From our September 28, 2000, edition.

City scales back water line replacement plan

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Increasing prices and a regulatory ruling have caused the City of Clarendon to scale back a project to replace water lines in the west central part of town.

The city had received a $248,034 Community Development grant from the Texas Department of Housing and Urban Development to install more than 9,600 feet of PVC water lines.

Dwight Brandt of Brandt Engineering in Amarillo is the city’s engineer for the project. He said the TNRCC has reinterpreted a guideline in such a way that replacement water lines must be at least nine feet from existing sewer lines.

Local alleys are supposed to be 20 feet wide, and some of the sewer lines in question do not run in a straight line down the center. Also, some residents have fences that are technically in the alleyway. It was therefore not possible to get the required nine-foot space for the line.

Brandt told the Enterprise that the issues with the sewer lines, coupled with an increase in prices and pavement repair costs on Koogle Street (which is a state highway), led to the project being scaled back.

September 19, Clarendon Aldermen approved changes in the water line plans in a called board meeting. Four-inch PVC lines that were to run in the alleys between Third and Fourth streets from Koogle to Parks and between Fourth and Fifth streets between Koogle and Parks were removed from the plans.

The changes have been sent to the state for approval, and Brandt says the city is probably about two months away from bidding the job. He felt like the number of residents that will benefit from the project would not change very much since some water lines are being looped together.