July 26, 2018 500 AM
Noticias Breves
CANDELARIA – After the detection of high levels of natural occurring arsenic, the town of Candelaria will begin construction on a new water improvement system.
An EPA test conducted in July 2017 found that there were 12.1 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic in the water supply. According to surveys conducted in 2015, Texas’s average is 1.99 ppb of arsenic, whereas the national average is 1.33 ppb, the legal limit is 10 ppb. The town, which has roughly 75 inhabitants, has been without drinkable water for the past decade.
This has lead the people of
Candelaria to resort to either drinking bottled water or going into the city of Presidio to fill gallon jugs.
Without proper oversight or maintenance, the water system that is in place has deteriorated to its present state.
Construction on the new system is slated to begin this August with an expected date of completion in November. The design was finished three months ago, and was overseen by Ramon Carrasco, who is the President of Kleinman Consultants – a Presidio environmental engineering firm. The design for the water system will include refurbishing the two existing water wells, added chlorination, and fitted with new electric controls.
The work is made possible by a public works grant administered by Presidio County.
