be thawed out?
Strange. Sounds like a lame excuse.

[Ghost Town]

Still need to drip water next two nights. At least I'm planning to do that.

[mkwensky]

I hope we have someone knowledgeable about plumbing issues here.

I turned off the water main next to the house on Tuesday morning, after waking up to a freezing house. I think the power went out at 2am. At the time water was not coming out of any of the faucets. I left the house with all the faucets turned on at dripping.

The power came back at my house only this morning so I returned to assess. When I turned on both tub faucets at the master bath, which is right next to the exterior wall, it keeps trickling cold water even though I thought I turned off the main switch. It kept doing that for over two hours, when I left the house.

Another thing that concerns me is that nothing is coming out of any hot water faucet, not even a drip. I went to the attic and the water heater seems to be on.

Should I be worried? Do I need to do anything to keep the water heater working?

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by BOORGONG

The generators need to be thawed out?
Strange. Sounds like a lame excuse.

I can see it happening if control lines had moisture in them and it froze. Or, the diesel could have become too thick to flow, or any one of a number of issues related to the cold. I've seen those scenarios happen before. I have no idea if that's what happened to the City, I just passed on what the spokesperson said.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by WRM20

I can see it happening if control lines had moisture in them and it froze. Or, the diesel could have become too thick to flow, or any one of a number of issues related to the cold. I've seen those scenarios happen before. I have no idea if that's what happened to the City, I just passed on what the spokesperson said.

I hate it when officials deliver vague explanations and no one digs deeper. Reporters don't ask tough questions any more, they just relay the propaganda.



If they had started the generators Sunday afternoon when it was still 40 degrees they probably wouldn't have "froze" up.