What is Going On in Campbellton???? City's Water Interrupted...

On Monday, June 1, representatives of McCoy Water Corporation, Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Three Rivers Water Department went to one of the four Corpus Christi-owned water wells and turned it off – leaving some Campellton residents high and dry.

The families left without water supposedly were sent letters in January or February stating water service they had been using – provided by Campbellton Water Works – would be terminated on June 1, 2009.

The residents were notified in the letter about a community meeting with McCoy Water Corp. on February 24.

On Tuesday, resident David Hagedorn drove out to the 74 Ranch and got some water which he hauled back to town in plastic containers on a trailer pulled by his pickup. “I’m not working, so I’m losing money,” he told the Pleasanton Express. Hagedorn quickly took water to fellow resident Mary Gonzales. The water was not for drinking purposes. It was for flushing the toilet and a few other uses. Living nearby, Mary’s son, Raymond Gonzales, a single father of two children, said he was without water also and had been a customer of Campbellton Water Works.

Speaking for Campbellton Water Works, Joan Roane claimed no one had the right to terminate service to her customers, because she had filed a suit in Travis County on September 10, 2007 to halt McCoy Water’s progress in the town. “That case has not been resolved,” she said the day after water was turned off. And, according to Roane, there is an agreement with Corpus Christi that allows Campbellton Water Works to have two million gallons of FREE water per month for its users.

Roane said Campbellton Water had about 65 customers from the 1970s through 2003 when conflict began to heighten between McCoy Water and Campbellton Water. The Campbellton water group began service in 1950 and McCoy Water began coming into the area in the 1960s.

According to a spokeswoman at McCoy Water, all new members must first pay a meter installation fee ($800), capital improvement fee ($2,200), along with membership and other fees totaling $3,125.

McCoy’s new General Manager Ron Strickland said, “We are a member-owned corporation.” He called the Campbellton water a health hazard because it was not chlorinated, hot and not disinfected. Strickland said TCEQ had determined the water did not meet drinking standards and the agency worked with the state’s Attorney General’s office who gave the order to turn off the well’s water supply.

Mrs. Gonzales learned of the water service termination earlier this year. She received a McCoy Water worksheet indicating the cost to her would be $4,245, which included a charge for boring under the road, additional lines and other items ($1,120). However, after she went through USDA and was given a $5,000 grant, McCoy learned the situation would have to be handled differently – boring under a U.S. highway near a gas line. Strickland said the situation called for a specialized group with special equipment. McCoy and Mrs. Gonzales received an estimate from Jesse’s Trenching & Backhoe Service in San Antonio. The bid price from Jesse Rodriguez was $5,800. Strickland said that amount would have to be added to the original $3,125 for a total cost of $8,925 — but, Mrs. Gonzales’ grant was for $5,000

Strickland said corporation members could not expect to eat the $3,800 difference. That amount would be increased for each special case.

Of course, when talking about water, there is always a concern about safety. What about the fire department? In this case, the “Paisano” Campbellton Volunteer Fire Department is supplied water by McCoy Water.

Years ago, the cost to hook up with McCoy Water in Campbellton was ranging from $100 – $125. The battle may — or may not be over. But the situation for those Campbellton residents who have lost their only water source, things look bleak.

The discussion at the Stetson Cafe in Campbellton on Tuesday centered around drilling personal wells, sharing water and even “going to the ranch to take a bath.”

Gerald Black, Pleasanton Express