On Aug. 26, the Herald-Zeitung published a story in response to concerns from readers that New Braunfels Utilities has not responded quickly to reported water leaks.
One reader in particular — Sarah Stanley — was worried about a leak she reported, then watched spill into the street for two weeks.
NBU communications director Gretchen Reuwer told the Herald-Zeitung that it was taking crews an average of three weeks to respond to minor leaks like the one near Sarah Stanley’s house.
She said the utility was facing a high volume of repairs (98 reported leaks since May) and not enough crews to handle all the calls.
Even minor leaks could result in a loss of hundreds of gallons of water a day, said Roger Biggers, executive director of water services for NBU.
NBU is overwhelmed by the volume of repairs and customers are frustrated, watching wasted water pour down the street during a time of Stage II water restrictions and severe, prolonged drought.
Something must be done.
Reuwer said, NBU has 34 employees assigned to fixing water leaks.
In the past four months, crew members have averaged about 20 hours of overtime fixing repairs, she said.
This is not a question of laziness on the part of NBU workers or a lack of desire to do the right thing.
“Water loss is a priority for this company,” Reuwer said.
But there is a fundamental imbalance that needs to be addressed before it gets worse. New Braunfels has nearly doubled in the past 10 years and with it NBU’s customer base. That growth seems to be getting the better of NBU.
As New Braunfels quickly changes from a rural, small town to something larger and not yet defined, our government needs to change accordingly — down to the scope of its utilities.
Maintenance in this time of growth has become an obvious issue for NBU and should be placed on the agenda for discussion at the board’s next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 24.
