• Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Bell County News Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Popular
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Popular
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home News Local News

Bell County Water Board Discusses Backup Power At Belton Lake Plant – The Killeen Daily Herald

by NewsReporter
March 22, 2022
in Local News
bell-county-water-board-discusses-backup-power-at-belton-lake-plant-–-the-killeen-daily-herald
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Just in case another winter storm cripples the Texas power grid, there is a plan underway to provide backup power for the Killeen area’s main drinking water provider. However, officials are still coming up with final costs.

The Bell County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 board of directors may be set to approve a bid for a backup power generation source at the Belton Lake Water Treatment Facility as soon as the next meeting in April. The board received an update on the project Tuesday morning by Josh Coleman, chief operating officer of L5E Group, who is WCID-1’s consultant on the project.

Coleman explained to the board that five contractors participated in a walk-through of the plant on Feb. 11, and three provided proposals for the project a month later on March 11.

The three proposals include options for both emergency only and non-emergency engines, options for diesel and natural gas fuel sources as well as options for outright purchase or financing. All proposals were for 10 megawatts — or 10,000 kilowatts — of generating power.

Ricky Garrett, general manager of WCID-1, said after the meeting that the backup power source would generally be used when it is needed, including load-shedding.

“And hopefully we’ll also be able to take advantage of the load-shedding programs that Oncor and ERCOT and others have available so that in the peak, when demand for energy is at its greatest, we may employ those generators to help pay for themselves,” Garrett said.

He explained that the water district has participated in load-shedding programs in the past but has been limited in how much it could shut down.

The project gained traction quickly when Garrett presented the idea to the board shortly after Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

“Winter Storm Uri showed us that although we never lost power completely, the power we were receiving, there was enough imbalance between the phases for our large motors to run,” Garrett said. “They have self-protection relays, and when we would try to turn them on, they wouldn’t come on; and that’s to protect the motor.”

Throughout Tuesday’s discussion, the board members appeared to seem to favor an option with a natural gas fuel source. Board members Blair Williams, John Fisher and Kenny Wells were not present at the meeting, however.

Installation alone could cost around $7,000 to $10,000 for a diesel engine or from around $9,500 to $10,500 for a natural gas engine.

Coleman’s presentation did not provide total cost estimates for the proposals because the estimated money needed to do a gas line extension for a natural gas engine is still to be determined, as were the estimates to have 100 hours — or about 60,000 gallons — of diesel fuel storage for the diesel engines.

Brian Dosa, director of Public Works at Fort Hood and a participating but non-voting member of the water board, asked Coleman about the natural gas line extension.

Garrett chimed in to answer Dosa’s question, referencing estimates the district has received from Atmos Energy.

“I remember an estimate, Brian, that was around $3 million,” Garrett said. “I don’t recall the size line that was for.”

Dosa admitted he may have been overthinking the slide that showed the to be determined figure as a “K” or somewhere in the thousands range.

“I got excited when I saw parentheses dollar ‘K’, not dollar ‘M,’” Dosa said, laughing.

Oversight aside, Dosa verbally expressed interest in pursuing a proposal with a natural gas option.

“That’s the beauty of the natural gas is continuous supply, generally lower cost, more reliable,” Dosa said.

Board member Sandra Blankenship immediately responded: “As long as the pressure is maintained.”

Dosa countered: “We maintained pressures on Fort Hood during Winter Storm Uri. We never saw any detrimented pressures.”

Immediately preceding the back and forth between Dosa and Blankenship, the board engaged in a discussion about the diesel fuel options, primarily from board President Rob Robinson.

Coleman explained to Robinson that the diesel tanks would be above ground and may not be insulated from weather conditions.

“Diesel has to be maintained. You just can’t put it in a tank and expect it to stay good forever,” Coleman said in response to one of Robinson’s questions.

At the very end of the meeting, Dale Treadway, who represents Copperas Cove, verbally supported the natural gas option and to have it done in-house.

“Personally, I’d like to see us do the gas line in-house or local contractor instead of Atmos,” Treadway said.

Coleman explained to the board during the presentation that Atmos officials told him it would likely be cheaper and faster for the water district to do the gas line extension itself or from a local contractor than it would be for Atmos to do it.

“Flushable” wipes

At the end of the meeting when asked for items for future agendas, Blankenship made clear a point she wanted to get across about flushable wipes.

“Flushable wipes are not flushable,” she said. “They do not decompose, and every time you put that down the toilet, it’s costing you money.”

After the meeting, Blankenship, Robinson and Treadway clarified that it costs customers money because of the costs needed to repair clogged pipes. Garrett also explained that the fibers intertwine together and crews have removed large clumps of wipes that measured around 7 feet in length and weighed around 150 pounds.

Robinson thanked Blankenship for bringing it up.

“We’ve heard that many times and yet they haven’t corrected that on the printing or advertising,” he said.

Related Posts

temple-city-hall-evacuated-due-to-reported-bomb-threat-–-25-news-kxxv-and-krhd

Temple City Hall Evacuated Due To Reported Bomb Threat – 25 News KXXV And KRHD

by NewsReporter
April 15, 2022
0

Police evacuated the Temple City Hall Municipal Building due to a reported bomb threat on Wednesday. Temple police said around 1:50 p.m. officers responded to the city hall, located at 2 N Main Street, to safely evacuate all city employees and guests. Temple police said a perimeter was set up...

Severe Storms Sweep The South, Killing At Least 1 – The New York Times

by NewsReporter
April 14, 2022
0

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker

williamson-county-judge-issues-local-disaster-declaration-for-recent-storm-–-fox-7-austin

Williamson County Judge Issues Local Disaster Declaration For Recent Storm – FOX 7 Austin

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
0

By FOX 7 Austin Digital Team Published April 13, 2022 5:14PM WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - A local state of disaster has been issued for Williamson County due to the severe weather this week. County Judge Bill Gravell issued the order Wednesday which is in effect for seven days unless extended by...

louisiana-tornado-leaves-people-trapped,-homes-destroyed-–-newsweek

Louisiana Tornado Leaves People Trapped, Homes Destroyed – Newsweek

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
0

A tornado in northwest Louisiana, close to the Texan border, has left people trapped in their homes and damaged buildings, including in Bossier City and southeast Shreveport.The adverse weather caused thousands of people to lose power across the state. As of early Wednesday morning, there were 69,738 households with outages,...

Bell County News Online

© 2021 Bell County News Online

Navigate Site

  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • DMCA Policy
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • CCPA
  • Terms of Use

© 2021 Bell County News Online

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT