Dean Carrell, director of public works for the City of Italy is really proud of the progress being made concerning our water. The State of Texas told us we needed better water production, more water storage and better treatments for our water and the public works team did not waste any time going to work on it.

The first thing they did, explained Carell, “We cleaned out the well, we got rid of all the old water lines that went from the well to the new pump station. The old ones were breaking. We went from pumping 375 gallons of water per minute to 750 gallons of water per minute with the new lines.”

Carrell went on to say, “We now have a large storage tank that holds 1/2 a million gallons of water. The tank was designed for fire protection. It holds enough water so fire fighters won’t run out of water to fight fires, we have complied with the state by getting more water storage so we always have water for the citizens, it is a cooling tank and is also good for chemical contact.”

To address the water treatment issues the public works team now uses chlorine and ammonia sulphate treatments. This combination is not as hard on the infra structure because it is a soft kill but still has the same amount of strength for killing bacteria. It also lasts longer so you don’t have to treat the water as often. The ‘free chlorine’ treatment that they were using is straight chlorine added to the water which eats out your pipes along with any bacteria. Italy water customers should also notice that clothes are not fading as much anymore.

Carrell said, “We are at the halfway mark in finishing the water project. We now have new electronic meters, a new water tank, new water lines and a new treatment to clean the water of bacteria. In four to five months I think the contractors should be ready to finish up the project.”

Carrell went on to say, “It is obvious citizens care about their town. You can tell by what they put in to it and I am pleased to be a part of it.”