City of Zavalla no longer outsourcing GUI water system operations

ZAVALLA, Texas (KTRE) - The City of Zavalla has faced issues with their water system for the past year, especially with obtaining licensing to operate it.

Now an employee with the city has the proper licensing to maintain the special system.

The city operates a GUI water system for its residents, which means the well has ground water under the influence. To operate this well the state requires a class “C” license or higher.

The city has had to outsource their GUI well license from out of the area for the last several months, as no one met the qualifications.

Joy Yarbrough is the city’s water compliance coordinator. She now has the proper licensing.

“The state requires anyone who operates a GUI water system with a certain amount of population, they have to have a class C water ground or higher. If you have the class C you have to have this certain cartridge monitoring filtering class,” Yarbrough said.

As of several months ago only six people in the entire state had the ground water license and have taken the cartridge monitoring filtering class. Yarbrough makes the seventh.

The city was outsourcing the license from Earl Norrod who is a retired water operator. They were spending roughly $1,200 per month for the license if he had to come out to check on the wells, and testing it was extra.

“I’m here on site for filter changes, if they need to conduct any bac T samples which we are required to do one a month. I can sign and submit the monthly reports that are needed or if anything that is required a licensed operator to sign,” Yarbrough said.

The GUI system is also getting a nano filtration system put in right now.

“It’s fairly new for this area, it’s going to be filtering the color and hopefully help with our disinfection byproducts,” Yarbrough said

Yarbrough said they are hoping to get the city back on track and on the mend.

“As a city we are moving forward, we are putting in a filtration system, we’re hopefully getting new tanks pretty soon, we are just trying to make the city better,” Yarbrough said.

Since the problem began, citizens have seen multiple boil order notices and water outages.

They say the filtration system should be finished by the end of the year.

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