MARLIN, Texas (KXXV) — The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved the City of Marlin's request to redirect remaining funds from a water distribution project to upgrade its water treatment facility, addressing ongoing regulatory violations.
The board voted on Tuesday to amend previous resolutions from 2012 and 2013, allowing Marlin to use leftover funds from a $2.9 million Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) project to retrofit membrane filters with gravity filters at the city's surface water treatment facility.
The original project, approved in June 2012, was designed to replace deteriorated water distribution lines throughout the city. While that portion was completed in March 2018, the city requested to repurpose remaining funds for treatment plant improvements.
"The City's water treatment plant requires improvements to address Texas Commission on Environmental Quality violations for failing to maintain a minimum disinfectant residual in the water distribution system and address excess turbidity," according to board documents.
Marlin Mayor Susan Byrd wrote to the board in November requesting the scope change, citing operational challenges and the need to maintain compliance with state drinking water standards.
"Recent operational assessments and regulatory feedback from the TCEQ have identified the need for treatment plant upgrades to correct issues with turbidity and to restore consistent disinfectant residuals within the distribution system," Byrd said in the letter to the board.
The board's executive administrator recommended approval, noting that while the proposed use differs from the original scope, both projects serve the common goal of water system rehabilitation and improvement.
The retrofitting project will be part of a separate DWSRF project already funding broader water system improvements in Marlin.
The original commitment included $1.68 million in loans and $1.23 million in loan forgiveness for the disadvantaged community.
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