Bastrop, Tx–The city and its immediate area received welcome rainfall beginning Wednesday afternoon with additional showers late Thursday which dropped an inch or more of welcome water. The rain immediately lowered demand on the city’s water supply system, which had been running at near capacity for weeks during a period of extended drought and near-record high summer temperatures for more than a month, according to Bastrop City Manager Mike Talbot.
During a Thursday interview with Bastrop-News.com Talbot also reported that on Aug. 10 the city received formal approval of plans to connect a new water source in Bob Bryant park to Bastrop’s distribution system. Approval by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had not been expected until the end of August.
Talbot said he pushed the state agency for quick approval. “I’ve been calling them (frequently),” he said.
The new groundwater source is expected to add about 500 gallons per minute to current city production capacity of just over 2 million gallons a day. After a torrid summer in 2008, city officials have been eager to boost the water supply available to meet growing demand.
Talbot said work will be pushed forward urgently to connect the new wells to the city system. A contractor has been engaged and most construction materials are already on hand, he said.