By SHELDON MOORE
Special to the PRESS
On the morning of Thursday, September 29, 2022, the Laguna Madre Water District held a groundbreaking ceremony at 197 Woody’s Lane celebrating a new water tower and microfiltration plant. The ceremony was hosted by Media Consultant Alicia Baldovinos. These improvements are made possible by the November 2020 approval of a Bond Issue.
At the Woody’s Lane site, a new 600,000-gallon water tank will replace the currently ailing 300,000-gallon Tank #1. Built in the 1970s, Tank #1 has seen numerous sand blastings and suffers from numerous pin holes. Additionally, the current 75,000-gallon “old blue” Tank #4 in Laguna Vista, also a product of the 1970s, has reached the end of its economic life and will need to come down as well.
The new microfiltration water treatment plant at the Port Isabel location will replace the current plant at that location. The current plant uses the older sand filtering technology. Laguna Madre Water District Board Member Bill Donahue explains that “the new plant will join the current water treatment plant in Laguna Vista in the use of membrane module microfiltration which is state of the art in providing the best quality of water most economically.”
It is notable to mention that the water districts on South Padre Island should continue to be functional for the foreseeable future. To this end, Andy Bowie Tank #2 on the north side of the Island is currently undergoing rehab to be completed by the end of Oct. That 250,000-gallon tank and the Huisache 300,000-gallon Tank #3 will continue to serve the needs of Island customers.
When the project is complete, the total capacity will be 1,850,000 for the district. While the purpose of towers is the water pressure and not storage, the towers will be kept at 80%-100% at all times. This is to ensure proper water pressure throughout the district.
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