New water treatment system for Tow

March 21, 2013, 8:00 pm by James Walker

After coming under pressure from Texas regulators and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Lower Colorado River Authority Wednesday approved spending $410,000 for a new water treatment system for the 30 or so customers of the Tow Water System.

The LCRA board of directors voted unanimously to approve the expenditure for the Tow project at their regular monthly meeting in Austin.

The Tow Water System uses groundwater from the Hickory Aquifer as its sole supply source even though the water from the aquifer contains naturally occurring radionuclides.

Radionuclides, which are a form of nuclear contamination, can cause harmful effects to humans who ingest them.

The LCRA bought the water system from Tow Village residents in 2004 and since then customers’ water rates have increased more than 300 percent from $15 per month to about $52, said Nick Zackoff, a homeowner who has represented the water system customers in negotiations.

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.