Podcast: Coleman responds to city’s water worries

By Jay Socol, Public Communications Director

Director of Water Services Dave Coleman may be the happiest guy on the city staff, but he’s leading the charge on a very serious issue: protecting and preserving our water supplies for generations to come.

Coleman has been Director of Water Services for the City of College Station since 2005. Before joining the city, he served more than two decades as a civil engineer corps officer in the U.S. Navy. A native of Wichita Falls, David received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M in 1981, earned a master’s in construction engineering from Stanford, and also attended the U.S. Naval War College.

In this podcast, Coleman talks conservation, how using treated effluent is saving millions of gallons of drinking water a day, and why his hometown implemented the desperate solution of drinking “potty water.”

Click below to listen. Soundcloud may not play in older versions of Internet Explorer.

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City Council, Public Communications

Live Blog: Thursday’s city council meetings (June 12)

This is a live blog from the College Station City Council’s workshop and regular meetings on Thursday, June 12. It’s not the official minutes.

Both meetings are being broadcast live on Suddenlink Channel 19 and can also be watched online. An archive of previous council meetings is available on the website.

6:07 p.m.

The workshop has started.

6:13 p.m.

Council Agenda Discussion

The council will vote on items listed on the consent agenda during tonight’s regular meeting. These items were pulled for workshop discussion:

Game Day Traffic Study: This project is a follow-up to the 2013 game day traffic study and will include traffic management and implementation plans. The Texas A&M University System has contracted with Texas A&M Transportation Institute for $200,000 to complete the project. The remaining partners will contract individually with the system to fund their respective costs — $35,000 each from Texas A&M Transportation, Texas A&M University System, City of Bryan, 12th Man Foundation, and City of College Station, and $25,000 from the CVB.
Wastewater Capacity Study: Water Services routinely monitors the flow levels in the wastewater collection system, and excessive flows during rain events have been detected in the Northgate and Southwood Valley sewer shed areas. The sources of this inflow must be identified and corrected to regain the capacity in the sewer mains and lift stations. This study will identify potential pipe failures, hydraulic capacity issues, and possible illegal connections. In addition, rehabilitation projects will be identified and prioritized. The study will be paid for with wastewater operating funds.

6:27 p.m. Continue reading “Live Blog: Thursday’s city council meetings (June 12)”

Parks and Recreation, Public Communications, Water Services

Can you Imagine Kyle Field Under 57 feet of Water?

The Brazos Valley’s long drought is over — at least for now — but conserving our water resources remains one of the City of College Station’s highest priorities.

The city’s proactive conservation efforts take another giant step this spring when its first reclaimed water system begins operating at Veterans Park & Athletic Complex. Reclaimed water, sometimes called recycled or reused water, is the beneficial and sustainable use of treated wastewater. This virtually drought-proof water supply is pumped from the Carters Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to a 480,000-gallon storage tank that’s used to irrigate the entire facility.

Continue reading “Can you Imagine Kyle Field Under 57 feet of Water?”