Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors converge on Brownfield

by Eric

For the second year in a row, the Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors came to Brownfield to look at and learn about rural small-town water systems. The Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors Program was formed in 2017 in an effort to educate youth about water resources in Texas. Every spring, up to 30 high school youth are selected to participate in a summer 4-H2O Leadership Academy (tour). Students travel throughout Texas to learn how water is collected, conveyed, treated, conserved, and managed to meet the need of the economy and population.

According to local resident Michelle Cooper, who is the Director of the Southern Ogallala Conservation & Outreach Program (SOCOP), which is hosted by three underground water conservation districts in the area, South Plains Underground Water Conservation Dist. (Terry County), Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District (Yoakum County) and Llano Estacado Underground Water Conservation District (Gaines County) believes the Water Ambassadors program will help to reinforce knowledge gained during the academy, and whereas water ambassadors will pass on that information to others as they engage in various education and service activities throughout the year. The program also provides a platform for youth to connect with water industry professionals and educators who represent a wide range of water disciplines.

A former student of Denver City ISD, Riley Calk, was one of the original water ambassadors that came through SOCOP and she has made her way as a Student Technician at Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors Program through the 4-H Extension office at Texas A&M University in College Station Texas. She made the trip with the tier-1 group that came to Brownfield. Riley continues to be behind the scenes in the program as a student assistant and she studies Ag Systems Management. The Water Ambassador’s program helped Riley to choose a different path of study. Also, Wellman-Union graduate Gracen Gore and Mallory Bunch, a senior from Plains who both participated in the Water Ambassadors program last year made an appearance to show the new ambassadors all the excitement.

The Water Ambassador’s first stop in Brownfield was at City Hall. City Manager Jeff Davis greeted the Ambassadors by talking to them about the importance of water and how important it is that the area needs rain. After that, the Ambassadors went to water booster Station 5. While there, Water Superintendent James Nix explained to the ambassadors the different elements that go into the public water system (PWS). Nix told them, “the Public Water System receives, treats, stores, and distributes water to its customers.” Nix of course went on to explain in more detail.

Nix told them Brownfield’s water is received from the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority (CRMWA). According to Nix, CRMWA produces this water from wells near Amarillo and can also include water from Lake Meridith, which serve 11 member municipalities stretching from Pampa and Borger in the panhandle area all the way down to Brownfield and Lamesa on the South Plains.

Nix moved on to talk about the testing and treatment of water from CRMWA. The water is initially tested and treated by the city of Lubbock, this includes any additional filtration and chemical injection. Potable water is disinfected by adding carefully measured amounts of chlorine and ammonia to create chloramines that can remain stable in the water. This allows the residual disinfectant to be measured and monitored allowing operators to know without a doubt that the water is free of biological contamination. When the city of Brownfield receives the water it is tested again.

Once the water is received it’ll need to be stored. Nix said, “It’s always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have It.” The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) guidelines suggest having available 130 Gallons of water per person per day. With a population of about 9000 people in Brownfield, the city would need around 1.2 million gallons a day. Booster 5 is now the oldest tank in the city, having been built and commissioned in 1954. It is a monolithic concrete structure and is half-buried into the property and holds 1 million gallons. Together with its newer sister at Booster 4, the City of Brownfield has a combined storage capacity of 2 million gallons of in-ground storage daily and there are future plans developing that include an even larger 5-7 million gallon tank.

In order to get the water to where it needs to go there has to be “pumping and distribution” Booster 5 houses two horizontal split case water pumps coupled to a pair of 100 horse-powered electric motors. These
pumps are capable of delivering 2500 Gallons Per Minute against 50 pounds of head pressure. The water is
pumped directly into the distribution system, providing the pressure on the homes and businesses. The additional water that is pumped into the distribution system but not used is diverted into one of the three water towers. Water towers allow the kinetic energy generated by the pump to be stored as potential energy by placing the water high overhead. The distribution system includes all of the piping and valves that are needed to bring the water to you. Some of the examples of distribution assets include Valves, Pipes, Hydrants, and Water Meters.

The ambassadors then went to South Plains Underground Water Conservation District to receive a lesson from Cooper using the SOCOP educational trailer. The SOCOP trailer gives an insight into the water systems whether it be from rain, groundwater, underground water, etc. After the SOCOP event, The City of Brownfield, SOCOP, and 4-H treated the ambassadors to a swim party at the Brownfield Family Aquatic Center. Cooper went on to say, “This program is very important for our area and the whole state of Texas. We need the younger generation to understand the importance of all aspects of water.” Cooper also reiterated that SOCOP would really like to see more 4-H Water Ambassador recruits next year.

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