.avif)
September 25th Meeting Report
Hello fellow residents. It’s been a long, hot summer with very little rain. Your MUD Board of Directors (BOD) worked all summer to maintain a safe and strong water supply for household use and irrigation, given extreme drought conditions and significant problems within the City of Houston’s (COH) infrastructure.
In late August, the water pressure we received from the COH dropped below manageable levels. MUD 537 relies entirely on the COH’s water and water pressure to service the District. When it drops below 20 psi, the MUD is required to issue a boil notice. This happened for almost two weeks before the MUD could get legal relief from the COH to remove required devices from the two main water supply lines. The devices are known as ‘backflow preventors’ and work like common backflow preventors installed on houses with irrigation systems. They prevent the chance for contaminated water to backflow into a house’s drinking water. However, these devices also reduce the pressure coming into the District about 10-13 psi, further reducing the pressure coming into our homes, and therefore triggering the boil water notices.
Fortunately, the MUD’s system has redundant devices that prevent water from backflowing into the COH’s system. After receiving approval from the COH, the MUD removed one of these devices. Immediately, the pressure increased above the 20-psi level eventually reaching 30-35 psi. We are trying to maintain this level.
As a condition to temporarily to remove the backflow preventers, the MUD will need to install a new water pressure system. This system would provide constant and higher water pressures inside the District. The BOD approved a motion to begin the preliminary study, design, and construction of this system at the August meeting.
The new system is expected to prevent short duration losses of pressure from the COH and provide reliably higher pressure throughout the District. It will not prevent boil notices entirely since the MUD is required by law to issue a boil notice if the COH issues one due to problems with their system or a breakdown of the MUD’s system. Final costs and completion date of the proposed new pressure system are pending further study.
The BOD will keep our residents informed as more information is available. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we advance a solution. For more information about MUD 537, please visit Welcome to Harris County MUD No. 537 / Harris County MUD 537 (hcmud537.com).
MUD 537 Board of Directors