On May 17, the City of Alba completed phase one of its water-system upgrades.  These upgrades included the replacement of old lines, mostly two-inch or smaller, with six-inch PVC pipe.  Fireplugs were added every 500 feet, making an additional fifteen fireplugs.  This will increase public safety and make it considerably easier to flush lines.  Along with these improvements, isolation valves were placed throughout the system so that in the event of a leak, fewer people would be affected.  These improvements were made possible through grants from the Office of Rural Community Affairs and were very badly needed.

During construction, it became necessary to remove a five-foot section of the old two-inch steel line on Orchard Street that had seven repair clamps.  This illustrates how bad some of our lines have gotten and why we need new ones.  Also, the upgrade to six-inch lines enabled the addition of the fireplugs.  These new lines should be good for many, many years to come.

Now we are preparing for phase two.  In this phase of the project,  we will be drilling a new well and replacing most of the remaining old lines.  The drilling of the new well, to be located on Farrington Street, will most likely be undertaken first.  This part of the project is expected to start in the fall, with completion projected for mid winter,  Funding will come from a low-interest load through the Texas Water Development Board, which will be paid off on a thirty-year schedule.

We are very excited about the progress being made in our city and anxious to get started on the next stage of the project.  If anyone has any questions or comments, we would be glad to hear them and will answer to the best of our ability.