Rep. Kacal says Prop 6 will fix leaky pipes
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - This November, Texans will vote on Proposition 6, or the Creation of the Water Fund Amendment. State Representative Kyle Kacal thinks it is a much-needed update.
“This will be a rural-based fund that will basically help our rural-based communities with leaky pipes,” Kacal said. “That is huge because of all the growth we have coming into our rural communities. We need the water to be successful when the people do come.”
As a supporter of Prop 6, Representative Kacal believes as certain local communities continue to grow, updating their infrastructure will be crucial.
“I think most rural water systems operate at a 30% loss, which is unacceptable,” he said. “But when you have a hundred folks in a neighborhood, or a small community, it’s hard to pay $5 million for a well.”
The water infrastructure of nearby communities is so outdated, he said, some of the components necessary for repairing the leaks aren’t available for purchase on the open market.
“A number of small communities around the area, and I won’t pick one, but they are all similar: they have ceramic, to steel, to PVC – I mean, there’s not a connection at Lowes that you can buy, or at Home Depo, or even the Co-Op, that you can fix or connect a ceramic pipe to PEX. I have a picture in my office where there are eight different types of pipe in one eight-foot stretch in one community, and there’s eight different leaks!”
Kacal believes the overall strategy should include more than just addressing those leaky pipes: all aspects of infrastructure should be airtight and ensure that Texas collects all its future rainfall, or as much as possible.
He explains:
“When we’re looking at flood mitigation, when the rains do come and our rivers swell, aquifer storage and recovery is a key component. How do we grab that water? How do we fix our wastewater treatment plants and take that gray water and put it in irrigation in every community in Texas instead of putting it right back into the river or stream that they dump in? I mean, we’ve got to be better. We know how to be better, and this proposition helps us start on a path to managing our water and our aquifers and our rivers and streams, together. And, it’s monumental.”
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