BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL APPROVES POLLUTION CONTROL ORDINANCE FOR CITY-OWNED WATER WELLS

  

The Brenham City Council unanimously voted on Thursday in favor of an ordinance that creates rules and regulations regarding sanitation and pollution control for areas close to the city’s public water supply wells.

The ordinance sets out requirements preventing certain uses or the construction of facilities on land within 155 feet of city-owned water wells in order to secure the wells from pollution hazards. 

Public Utilities Project Manager Shawn Bolenbarr said the ordinance is mandatory via the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for construction of a public water source.   The city is working on plans to revitalize an existing water well at Loesch Street and build a second well.

When it was pointed out by Councilmember Dr. Paul LaRoche III that there are already structures within the 155-foot radius specified, Bolenbarr stated that the prohibited activities do not pertain to residential and mainly refer to industrial uses including – but not limited to – underground petroleum, chemical storage tanks or sewage treatment.

Bolenbarr said this ordinance is a piece of the first phase of the city’s water system expansion, which he said remains on schedule.

Bolenbarr said testing at the Loesch Street well site will begin sometime this year.

In the only other regular session action item on Thursday, the council granted a specific use permit to allow an accessory dwelling unit on property in the 500 block of Walnut Hill Drive, in an R-1 single-family residential use zoning district. 

Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.